Policies

In support of the College mission, Washington College provides access to information technology resources (including computer networks and computer equipment) to its faculty, students, staff and other members of the College community. The computer and network use policy contains the College's philosophy and requirements governing members of the Washington College community in their use of the College's information technology resources.

General Principles

The information technology resources are to be used exclusively to further the mission of the College. All members of the Washington College community have the obligation to use these resources in a manner consistent with this goal.

The College's information technology resource is a finite, shared resource of its community worthy of respect. As such, Washington College expects each member of the community to use these resources responsibly, ethically and to comply with the policy, relevant laws and contractual obligations to other parties.

The use of these resources is a privilege. If a member of the community fails to comply with the policy or relevant laws or contractual obligations, that member's privilege may be revoked.

Members of the Washington College community should seriously bear in mind that their use of the College's resources contributes to the perception that the public at large has of the College. In addition, each time a member of the Washington College community uses these resources (such as sending email) in relation to non-College persons or entities, that member is identified as belonging to the College community. As such, everyone should use these resources consistent with the freedom of expression but without compromising the integrity and well being of the College.

Computer Account and Revocation Procedures

All members of the College community are provided with a network username and password upon their enrollment in a course or the start of their employment. Access to the College's network may be revoked temporarily or permanently if one's information technology related behavior or use of one's network account falls within one or more of the following circumstances:

• Behavior that constitutes a violation of a College policy or code, including this policy.

• Use of the internet or the College's computer network and associated resources for one's own commercial gain, or for commercial purposes not officially sanctioned by the College. Your use of your account constitutes acknowledgement and acceptance of all published rules and regulations regarding the network, including this policy.

• In relation to protecting students' financial information, it is unlawful to share your National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) user ID. Data maintained in NSLDS is confidential and protected by the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended. Sharing your NSLDS user ID is a serious security violation. The sharing of NSLDS user IDs and passwords is a violation of the rules of behavior and will result in the individual, and potentially the school and/or servicer, permanently losing access to NSLDS. Only the individual to whom the user ID and password are assigned can use the user ID to access NSLDS online. Each individual is responsible for protecting his or her access and the data in NSLDS. At no time should an individual be asked to provide his or her NSLDS user ID and/or password to anyone. This includes the employee's supervisor or management. Individuals who are asked to provide their NSLDS user ID and/or password to anyone should contact the NSLDS customer service center immediately. System security violations of this type can cause a permanent user revocation on the NSLDS system.

• Involvement in violation of federal or state law or criminal activity.

Your use of your account constitutes acknowledgement and acceptance of all published rules and regulations regarding the network, including this policy.

Freedom of expression and an open environment within which to pursue scholarly inquiry and to share information are encouraged and supported at the College. While Washington College rejects censorship, behavior that constitutes misconduct will not be protected. Such behavior includes, but is not limited to use of, the College's information technology resources in connection with child pornography, harassment of any kind, copyright infringement, theft, unauthorized access and other violations of the law.

Privacy

Members of the College community are entitled to privacy in their use of information resources. Each user number, login name, account name, or any other username and associated password belongs to an individual or a department. No one should use a user number, login name, any username or account name and password without explicit permission from the owner. No one should use aliases, nicknames, pointers or other electronic means to attempt to impersonate, redirect or confuse those who use the information resources. Each member of the College community shall accept the burden for the responsible use and dissemination of his or her user number, login name, username and account name and password and is further responsible for any authorized use of one's account.

The College, to fulfill its responsibility to the academic community, reserves the right to monitor periodically the activities on its network system. Further, Washington College may be subject to subpoena or other lawfully mandated legal process related to unlawful use or other violations which will subject the entire network or individual accounts to outside monitoring.

Intellectual Property

Washington College expects all members of its community to respect the property of others and to be aware of intellectual laws, regulations and policies that apply to the electronic environment. In this regard, all personnel should be familiar with the College's copyright policy, the faculty manual and the student handbook.

No member of the College community shall use another's material or property in a way that violates copyright law or infringes on the rights held by others. In particular, the unauthorized duplication or use of software that is licensed or protected by copyright is theft. Members of the College community should recognize that placing their work in the electronic public domain may result in widespread distribution of their work and could jeopardize their rights to that work. One should assume that works communicated through the network are subject to copyright unless there is a specific disclaimer to the contrary.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism occurs when a person uses someone else's creative work but fails to give that person credit. It also occurs when a person credits the author but uses his exact words without so indicating with quotation marks or block indentations. It even occurs when a person uses words so close to those in the source that if the person placed his/her work next to the source, you would see that it could not have been written without the source "at the elbow."

Given the increasingly widespread use in academia of computer technology and online sources of information, plagiarism and the web assumes a particularly important moment today. Where plagiarism and the web runs anywhere from unreferenced electronic sources through e-commerce companies that prepare student papers (even in their own style) to other companies which can scan papers for possible plagiarism, the task of cultivating ethical scholars faces serious challenges. In this respect, every person should consult those sources that devote particular attention to the method of properly referencing electronic sources. In this regard, two sources are currently in widespread use: Kate Turabian's "A Manual for Writers" and Joseph Gibaldi's "MLA Handbook."

By adopting this policy, Washington College recognizes that all its faculty, students, staff and other members of the College community are bound not only by the policy but also by local, state and federal laws related to electronic media, copyrights, privacy and security. Each member of the College community is expected to be familiar with the foregoing laws.