Responsibilities
Policies
Copyright
Cedarville University provides students with
access to network and computing resources as an integral part of the educational
environment. Students using these resources should do so responsibly and
consistent with the University mission and objectives. The University reserves
the right to define and enforce appropriate regulations to ensure that
the use of these resources is consistent with the University mission. Enforcement
of these regulations may involve (at the University's discretion) monitoring
of stored disk files and electronic transmissions (electronic mail, Web-site
accesses, etc.). Use of the network and computing facilities implies consent
to these regulations and monitoring activities.
Responsibilities
-
Each student is responsible for the use of
his/her network account. Resident students are responsible for any and
all computing and network access from their residence-hall rooms. All students
must take reasonable precautions to safeguard their passwords.
- Transferring copyrighted materials to or from
any system or via the University network without express consent of the
owner is strictly forbidden and is a violation of Federal and State laws.
Examples of illegal copying include:
- Making a personal copy of software licensed to the University
- Copying files created by another person without obtaining that person's permission
- Installing software on a computer without first obtaining a license for that software
- Browsing, exploring, or making other unauthorized
attempts to view data, files, or directories belonging to the University
or to other users is forbidden. It is also unacceptable behavior to corrupt
files, introduce deviant software (worms, viruses, etc.), or interfere
with someone else's legitimate computer use. Possession of a program designed
to gain unauthorized access will be deemed to constitute an attempt at
breaking computer security.
- Accessing, viewing, displaying, printing, or distributing pornographic or
obscene material is prohibited. Establishing Web pages with links to such material
is also prohibited.
- Use of electronic mail and other network communications
facilities to harass, offend, or annoy other users of the network is forbidden.
"Chain letters" and "e-mail bombing" are considered to be violations of
this policy.
- Students are expected to treat the equipment
with appropriate care. In addition:
- Computer repairs, re-cabling, etc. must be done by Computer Services
staff members. Students are not allowed to open the computer cases.
- Food and drink are not allowed in the public computing laboratories.
- Students should help keep down the cost of
providing the computer resources. Supplies such as laser toner and paper
are provided for use in the laboratories on university-owned equipment. Printing
should be limited to essential work. Multiple copies of printouts (e.g.,
meeting notices, campaign posters) should be made on photocopy machines
rather than on the computer printers. Supplies should not be removed from
the laboratories for use on other equipment. Students with computers in
their rooms are responsible for providing their own supplies for in-room
use.
- The University has provided "bulk mail" programs
and "for sale" programs for individuals to send out high-volume notices.
Students are not to send out unsolicited electronic mail messages
to large numbers of recipients (over 25 recipients) except for official
University business on behalf of student organizations.
- Incidental use of University computers and
network resources for personal gain (e.g., posting a resume, mentioning
consulting services on a personal Web page, using e-mail to correspond
with an employer) is allowed, but students are not to make such business
activity the primary focus of their computing and network usage. Students
are not allowed to provide off-campus access to bulletin board systems,
web servers, or other services running on their residence hall computers.
Offenses in categories 1-5 above are
suspendible or dismissable on the first offense. Offenses in categories
6-9 are subject to fines on the first offense, and are suspendible or dismissable
on subsequent offenses. Students violating these guidelines may also be
subject to criminal prosecution. The intent of these regulations is to
ensure a productive and economical computing environment for all users,
while abiding by laws governing copyrights and computer access. Questions
and suggestions regarding these policies should be sent to the Chief
Information Officer.
Usage Policies for Students
To help students understand some of the implications of the network rules, the Student Services office has provided
the following elaboration of rule 1 above:
- Use of the computers in the residence
hall is the responsibility of the occupants of the room. The residence
hall room occupant(s) will be held responsible for any and all inappropriate
messages sent out from that room.
- Messages may not be sent out under another
person's name.
- Proper etiquette and decorum should
be adhered to in all messages sent out over the network. Name calling,
insults, etc. have no place on CedarNet.
- It is your responsibility to protect
your account from unauthorized use by changing your password frequently
and selecting passwords that cannot be easily guessed.
- You are responsible for messages sent
out under your name by another person to whom you have granted proxy access.
Please note that the prohibition on students
opening the computers means that students are not allowed to add memory
or other internal features to the residence hall computers. Self-provided
computers ("SPC") may be connected to the network, so long as the SPC
regulations are observed.
Copyright
When a work (music, poem, essay, computer program, etc.) is put into
tangible form, that work is automatically granted a copyright. The
copyright owner has full rights to control the distribution of the
work, including the right to charge for access to the work. Academic
institutions are granted some "fair use" privileges, but these uses are
quite limited and generally apply to small excerpts from a work.
Individuals (faculty, staff, and students) do not have the right to
make complete copies of musical performances, video tapes, etc. without
explicit permission from the copyright owner(s).
For music or video, there could be multiple copyrights:
- Author of the words
- Composer of the musical score
- Performer of the work
- Designer of the packaging and other promotional material
While copyrights generally expire some years after the death of the
author, a related work may still be protected. For example, Beethoven's
Ninth Symphony is no longer protected by copyright but any recent performance
of the symphony probably is...so it would be illegal to copy the recorded
symphony performance.