POLICIES AND GUIDELINES Hartnell Community College owns and operates a variety of computing systems which are provided for the use of Hartnell College students, faculty and staff in support of the programs of the college and are to be used for education, research, academic development, and public service only. All students, faculty, and staff are responsible for seeing that these computing facilities are used in an effective, efficient, ethical and lawful manner. Violators may be subject to disciplinary actions, which are specified at the end of this section. CONDITIONS AND RULES FOR USE OF HARTNELL COLLEGE COMPUTER SYSTEMS: I. Acceptable Use Policies a) The purpose of Internet is to facilitate communications in support of research and education, by providing access to unique resources and an opportunity for collaborative work. To remain eligible as a user, the use of your account must be in support of and consistent with the education objectives of the College. Access to Internet is made possible through an appropriate provider to be designated by the College at its sole discretion. b) Transmission of any material in violation of any United States or state regulation is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to, copyrighting material, threatening or obscene material, or material protected by trade secrets. Downloading, viewing, storing or printing files or messages that are profane, obscene, or that use language that is offensive or degrading to others is not allowed. c) Use for commercial activities is not acceptable. Use for product advertisement or political lobbying is also prohibited. d) Security on any computer system is a high priority, especially when the system involves many users. Sharing of individual accounts and passwords is not allowed. e) Vandalism within the Computer Center is not allowed. Vandalism is defined as any malicious attempt to harm, modify, and destroy data of another user. This includes, but is not limited to, the uploading or creating of computer viruses. In addition, theft of, or damage to, the property and equipment of the Computer Center will not be tolerated. f) Harassment of other students, faculty and/or Computer Center staff is not permitted. Harassment is defined as the persistent annoyance of another user, or the interference of another user's work. Harassment includes, but is not limited to, the sending of unwanted mail. g) Note that electronic mail (e-mail) is not private. People who operate our system do have access to all mail. Messages relating to or in support of illegal activities will be reported to the authorities and may result in the loss of user privileges. In addition, for your own safety you should always be discreet about personal information given when using e-mail. (eg. addresses, phone numbers, etc.) h) Note that the sites which you visit on the World Wide Web are not confidential. People who operate our system do have the ability to track various sites which have been visited. i) PRINTING POLICY . . . PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!! While there currently is no charge for printing, a limit of 150 pages will be set for each user account. When a document is printed the user's print balance will be decreased by the number of pages printed. It will be the user's responsibility to keep track of their print balance. He/she may do so by following these steps: 1. Log onto a PC (not a Macintosh) 2. Select option 5 from the Main Menu. 3. Select option 2 from the subsequent menu. This will display the student's print balance. If the print balance reaches zero, the user will no longer be able to print. If this happens, the user may petition to have their account history reviewed by the Computer Center's Network Administrator. In order to petition for an account history review, a petition form must be obtained in the C211 office. As a user, it is important for you to realize that there is the possibility that you may not be granted additional pages for print. To help you avoid excessive or wasteful printing, we offer the following suggestions: -- Use the Print Preview feature, if available, to review your document before you print it. -- Do not make multiple copies of a document. If multiple copies are needed, there are copy machines located in the library. -- When printing from Netscape, highlight the text you wish to print and copy it to the clipboard. Then open another application such as Microsoft Word or Write and paste the selected text into a new document. You may then print the document. This will help eliminate the printing of extra blank pages which occurs frequently when printing from Netscape. II. Computer Center Rules a). Students must comply with lawful directions of Computer Center staff, faculty, or campus safety officers who are acting within their scope of duties. b). Use of IRC or Web chat, MUDD, games and/or other non-academic software is not allowed. If you are found to be using any of the above you will be asked to stop. c). Anyone who is not a Hartnell College Student, is not allowed in the Computer Center. d). Food, beverages or possession of open food containers in the lab is not permitted. PENALTIES FOR IMPROPER USE: 1. Any user violating these rules, applicable state and federal laws or posted classroom and district rules are subject to loss of network privileges and any other District Disciplinary options. 2. In addition, pursuant to State of California law, any unauthorized access, attempted access, or use of any state computing and/or network system is a violation of section 502 of the California Penal code and/or other applicable federal laws, and is subject to criminal prosecution. Violation of the above polices and rules may be considered to be a computer crime, resulting in possible dismissal from the college. The above policies and rules are referenced in several documents including the California Department of Education District Guidelines and Hartnell College's Policies and Procedures Relating to Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Griev ance Process Handbook, which is available through the Student Services Office.