Access to information technology is essential to the state university
mission of providing the students, faculty and staff of the State University of New York
with educational and research services of the highest quality. The pursuit and achievement
of the SUNY mission of education, research, and public service require that the privilege
of the use of computing systems and software, internal and external data networks, as well
as access to the World Wide Web, be made available to all those of the Binghamton
University community. The preservation of that privilege by the full community requires
that each faculty member, staff member, student, and other authorized user comply with
institutional and external standards for appropriate use.
To assist and ensure such compliance, Binghamton University establishes
the following policy and the Binghamton University World Wide Web Policy which supplements
all applicable SUNY policies, including sexual harassment, patent and copyright, and
student and employee disciplinary policies, as well as applicable federal and state laws.
1. Authorized use of Binghamton University-owned or operated computing and
network resources shall be consistent with the education, research and public service
mission of the State University of New York and consistent with this policy.
2. Authorized users of Binghamton’s computing and network resources
are defined as those individuals provided a username and password, for their own use only,
through legitimate Binghamton University processes for assignment of such identification
from Computing Services. An authorized use of Binghamton’s computing and network
resources is initiated by entering that individual’s username and password. Using
another individual’s username and password is an unauthorized use. The only exception
to this authorized use definition is access on designated computers provided in the
University Library where use of a username and password will not be required.
3. This policy applies to all Binghamton University’s computing and
network resources, and external computing and networking resources accessed via
Binghamton’s computing and networking resources.
4. The University reserves the right to limit access to its networks
when applicable campus or university policies or codes, contractual obligations, or state
or federal laws are violated.
5. The University reserves the right to remove or limit access to material
posted on university-owned computers when applicable campus or university policies or
codes, contractual obligations, or state or federal laws are violated.
6. Non-University-owned computers which house material which violates the
University’s policies are subject to network disconnection without notice.
7. Although the University does not generally monitor or restrict the content of material
transported across networks, it reserves the right to access and review all aspects of its
computing systems and networks, including individual login sessions and account files, to
investigate performance or system problems, search for viruses and other harmful programs,
or upon reasonable cause to determine if a user is violating this policy or state or
federal laws.
8. This policy may be supplemented with additional guidelines by campus units that operate
their own computers or networks, provided such guidelines are consistent with this policy.
Privacy: No user should access, view, copy, alter or
destroy another’s personal electronic files without permission (unless authorized or
required to do so by law or regulation). If another user has failed to close out their
session a new user must close that session and enter their own username and password to
use that computer.
Copyright: Written permission
from the copyright holder is required to duplicate any copyrighted material, except where
consistent with Fair Use. This includes but is not limited to duplication of music,
audiotapes, videotapes, photographs, illustrations, computer software, data and all other
information for educational use or any other purpose. Most software and databases that
reside on the University’s computing network are owned by the University or third
parties, and are protected by copyright and other laws, together with licenses and other
contractual agreements. Users are required to respect and abide by the terms and
conditions of software use and redistribution licenses. Such restrictions may include
prohibitions against copying programs or data for use on the University’s network or
for distribution outside the University, against the resale of data or programs, or
against the use of software for non-educational purposes, or for financial gain, and
against public disclosure of information about programs (e.g., source code) without the
owner’s authorization.
Harassment, Libel and Slander: No user may use the
University’s computers or networks to libel, slander or harass any other person.
Sharing of access: Computer accounts, passwords, and
other types of authorization are assigned to individual users and not shared with others.
The assigned user is responsible for any use of the account. Sharing of a computer account
constitutes an inappropriate use and may lead to termination of that account
Permitting unauthorized access: Users may not run or
otherwise configure software or hardware to intentionally allow access by unauthorized
users. Failure to configure hardware or software in a way that reasonably prevents access
by unauthorized users is a violation of acceptable use.
Termination of access: When a user ceases to be a member
of the campus community or is assigned a new position and/or responsibilities within the
State University system, the user’s access authorization must be reviewed. Users must
not use facilities, accounts, access codes, privileges or information for which they are
not authorized in their new circumstances.
Residence Hall Access: Residence hall access to the
campus network is granted to individuals. Each individual is responsible for assuring that
his/her personal residence hall room access point is not misused.
Circumventing Security: Users are prohibited from
attempting to circumvent or subvert any system’s security measures. Users are
prohibited from using any computer program or device to intercept or decode passwords or
similar access control information.
Breaching Security: Activities which degrade the
performance of a computer system or network, use a system or network for which the user is
not authorized, or deprive authorized users of resources or access to computers or
networks is prohibited.
Game Playing: Limited recreational game playing by
students, which is not part of authorized and assigned research or instructional activity,
is acceptable, but computing and network services are not to be used for extensive or
competitive recreational game playing disruptive to others. Recreational game players
occupying a seat in a public computing facility must give up the use of the device when
others who need to use the facility for academic or research purposes are waiting.
Chain Letters: The propagation of chain letters is an
unacceptable practice and is prohibited.
Unauthorized Monitoring: A user may not monitor
the electronic communications of others.
Flooding: Generating excessive network traffic, including
spamming and denial-of-service, is prohibited.
Private Commercial Purposes: The computing resources of
Binghamton University shall not be used for private commercial purposes or
for financial gain.
Political Advertising or Campaigning: The use of
Binghamton University’s computers and networks shall be in accordance with University
policy on use of University facilities for political purposes (SUNY Administrative
Procedures Manual Policy 008).
Modifying software or software installation: A user may
not modify the software configuration on any computer provided for general access.
1. The issuance of a password or other means of access is intended to
assure appropriate confidentiality of the University’s files and resources and does
not guarantee privacy for use of university equipment or facilities.
2. The University provides reasonable security against intrusion and
damage to files stored on the central facilities, and provides for some archiving of files
based upon the operational needs of the University. However, the University is not
responsible for the loss of users’ files or data. Users should take their own steps
to backup and protect important information.
3. Users should be aware that the University’s computer systems and
networks might be vulnerable to unauthorized access or tampering. In addition, computer
files, including e-mail, may be considered "records" which may be
accessible to the public under the provisions of the New York State Freedom of Information
Law.
4. Email messages are not personal and private. While
administrators will not routinely monitor individual email and will take reasonable
precautions to protect the privacy of Email, program managers and technical staff may
access a student or employee’s Email:
- For a legitimate business purpose (e.g. the need to access information when
an employee is absent),
- To diagnose and resolve technical problems involving the system, and/or
- To investigate possible misuse of Email when a reasonable suspicion of
abuse exists or in conjunction with an approved investigation.
5. Email messages sent/received in conjunction with University business
may:
- Be considered state records under applicable state regulations;
- Be releasable to the public under the Freedom of Information Law;
- Require special measures to comply with the Personal Privacy Protection
Law.
6. All Email messages including personal communications may be subject to
discovery proceedings in legal actions.
Violators of this policy may be subject to immediate suspension of
services by Computing Services and to the existing student or employee disciplinary
procedures of Binghamton University. Sanctions may include the loss of network access and
computing privileges. Illegal acts involving Binghamton University’s computing
resources may also subject users to subpoena and prosecution by commercial
enterprises, local, state and/or federal authorities. |
