Bring Your Own Device is a policy that allows students to bring personally owned mobile devices onto the campus to access privileged Tusculum resources such as email, file servers, and databases as well as their personal applications and data.
We highly recommend that each student bring a personal computing device to campus with them. Some academic disciplines mandate the student having a computer or device.
Notably: In order to maintain full compliance with the Tusculum Network Policy, the Tusculum IS Department utilizes a Network Access Control appliance (NAC). The NAC requires each user to register each device and bring that device into compliance before being granted network access.
Most devices can access the Tusculum student network without any difficulty. A quick (incomplete) list of devices that we’ve successfully connected to the network includes:
Each student will be responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of his or her own device. The IS department will assist students with connectivity issues, and can make recommendations about hardware or software issues students may experience. The Tusculum IS department cannot work on personally owned devices.
Listed below are the basic requirements for the software you’ll need on your computer while you are a student at Tusculum. Individual academic schools and majors may have other requirements that augment or supersede this list.
The Help Desk strives to respond to each inquiry and each in-person visit in a timely manner. We may ask for additional information about each caller and each problem so that calls can be logged and problems tracked to resolution. It is our goal to resolve the issue during the initial call. If this is not feasible, we strive to resolve the issue within a reasonable timeframe. Since the Help Desk strives to respond to all its customers, the time spent on each individual contact is necessarily limited. Certain problems may need to be researched or escalated to the next level of support in order to be resolved. The Help Desk will assign such problems to the appropriate group or individual. All calls are put into a service queue based on the priority determined. Emergency after hour calls (System Down) will be escalated to our staff so that we can address the emergency as quickly as possible. The Help Desk issues computers with a standard set of university approved software applications. Any software/hardware/technology not installed or configured by IS may be outside of this scope and of the Help Desk support parameters. Please note that this does not necessarily mean other software, hardware, and technology is “banned” or “not recommended”. This simply signifies that the Help Desk cannot provide assistance with every technology.
Information Technology (IT), encompasses a vast and growing array of computing and electronic communications, facilities, and services. These facilities and services provide the means for Tusculum University students, faculty, and staff to meet their daily requirements in meeting the overall mission of the university.
Users of these IT resources have a responsibility not to abuse those resources and to respect the rights of the members of the community as well as the university itself.
This IT Appropriate Use Policy (AUP) provides guidelines for the appropriate use of Tusculum University IT resources as well as for the university’s access to information about and oversight of these resources.
Most information technology usage parallels familiar activity in other media and formats, making existing university policies important in determining what use is appropriate.
Using email instead of standard written correspondence, for example, does not fundamentally alter the nature of the communication, nor does it alter the guiding policies.
University policies that already govern freedom of expression and related matters in the context of standard written expression govern electronic expression as well. The AUP addresses circumstances that are particular to the IT arena and is intended to augment but not to supersede other relevant university policies.
The following definitions apply to the Tusculum University AUP:
The purpose of this policy is to ensure an IT infrastructure that promotes the basic mission of the university in teaching, learning, research, and administration. In particular, this policy aims to promote the following goals:
The AUP applies to all users of IT systems, including but not limited to university students, faculty, and staff. It applies to the use of all IT systems. These include systems, networks, computers and facilities administered by the Tusculum University Department of Information Systems (TUDIS), as well as those administered by individual schools, departments, university laboratories, and other university-based entities. Use of IT systems, even when carried out on a privately owned computer that is not managed or maintained by Tusculum University, is governed by this policy.
Although this policy sets forth the general parameters of appropriate use of IT Systems, faculty, students, and staff should consult their respective governing policy manuals for more detailed statements on permitted use and the extent of use that the university considers appropriate in light of their varying roles within the community. In the event of conflict between IT policies, this AUP will prevail.
IT Systems may be used only for their authorized purposes — that is, to support the research, education, clinical, administrative, and other functions of Tusculum University. The particular purposes of any IT system as well as the nature and scope of authorized, incidental personal use may vary according to the duties and responsibilities of the User.
Users are entitled to access only those elements of IT Systems that are consistent with their authorization.
The following categories of use are inappropriate and prohibited:
Users of IT systems may exercise rights of free inquiry and expression consistent with the limits of the law.
Users are responsible for maintaining the security of their own IT Systems accounts and passwords. Any User changes of password must follow published guidelines for passwords. Accounts and passwords are normally assigned to single Users and are not to be shared with any other person without authorization by the applicable Systems Administrator. Users are presumed to be responsible for any activity carried out under their IT Systems accounts or posted on their personal web pages.
Official university information may be published in a variety of electronic forms. The Certifying Authority under whose auspices the information is published is responsible for the content of the published document. Users also are able to publish information on IT Systems or over Tusculum University’s networks. Neither the university nor individual Systems Administrators can screen such privately published material nor can they ensure its accuracy or assume any responsibility for its content. The university will treat any electronic publication provided on or over IT Systems that lacks a Certifying Authority as the private speech of an individual user.
Upon request by a Systems Administrator or other university authority, Users must produce valid university identification.
All Users of any institutionally maintained electronic data, data files, software, and networks are expected to handle the resource in a responsible and ethical manner. A User’s access to IT resources ceases when it invades the right of personal and/or institutional privacy; results in the destruction of personal and/or institutional property; demonstrates a potential for loss, embarrassment, litigation to the individual and/or institution; or causes a limited resource to be used in a wasteful or careless manner.
All information processed through Computer Systems is considered sensitive and/or confidential. The responsibility for the release or discussion of data is assigned to the official custodian of the data file(s). Access to information is based on a legitimate “need to know” and directly related to assigned duties.
The following examples attempt to convey the intent of irresponsible and/or unethical use: violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974; use of the resource for obscene material; deliberate wasteful use of the resource; unauthorized altering of hardware, software, or data; piracy of data or software belonging to another person; or careless use of the resource which may result in the release of restricted information.
Computer resources at Tusculum University are available to authorized students, faculty, staff and off-campus constituents. Access to these resources is obtained from the Systems Administrator and is granted with the understanding that they will be used as stated in the request and in keeping with the idea that one’s interest ceases when it invades the right of personal and/or institutional privacy, results in the destruction of personal and/or institutional property, demonstrates a potential for loss, embarrassment, litigation to the individual and/or institution, or because of an otherwise irresponsible use of a limited resource. It is the policy of the office of information systems to avail these resources to as many users as possible and, to the extent possible, keep the number of restraints and restrictions on the individuals to a minimum with the ability to provide service to all who request use.
For such a policy to work, it is essential that users observe responsible and ethical behavior in the use of the resources. In an effort to assist the user community in effective use of the limited computer resources, it seems reasonable to highlight some specific responsibilities and type of behavior that represent abuse of a User’s privileges. The examples do not constitute a complete list but are intended to convey the intent of the code.
The university places a high value on privacy and recognizes its critical importance in an academic setting. There are nonetheless circumstances in which, following carefully prescribed processes, the university may determine that certain broad concerns outweigh the value of a User’s expectation of privacy and warrant university access to relevant IT Systems without the consent of the User. Those circumstances are discussed below, together with the procedural safeguards established to ensure access is gained only when appropriate.
In accordance with state and federal law, the university may access all aspects of IT Systems, without the consent of the User, in the following circumstances:
Consistent with the privacy interests of Users, university access without the consent of the User will occur only with the approval of the VPAA (for faculty users), the Provost/Vice Presidents (for staff users), the Dean of Students (for student users), except when an emergency entry is necessary to preserve the integrity of facilities or to preserve public health and safety. The university, through the Systems Administrators, will log all instances of access without consent. Systems Administrators will also log any emergency entry within their control for subsequent review by appropriate University authority. A User will be notified of University access to relevant IT Systems without consent, pursuant to Section V. A. (1-5); depending on the circumstances, such notification will occur before, during, or after the access, at the university’s discretion.1.0 NOTICE TO USERS: It is the policy of Tusculum University to protect all institutional computing resources including, but not limited to, hardware and software, consisting of the actual equipment being supplied by the university as well as the programs and related materials used in conjunction therewith. In accordance with local, state, and federal law, indiscriminate examination of individual’s files is not permitted, nonetheless as a means of maintaining the integrity and security of those aforementioned resources.
Tusculum University retains the right to inspect accounts and files stored on any system owned, maintained and/or leased by said university. While no prior authorization by individual users is required to inspect those files and accounts, you are, by virtue of accepting the account offered by Tusculum University and “logging” on to its computing equipment, granting to the university prior unrestricted permission, subject to university policy, to review, examine and/or otherwise view, by any method at the sole discretion of the university and without any additional advance notice to said user, any account and/or file stored on university computer resources.
Should such a review take place, you will be given notice, as a courtesy only, of the results of said review within a reasonable time after the review is completed. While use of university computing resources for personal use is strictly forbidden, should you have materials for which you have reasonable expectation of privacy or which you consider to be confidential for any reason, you should retain those materials on a disk which can be secured as you would any other personal items or materials which you consider private in nature.
In addition to accessing the IT Systems, the University, through the appropriate Systems Administrator, may deactivate a User’s IT privileges, whether or not the User is suspected of any violation of this policy, when necessary to preserve the integrity of facilities, user services, or data. The Systems Administrator will attempt to notify the User of any such action.
By attaching privately owned personal computers or other IT resources to the University’s network, Users consent to University use of scanning programs for security purposes on those resources while attached to the network.
Most IT systems routinely log user actions in order to facilitate recovery from system malfunctions and for other management purposes. All Systems Administrators are required to establish and post policies and procedures concerning logging of User actions, including the extent of individually-identifiable data collection, data security, and data retention.
Encrypted files, documents, and messages may be accessed by the university under the above guidelines.
An individual who believes that he or she has been harmed by an alleged violation of this AUP may file a complaint in accordance with established University Grievance Procedures (including, where relevant, those procedures for filing complaints of sexual harassment or of racial or ethnic harassment) for students, faculty, and staff. The individual is also encouraged to report the alleged violation to the Systems Authority overseeing the facility most directly involved, or to the TUDIS, which must investigate the allegation and (if appropriate) refer the matter to university disciplinary and/or law enforcement authorities.
If an individual has observed or otherwise is aware of a violation of this AUP, but has not been harmed by the alleged violation, he or she may report any evidence to the Systems Authority overseeing the facility most directly involved, or to the TUDIS, which must investigate the allegation and (if appropriate) refer the matter to university disciplinary and/or law enforcement authorities.
Alleged violations of this policy will be pursued in accordance with the appropriate disciplinary procedures for faculty, staff, and students, as outlined in the Faculty Handbook, Staff Personnel Policies, various student regulations, and other applicable materials. Staff members who are members of university-recognized bargaining units will be disciplined for violations of this policy in accordance with the relevant disciplinary provisions set forth in the agreements covering their bargaining units.
Individuals found to have violated this policy may be subject to penalties provided for in other university’s policies dealing with the underlying conduct. Violators may also face IT-specific penalties, including temporary or permanent reduction or elimination of some or all IT privileges. The appropriate penalties shall be determined by the applicable disciplinary authority in consultation with the Systems Administrator.
In addition to university discipline, Users may be subject to criminal prosecution, civil liability, or both for unlawful use of any IT System.
Users found in violation of this policy may appeal or request reconsideration of any imposed disciplinary action in accordance with the appeals provisions of the relevant disciplinary procedures.
This AUP may be periodically reviewed and modified by the TUDIS and IT staffs, who may consult with relevant university committees, faculty, students, and staff.