Network Use Policy for Information Technology

It is the policy of Marietta College to maintain access for the campus community to local, national, and international sources of information and to provide an atmosphere that encourages access to knowledge and sharing of information.

It is also the policy of the College that members of the campus community will use technology resources with respect for the public trust that they have been provided and in accordance with policies and regulations established from time to time by the College, its operating units, and appropriate legal authorities. This includes the Student Code of Conduct, the Marietta College Sexual Misconduct Policy, the law of intellectual property, including copyright, and all other policies, which govern campus life.

Guidelines for General Internet and E-Mail Usage

In accordance with the above policies, the following guidelines, which are not to be considered exhaustive, have been established:

Any member of the Marietta College community - student, faculty, and staff – may request and obtain an e-mail account with limited web space while that person is an eligible member of the College community. “Eligible” is defined to mean that the person is a current student, or currently employed faculty or staff person, or retired staff or faculty. This status is reflected in the College’s administrative database. Once a person ceases to be an eligible member of the Marietta College community that person’s e-mail account will be deleted. Expired accounts are deleted in the middle of each semester. In some cases, accounts may be continued as guest accounts.
By agreeing to hold an e-mail account at Marietta College, the user agrees to hold Marietta College harmless for any detriment that may accrue when that account is suspended and/or deleted. It is understood that account holders will use Marietta College e-mail to further their educational objectives at Marietta College, and will not use their accounts to further commerce in any substantial fashion.
Access to the internet through Marietta College is a privilege, not a right. Any user, who, without authorization, accesses, uses, destroys, alters, prevents rightful access to or otherwise interferes with the integrity of computer-based information or information resources obtained through the internet has engaged in unethical and unacceptable conduct. The user is therefore open to forfeiture of the internet account and/or disciplinary action by the College and/or appropriate legal authorities according to already established procedures.
It is the responsibility of all individuals to guard against abuse of the internet. These include, but are not limited to, keeping your password confidential, changing your password regularly, respecting the privacy of others, complying with legal protection provided by copyright and licensing of program, and complying with all state and federal laws governing information technology.
While Marietta College endeavors to respect the privacy of users of its computing and networking resources and does not routinely inspect or monitor use of these resources, there can be no guarantee of the security or privacy of your use of the same. By using these resources, users consent in advance to any monitoring, inspection, interception and retrieval of information stored or transmitted on them without prior notice in accordance with College policy and applicable law. User may be monitored, inspected, intercepted and retrieved with permission of the provost or president when:
1. Necessary to maintain or protect the College’s computing or networking resources;
2. Activity from an account prevents access to computing or networking resources by others;
3. General usage patterns indicate that an account is responsible for activity that appears illegal or in violation of College policy;
4. There are reports of violations of policy or law taking place;
5. It appears necessary to do so to protect the College from liability;
6. It is required or permitted by law.
At no time may the user present him or herself as a representative of Marietta College unless given explicit written permission, nor does the College accept any responsibility for the contents of such communications. Furthermore, the individual must ensure that materials on the home page do not in any way violate the proprietary rights of any other party, and the individual must provide a disclaimer plus the e-mail address of the person responsible for maintaining that home page. In addition, the account holder must make every effort to ensure that the information posted is as accurate as possible.
Servers (or any network device that will be used by more than one user) must not be installed on the Marietta College Network without the individual first applying to the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and obtaining written permission. On receipt of any such request, the CIO will convene the College committee set up to consider such request. The CIO will convey the decision of the committee to the applicant. Whenever such permission is given, the CIO must be provided with root access at all times and will specify in writing the constraints under which the server will operate. The decision of the committee to grant or withhold permission is final. The CIO has the option (in consultation with the committee) of removing a device from the network without providing notice.
Each student living on campus will be allowed to operate one computer from their living area. The operation of this computer will be subject to the rules periodically published by the IT department. These rules are to be construed as being part of this document. Permission to attach multiple devices to the network must be obtained from the IT Department.