Student Computer Security

POLICY OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF PEARL RIVER COMMUNITY COLLEGE 

Adopted: Tuesday, July 8, 1997 
Revision Number: 2
Revision Date: Tuesday, June 13, 2023
Reference: Student Affairs

Policy:

Pearl River Community College will provide students with access to computers, computer systems, and computer networks. Each user must agree to the guidelines and rules prior to receiving this access.

Procedure:

1. Students will be required to acknowledge adherence to the Computer Security Policy upon login, recognizing that they have read, understood, and agreed to abide by the procedures that have been established by Pearl River Community College.
2. Students utilizing the computer system and network must accept the responsibilities and obligations for ethical use that are mandated by Pearl River Community College, state government policies, laws, and other applicable governing policies.
3. Use of Pearl River Community College’s computer system and network will be subject to monitoring for security and management purposes. Users must be aware of this monitoring and management and agree to this practice.
4. Users must accept responsibility for logins, passwords, and user IDs—these must be kept confidential. Each user is responsible for all transactions occurring during the use of his or her login and password.
5. If any user suspects that his or her login and password have been used by another person, immediately notify the Pearl River Community College Department of Information Technology. Information Technology employees will investigate the problem and decide what course to follow.
6. The computer network system can be used for official college business only, not for personal gain, commercial purposes, or illegal activity.
7. Use of College-issued two factor authentication is required by employees to maintain optimum security for College computer system and network.
8. Copying of copyrighted software or other materials may be a violation of the copyright laws and is not permitted. Users who violate copyright laws are acting outside the scope of Pearl River Community College and will be held personally responsible and liable for these violations. Pearl River Community College accepts no responsibility for such activities.
9. Files that are owned by someone else should not be accessed without the owner’s permission; viewing or using files belonging to someone else is an invasion of the owner’s privacy. Breaking into accounts or bypassing security is not permitted.
10. If it is determined that a user is in violation of the guidelines, they may be subject to restrictions, banned from use of the network, and/or disciplinary action.
11. If it is determined that a user is in violation of the guidelines, they may be subject to restrictions, banned from use of the network, and/or disciplinary action.
12. Information describing the use of e-mail and internet software will be provided by Pearl River Community College.
13. Security infractions with an e-mail account should be reported to the Division of Information Technology immediately.
14. Student e-mail accounts will be removed when enrollment status is terminated with the College.
15. It is the responsibility of all e-mail account holders to abide by the Pearl River Community College Computer Security Policy.
16. E-mail is public domain. Student e-mail should not be used for private conversations.
17. Adherence to these rules and regulations is critical for computer utilization services and information security.