Registrar's Office
Acceptable Use Policy for Computer Technology
The computing facilities at Grambling State University are provided for the use of
Grambling State University students, faculty and staff in support of the programs
of the University. All students, faculty and staff are responsible for seeing that
these computing facilities are used in an effective, efficient, ethical and lawful
manner.
The following policies relate to their use.
- Computer facilities and accounts are owned by the University and are to be used for
university-related activities only. All access to central computer systems, including
the issuing of passwords, must be approved through the Information Technology Center.
- Computer equipment and accounts are to be used only for the purpose for which they
are assigned and are not to be used for commercial purposes or non-university related
business.
- Others must not use an account assigned to an individual, by the Information Technology
Center without explicit permission from the account holder and the Information Technology
Center. The individual is responsible for the proper use of the account, including
proper password protection.
- Programs and files are confidential. They may be made available to other authorized
individuals with permission from appropriate authority. When performing maintenance
every effort is made to insure the privacy of a user’s files. However, if violations
are discovered, they will be reported immediately to the appropriate vice president.
- Electronic communications facilities (such as EMAIL) are for university-related activities
only. Fraudulent, harassing or obscene messages, pictures and or other materials are
not to be sent, retrieved, or stored.
- No one may deliberately attempt to degrade the performance of a computer system or
to deprive authorized personnel of resources or access to any University computer
system.
- Loopholes in computer security systems or knowledge of a special password must not
be used to damage computer systems, obtain extra resources, take resources from another
user, gain access to systems; or use systems for which proper authorization has not
been given.
- Computer software protected by copyright is not to be copied from, or into, by using
campus computing facilities, except as permitted by law or by the contract with the
owner of the copyright. This means that such software may only be copied in order
to make back-up copies, if permitted by the copyright owner. The number of copies
and distribution of the copies may not be done in such a way that the number of simultaneous
users in a department exceeds the number of original copies purchased by that department.
An individual’s computer use privileges may be suspended immediately upon the discovery
of a possible violation of these policies. Such suspected violations will be confidentially
reported to the appropriate faculty, supervisors, department heads, Information Technology
staff, and vice presidents.
The appropriate administrative staff or supervising department head will judge an
offense as either major or minor. The Information Technology Center Security Administrator
and the supervising department head will investigate the first offense. Additional
offenses will be regarded as major offenses. Appeals relating to minor offenses may
be made to the supervising vice presidents. The supervising vice presidents will address
all major offenses once reported.
Violations of the policies will be dealt with in the same manner as violations of
other University policies and may result in disciplinary review. In such a review,
the full range of disciplinary sanctions is available, including the loss of computer
use privileges, dismissal from the University, and legal action.
Violation of some of the above policies may constitute a criminal offense. Individuals
using campus computer facilities should be familiar with the Louisiana Revised Statutes
14:73, Computer Related Crimes.
