This document is updated semi-annually and is available both electronically and in printed form at each of the Campus Computing Centers.  

It is the user's responsibility to remain informed about the contents of this document.

ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY FOR COMPUTER USAGE

  I. SCOPE 
  II. ACCEPTABLE USE 
  III. SECURITY 
  IV. PRIVACY 
  V. POLICY VIOLATIONS 
  Contacts 
 
The computing resources at Fairleigh Dickinson University support the instructional, research, and administrative activities of the University.  Users of these facilities may have access to University resources, sensitive data, and external networks.  Consequently, it is imperative for all users to behave in a responsible, ethical, and legal manner.  This document presents specific guidelines to appropriate behavior and use of FDU computing equipment. 

I. SCOPE

Fairleigh Dickinson University is not responsible for the content of any material the user prepares, receives or transmits.  Thus, as a condition of using the University's computer system, the user represents that he/she is in compliance with all federal, state and international copyright and other intellectual property laws and agreements and other federal and state laws, nor in his/her use of the system will the user violate any federal or state civil or criminal laws. Furthermore, the user will indemnify, exonerate and save the University (and its representatives) harmless from any claim, damage or cost related to the user's use, including any legal fees the University decides it is necessary to incur to defend itself. 

II. ACCEPTABLE USE

 1. You are responsible for any computer account you have been given.  You shall set a password on the account that is not easily guessed and shall not share this password with other people.  If you discover that someone has made unauthorized use of your account, you should change your password immediately and immediately report the event to one of the individuals listed in appendix 1.  You also shall not use an account not belonging to you. 

2. You agree not to intentionally seek out information about, copy, or modify password files, other users' files, or disks and tapes belonging to other people, whether at FDU or other facilities. 

3. You should not attempt to decrypt material to which you are not entitled or attempt to gain rights you have not been specifically granted by the owner.  If you observe or discover a gap in system or network security, you agree to inform the Computer Center and not to exploit the gap. 

4. You agree to refrain from any activity that interferes with a computer's operating system or its logging and security systems, or that may cause such effects. 

5. You must be sensitive to the public nature of computer systems and refrain from transmitting, posting or otherwise displaying material that is threatening, obscene, harassing or defamatory. 

6. You agree not to make copies of or distribute software the University owns or uses under license, unless the owner of the software or the owner of the license has specifically granted permission to copy.  If in doubt as to whether you have permission to copy software, assume you don't. 

7. Messages, statements, and declarations sent as electronic mail or public postings should be treated as if they were tangible documents. From electronic identifiers used in the transmission of messages, addressees can see the University is the source of the message or its system is being used to transmit it, similar to how letterhead or return addresses on a tangible document would identify the University. To make sure that no addressee can infer that your personal opinions are necessarily shared or authorized by the University, it is your obligation to clearly identify them as your opinions and not those of the University. 

8. You agree not to create, alter, or delete any electronic information contained in any system associated with the Computer Centers that is not your own work. 

 9. You agree not to create & send, or forward electronic chain mail letters.  You agree not to attempt to alter or forge the "From" line or any other attribution of origin contained in electronic mail or postings. You agree not to use any of the university systems for sending what is commonly referred to as “SPAM”mail (unsolicited bulk email). 

10. You shall not use FDU computing equipment as a means of obtaining unauthorized access to any other computing systems. 

11. FDU's computing disk storage is a University resource with costs attached and should be used with care and discretion. It is not meant to be used for archiving programs and data not currently being used or for storage of files publicly available elsewhere.  It is meant for current class work, research and development projects, and temporary storage of other files.  Users shall attempt to keep their disk usage minimized and will refrain from maintaining duplicate copies of software already installed on the system. 
 
12. Network addresses such as TCP/IP addresses, machine addresses and DECNET addresses are assigned by University Systems and Security staff and may not be altered or otherwise assigned without the explicit permission of the Director of University Systems and Security or the University Director of Information Systems and Technology. In addition, no equipment may be attached to the network without the explicit permission of the Director of University Systems and Security or the University Director of Information Systems and Technology. 

13. The system is not to be used for the transmission of commercial or personal advertisements, solicitations, and promotions or for extended reproduction of political, ideological or commercial material originated by a person or organization. 

14. In the quantity and frequency of their personal use, users should not create unreasonable demands on the system.  Users are reminded that for volume or frequency beyond what is reasonable for their free access to the University’s network and systems, they should contract with private providers of network facilities. 

15. Without the explicit permission of the Director of University Systems and Security or the University Director of Information Systems and Technology you agree not to run any of the following protocols or services: 

A. Port scanners, network monitors or other types of 
utilities on any part of the university’s network. 

B. Routing or network serving protocols such as RIP, 
IGRP, BOOTP or DHCP on the network. 

C. Daemons, processes or programs that accept incoming connections on any University system.

III. SECURITY

 Information Systems and Technology and each of its departments attempt to provide reasonable security against damage to files stored on FDU's computing equipment by making regular backups of systems.  In the event of lost or damaged files, a reasonable attempt will be made to recover the information; however, the University and the Computer Center staff cannot guarantee recovery of the data or loss of data due to media failure, floods, fires, etc. 

Information Systems and Technology and each of its departments will make reasonable attempts to provide error-free hardware and software on our systems, however, it is not possible to guarantee this, and information provided by staff members is not guaranteed to be correct. 

IV. PRIVACY

Even though the electronic datagrams transmitted by or stored on university equipment are the property of the University, the IST staff will not normally log into another user account or access user's files unless specifically granted permission by the owner of the file.  Student staff should avoid situations where helping another student or a faculty member would give them access to data relevant to a course that the student staff person is currently taking. 

Exceptions to this practice are made under certain circumstances.  These include: system backups, which access all files in a user's account; software upgrades which may require editing startup files in a user's account; diagnostic and trouble-shooting activities, which may, for example, require viewing the address headers of e-mail messages to determine the cause of problems; and keystroke monitoring of sessions to determine inappropriate use of the computing facilities.  Another situation is a suspected violation of the tenets in this policy, the Student Handbook, Faculty Handbook, University employment rules and practices or local, state or federal law.  If there is sufficient cause to suspect such a situation, a user's files may be duplicated and stored for later review by appropriate personnel without the user's permission. The consent of the user to give access to his or her stored electronic communications for these purposes is a condition precedent to the user’s use of the system. 

In the event that user files need to be copied or viewed for reasons other than security, diagnostic, system backup or in compliance with law enforcement, Information Systems and Security staff will attempt to inform the user of this access. 

V. POLICY VIOLATIONS

Depending on the nature of the events, violations of this policy may be dealt with as described in the Student or Faculty Handbook, any relevant contracts, and possibly State and/or Federal law or regulations. 

 University Systems and Security reserves the right to suspend 
network and/or system privileges while investigating a complaint or troubleshooting a system or network problem. 

Computer Center Contacts

Brian Domenick 
Director, Computer Systems and Security 
Mailstop T120E 
201-692-2354 
brian@fdu.edu 

Ralph Knapp 
Director, Computing Services (Madison) 
Mailstop M140B 
973-443-8689 
knapp@fdu.edu 
 
 
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