Baker College Policies
Students and the Internet: Baker College Policies That Affect You
Baker College assigns a user ID and various computer accounts for the use of registered students. Baker College assigned accounts may be removed by the College during periods of non-enrollment.
The Internet offers a rich and powerful resource to the educational community. Students have unprecedented access to a wealth of information from computers at Baker College and at home. However, a small portion of the Internet contains material that is not appropriate for any educational purpose. Students need to be aware of Baker College policies regarding this access and these materials.
Every user of these resources at Baker College must agree to certain conditions of use. Two documents outline these conditions. The first document, “Policy on the Proper Use of Information Resources, Information Technology, and Networks at Baker College,” describes very general policies that apply everywhere in the institution. The second document, “Information Systems Division: Conditions of Use Policy,” details acceptable and unacceptable uses of Baker College equipment and services. This document applies in all areas where departments have not adopted their own, more specific, policies. For example, additional documents provide guidelines for users of networks in the residence halls.The documents described above are typically distributed during training sessions, referred to on applications for accounts, and posted on the Baker College Web site, www.baker.edu. The documents provide much more detail, but, in short, restrict use of Baker College resources only for the purposes of, and in a manner consistent with, the instructional and administrative objectives of the college.
The following are examples of the kind of use that the college has defined as inappropriate:
- Any violation of copyright law or software license agreements.
- The installation of software without authorization.
- Seeking to gain or gaining unauthorized access to information resources.
- Any damage to software or hardware owned by the college.
- The distribution of “spam” e-mail, or other abuse of email accounts provided by the college.
- Any intentional disruption of network activity or attempt to hack into systems through the use of Baker College equipment or networks.
- Any violation of college policies regarding sexual or racial harassment.
The last example requires some additional detail. One situation that the College will not tolerate is the racial or sexual harassment of any of the members of the College community. Unfortunately, the Internet increases the opportunity for such harassment to occur. Users within Baker College have experienced harassing e-mail, and sexually explicit pictures, which have been downloaded from the Internet, have appeared on computers. Students have been disciplined, have had their accounts revoked, and have been expelled from the College for such activity.
Any activity that creates, downloads, or otherwise causes sexually explicit pictures to appear on computers under the control of an individual is taken by the College as an example of creating an intimidating, offensive, or hostile working/educational environment, and is certainly a misuse of the purposes for which such equipment was made available.
The health and well being of Baker College resources are the responsibility of everyone. Abuses which disrupt and/or threaten the viability of these resources must be guarded against. The College requires that members of its community act in accordance with these responsibilities, Baker College policies, relevant laws and contractual obligations, and the highest standards of ethics.