|
Introduction
Buffalo State electronic resources (including such services as
e-mail, Internet access, and file and print services) are made
available to employees to facilitate the official work of the
college. These electronic resources are provided for employees and
persons legitimately affiliated with the college for the efficient
exchange of information and the completion of assigned
responsibilities consistent with the mission of the college.
The use of campus electronic resources by any employee or other
person authorized by the college must be consistent with this
electronic resources policy and other applicable policies.
Principles of Acceptable Use
Buffalo State users of campus electronic resources are required:
- To respect the privacy of other users: for example, users
shall not intentionally seek information on, obtain copies of,
or modify files or data belonging to other users unless explicit
permission to do so has been obtained.
- To respect the legal protection provided to programs and
data by copyright and license.
- To protect data from unauthorized use or disclosure as
required by state and federal laws, and SUNY and college
regulations.
- To respect the integrity of computing systems: for example,
users shall not use or develop programs that harass other users
or infiltrate a computer or computing system or damage or alter
the software components of a computer or computing system.
- To safeguard their accounts and passwords. Accounts and
passwords are normally assigned to single users and are not to
be shared with any other person without authorization. Users are
expected to report any observations of attempted security
violations.
 Back
to top
Unacceptable Use
It is not acceptable to use Buffalo State electronic resources:
- For activities unrelated to the college mission.
- For activities unrelated to official assignments or job
responsibilities.
- For any illegal purpose.
- To transmit threatening, obscene, or harassing materials or
correspondence.
- For unauthorized distribution of NYS data and information.
- To interfere with or disrupt network users, services, or
equipment.
- For private purposes such as marketing or business
transactions.
- For solicitation for religious or political causes.
- For unauthorized not-for-profit business activities.
- For private advertising of products or services.
- For any activity meant to foster personal gain.
E-mail Privacy and Access
E-mail messages are not
personal or private. E-mail system administrators will not
routinely monitor individual staff members' e-mail and will take
reasonable precautions to protect the privacy of e-mail; however,
program managers and technical staff may access an employee's
e-mail:
- For a legitimate business purpose (e.g., the need to access
information when an employee is absent for an extended period of
time).
- To diagnose and resolve technical problems involving system
hardware, software, or communications.
- To investigate possible misuse of e-mail when a reasonable
suspicion of abuse exists, or in conjunction with an approved
investigation.
Staff members are prohibited from accessing another user's
e-mail without his or her permission.
E-mail messages sent or received in conjunction with college
business may:
- Be releasable to the public under the Freedom of Information
Law.
- Require special measures to comply with the Personal Privacy
Protection Law.
All e-mail messages including personal communications may be
subject to discovery proceedings in legal actions.
Back
to top
Management and Retention of
E-mail Communications
Applicable to all e-mail messages and attachments:
Since e-mail is a communication system, messages should not be
retained for extended periods of time. If a user needs to retain
information in an e-mail message for an extended period, the
message should be transferred from the e-mail system to an
appropriate electronic or other filing system.
Applicable to records communicated via e-mail:
E-mail created in the normal course of official business and
retained as evidence of official policies, actions, decisions, or
transactions are records subject to records management
requirements under the New York State Arts and Cultural Affairs
Law (Article 57-A) and specific program requirements.
The college has developed electronic letterhead to be used for
the electronic distribution of official college documents
(records). The letterhead is available at
http://www.buffalostate.edu/collegerelations/x550.xml and
should be used in Word or e-mail documents that are to be
distributed in electronic format only. Questions regarding
electronic letterhead usage should be directed to the College
Relations Office: Cleveland Hall 307, ext. 4201, or
collrel@buffalostate.edu.
Examples of messages sent by e-mail that typically are records
include:
- Policies and directives.
- Correspondence or memoranda related to official business.
- Work schedules and assignments.
- Agendas and minutes of meetings.
- Drafts of documents that are circulated for comment or
approval.
- Any document that initiates, authorizes, or completes a
business transaction.
- Final reports or recommendations.
Some examples of messages that typically do not constitute
records are:
- Personal messages and announcements.
- Copies or extracts of documents distributed for convenience
or reference.
- Phone message slips.
- Announcements of social events.
Back
to top
Record Retention
Records communicated using
e-mail need to be identified, managed, protected, and retained as
long as they are needed to meet operational, legal, audit,
research, or other requirements. Records needed to support program
functions should be retained, managed, and accessible in existing
filing system outside the e-mail system in accordance with the
appropriate program unit's standard practices.
Users should:
- Dispose of copies of records in e-mail after they have been
filed in a record-keeping system.
- Delete records of transitory or little value that are not
normally retained in record-keeping systems as evidence of
college activity.
Agency Rights
Pursuant to the Electronic
Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (18 USC 2510 et seq.), notice
is hereby given that there are NO facilities provided by this
system for sending or receiving private or confidential electronic
communications.
The college reserves the right to log network use and monitor file
server space utilization by users and assumes no responsibility or
liability for files lost due to violation of file server space
allotments.
The college reserves the right to remove a user account or device
from the network.
The college will not be responsible for any damages that result
from the use of campus electronic resources. This includes the
loss of data resulting from delays, non-deliveries, or service
interruptions caused by negligence, errors, or omissions. Use of
any information obtained is at the user's risk.
Enforcement and Violations
This policy is intended to be illustrative of the range of
acceptable and unacceptable uses of the electronic facilities and
is not necessarily exhaustive. Questions about specific uses
related to security issues not enumerated in this policy statement
and reports of specific unacceptable uses should be directed to
the associate vice president for computing and technology
services. Other questions about appropriate use should be directed
to your supervisor.
The college will review alleged violations of the Policy on the
Use of Electronic Resources on a case-by-case basis. Clear
violations of the policy that are not promptly remedied may result
in termination of network access for the person(s) at fault and
referral for disciplinary actions as appropriate.
Policy Date: September 2002
Source: College Bulletin, Vol. LII, No. 9, October 12, 2006
|
