Computer Resources Policy Statement

Statement of Purpose

Cayuga's computer resources are available to registered students, faculty and staff for academic research, professional enrichment or administrative tasks. In order to utilize Cayuga's computer resources, all users need to be familiar with and abide by the policies outlined in this document.

College policy dictates that computer resources be used in a responsible, legal, decent and efficient manner. The College has the right to deny access to computer resources to individuals who have violated the policies detailed in this document.

Rules & Policy Statement

Absolutely no food or beverages are allowed at the computers in the Computer Labs. NO EXCEPTIONS!

The college does not allow PCs, laptops, handhelds, or any other devices not owned by the college to connect to the campus network, including the wireless network. Any device to be connected to the campus network must be specifically authorized and configured by college IT staff.

Instructional Assistants and Peer Consultants are available to assist users who experience operational problems with computer equipment. Please remember that their role is not to teach software but to provide an environment where independent learning is facilitated.

According to the statement of purpose, resources exist to support the pursuit of academic studies. Consequently, the use of "game" type software is not allowed unless it is an instructor assigned training activity. In addition, the production, composition and printing of "resumes" or any other document not related to academic purposes is not allowed unless it is a class requirement.

Software is provided to assist students in the pursuit of their academic goals. This software is the property of the College and may not be removed or copied to any location. Students are reminded that copying software from the College's computers may be an act of theft and the college has the right to regard this as a criminal offense.

The following specific actions are prohibited:

Altering software installations or configuration files on any College computer system.

Running programs from floppy disk, CD-ROM or USB removable disk unless requested by an instructor and approved by administration.

Installing software of any kind on any computer resource. The introduction, inadvertent or otherwise, of computer viruses, Trojans, worms, adware or other “malware” may be considered an act of vandalism and the College has the right to regard this as a criminal offense.

Disabling or bypassing restrictions on network and/or Internet access. Students are advised that such actions may be considered theft of service or vandalism. If the act disrupts other services the College has the right to regard this as a criminal offense.

Disabling or bypassing security software. This includes, but is not limited to, antivirus, adware protection and configuration protection software.

Deleting, altering or copying data belonging to others.

Internet Access:

Responsibilities and Terms & Conditions of Use

College policy dictates that Internet computer resources be used in a responsible, legal, decent and efficient manner. The College has the right to revoke computer privileges at anytime without notice for misuse. Policies endorsed by the Computer Advisory Committee determine the sequence of events preceding the denial of access to computer resources.

Examples of misuse include, but are not limited to, the following:

Any use of resources for commercial (for profit) purposes without the prior approval of the Computer Advisory Committee.

Using computer resources to harass any individual person, group or organization.

Using indecent, obscene or other language which may be offensive to other users. In some cases, this may be considered a form of harassment.

Copying, distributing, or viewing any information which may be considered obscene and offensive to other users. In some cases, this may be considered a form of harassment.

Using the network in any manner that violates any federal, state or local law.

Attempting to interfere intentionally with the performance of the network or computer systems attached to the network.

Accounts may not be used by or given to another individual for any means whatsoever. An account is for the sole use of the individual assigned the account.

Attempting to access data being transferred through the network or files on any computer connected to the network without the owner's permission.

Interfering with the legitimate work of other users.

Unauthorized copying or transmission of software or material protected by copyright, patent or trade secret law. (Copyright, patent or trade secret law legally protects all proprietary computer software.)

Abusing any interconnected network such as SUNYNet or the Internet.

Using the network to attempt to violate any connected computer system's security.

Using the network to spread computer viruses in any form or any program designed to violate security, interfere with the proper operation of any computer system or destroy another user's data.

Additional Understandings

Cayuga Community College reserves the right to limit or restrict any usage; inspect, copy, remove or otherwise alter any data, file or system resources which may undermine the authorized use of that system with or without notice to the user.

Under no circumstances is the College or its employees responsible for the loss of contents in user accounts or for any direct or incidental consequences of such loss.

Users terminating employment or enrollment will lose account privileges.

Under any and all cases of account termination the user shall bear the full responsibility for the request to archive the information contained in the account. Without this specific request the account will be deleted without being archived.

The person in whose name the account was issued is responsible at all times for its proper use. Sharing logon and password information with other users is prohibited. Users are advised to change their password frequently.

The College reserves the right to amend these "Terms and Conditions of Use" at any time with or without prior notice. It is the responsibility of the user to be aware of any changes in the terms and conditions of use as they are posted.

Students banned from using computer resources are reminded that the ban may be permanent, or for a semester's duration, and that arrangements must be made to complete any class or course related assignments by means other than accessing the College computer resources.

Cayuga Community College Fulton Campus