Policies Regarding University-Owned Computers
Effective August, 1994; Updated December 1999,
September 2004
The objectives of these policies are:
(1) to provide
(2) to provide for use of legally
obtained, university-approved software,
(3) to provide for protection of
information through appropriate security, backup, and virus protection
procedures,
(4) to provide other assistance with
university software and hardware as needed.
From Computing Services, you can expect:
(1) support in a timely, courteous
manner.
By
calling extension 3300 (the Employee HelpDesk in
(a) steps required to perform a
computer-based task,
(b) problems associated with
malfunctioning hardware,
(c) problems associated with
malfunctioning software,
(d) installation and maintenance of all
university-owned hardware in offices and in labs,
(e) installation and maintenance of all
university-approved software in offices and in labs,
(f) short-term installation of
legal copies of software in offices or in labs for purposes of evaluation for
university-related use;
(2) information about hardware and
software of potential value in your job;
(3) access to computers, printers,
scanners, and other hardware located across the campus. This includes:
(a) office microcomputer equipment,
(b) lab microcomputer equipment and
associated student lab assistant support, which may be scheduled for university
events through the lab supervisor (x5582 in Jackson, x126 in Germantown),
preferably given five working days notice, provided the labs are available,
(c) special hardware, such as computer
projection devices, for use in a non-computer-equipped classroom, scheduled at
x5434 in
To
support this policy, it will be the general rule that no university-owned
equipment may be used for or by off-campus groups or individuals without prior
approval by a university technology staff member. The university reserves the
right to charge for use of facilities by or for off-campus persons. This no-use
policy includes former students, former employees, and family members of
current students or employees.
(4) access to university-approved
software tools. This includes:
(a) basic software tools to be placed
at the time of installation on all microcomputers. This includes:
(1) word processing, spreadsheet, and
presentation software,
(2) network/Internet access software,
and
(3) computer virus detection software
(Computing Services gives no guarantees past the stated limits of such
software);
(b) other software for needs specific
to individual job needs.
(5) training in the use of
university-owned hardware and university-approved, non-discipline-specific
software.
This
includes:
(a) microcomputers, printers,
image/text scanners, test scanners, data projectors, etc.
(b) word processors, spreadsheets, test
grading software, etc.
(c) file organization and backup, and
virus protection,
(d) network file, printer,
electronic-mail, and administrative system access;
(6) access to hardware and software
documentation;
(7) if requested, prior notification to
you when we plan to enter your office to work with your hardware or software.
You will be given the opportunity to make a request for such notification;
otherwise, we will assume we have your authorization to access your system as
needed. We reserve the right to access your computer as needed when situations
such as virus infections occur. In all cases, we will leave a message whenever
we have entered your office to work on your computer;
(8) appropriate and technically accurate actions
required during setup, installation, maintenance, and repair of hardware and
software, including prior notification when possible of any file deletion or
system modification required that might have side effects not directly
associated with the stated problem.
Computing Services assumes:
(1) you will be responsible for
information and documents you create using various programs.
Specifically,
we expect you:
(a) to ensure you have frequent, periodic
backups of information you create; this can be done most easily by storing all
original/revised work on your personal password-protected storage space on the
campus network; alternatively, you may store files in an organized and
effective manner on your local hard drive but periodically (e.g., on a daily
basis) copy all files to this network space; if you use Zip/USB/CD disks for
this purpose, be aware of item (c) below; this will prevent unneeded problems
resulting from intentional or unintentional deletion of files or from
unanticipated failure of microcomputer hardware,
(b) to comply with requests we may make
related to security, virus protection, systems updates, etc., and
(c) to copy frequently and to discard periodically
any removable disks (floppy, Zip, etc.) you use frequently for the storage of
personal information, due to the relatively short “life” of these
disks;
(2) you will not purchase, install,
repair, upgrade, or maintain any hardware, whether it is to be university-owned
or otherwise, except by requesting such action by Computing Services staff or
except with explicit authorization given by Computing Services full-time staff;
(3) you will be responsible for
documenting the installation of any non-university-supported software. If you
install software not supported by Computing Services, you will be fully
responsible for its use, side effects, data backup, and future reinstallation
in the event it is deleted during repair of other problems associated with the
computer in your office. Legal copies of personally-owned software may be
installed on university-owned equipment only after consultation with Computing
Services full-time staff. (Illegal duplication of software by an individual is
a felony punishable by up to 10 years in jail and up to a $250,000 fine.) This
policy is required in order to avoid compatibility problems, inventory
problems, or legal problems;
(4) you will abide by these policies as
well as by the university's Acceptable Use Policy posted at
Exceptions or possible revisions to any of these
policies are considered by Computing Services on a case-by-case basis. Contact
Mr. John David Barham, Associate Vice President for Information Services.
These policies are subject to revision and
clarification as needs arise. You will be informed of any substantive changes
when such changes occur.
We believe this document will provide you and us
with a firm foundation on which to build a more efficient working environment.