This Policy
clarifies the issues relating to electronic mail, Internet access and computer
use. It also defines new policy and procedures where existing policies do not
specifically address issues particular to the use of electronic mail.
Moyle
Park College encourages the use of computers and electronic mail and respects
the privacy of users. It does routinely inspect, monitor, or disclose
electronic mail without the holder’s consent. Nonetheless, subject to the
requirements for authorisation, notification, and other conditions specified in
this Policy, the School may deny access to its computer system or electronic
mail services and may inspect, monitor, or disclose computer files or
electronic mail
·
when required by and
consistent with law;
·
when there is substantiated
reason to believe that violations of this office policy has taken place;
·
when there are
compelling circumstances;
·
Under time-dependent,
critical operational circumstances.
The purpose of this Policy
is to ensure that:
·
Everyone is informed
about the policies relating to computer use, electronic mail and Internet
access;
·
Computers, Electronic
mail and Internet services are used in compliance with this policy;
·
Users of electronic
mail services are informed about how concepts of privacy and security apply to
electronic mail; and
·
Disruptions to School
computer facilities and other services and activities are minimised.
·
Users log on and use
their own passwords which they do not disclose to any other person, be they be
a member of staff or otherwise.
·
No employee should have
any expectation of privacy as to his or her Internet usage. School Authorities
can review Internet activity and analyze usage patterns to ensure Internet
resources are devoted to maintaining the highest levels of productivity.
·
School Authorities
reserve the right to inspect any and all files stored in private areas of our
network in order to assure compliance with policy.
·
The display of any kind
of sexually explicit image or document on any school system is a violation of
our policy on sexual harassment. In addition, sexually explicit material may
not be archived, stored, distributed, edited or recorded using our network or
computing resources.
·
School Authorities may
block access from within our networks to all such sites that we know of. If you find yourself connected accidently to
a site that contains sexually explicit or offensive material, you must
disconnect from that site immediately, regardless of whether that site had been
previously deemed acceptable by any screening or rating program.
·
No employee may use
school facilities knowingly to download or distribute pirated software or data.
·
No employee may use the
school’s Internet facilities to deliberately propagate any virus, worm, Trojan
horse, or trap-door program code.
·
No employee may use the
school’s Internet facilities knowingly to disable or overload any computer
system or network, or to circumvent any system intended to protect the privacy
or security of another user.
Those
who use School’s electronic mail services are expected to do so responsibly,
that is, to comply with this and other policies and procedures of the School,
and with normal standards of professional and personal courtesy and conduct.
Access to School electronic mail services, when provided, is a privilege that
may be wholly or partially restricted by the School without prior notice and
without the consent of the email user when required by and consistent with this
policy.
An
email holder’s consent shall be sought by the School prior to any inspection,
or disclosure of School email records in the holder’s possession, except as
provided for herein.
The
School shall only permit the inspection, monitoring, or disclosure of
electronic mail without the consent of the holder of such email
·
when there is
substantiated reason to believe that violations of School policies have taken
place;
·
when there are
compelling circumstances; or
·
Under time-dependent,
critical operational circumstances.
When
the contents of email must be inspected, monitored, or disclosed without the holder’s
consent, the following shall apply:
Except
in emergency circumstances, such actions must be authorised in advance and in
writing by School Authorities responsible for Information Technology.
Authorisation shall be limited to the least perusal of contents and the least
action necessary to resolve the situation.
In
emergency circumstances as defined the least perusal of contents and the least
action necessary to resolve the emergency may be taken immediately without
authorisation.
In
either case, School Authorities or designee shall, at the earliest possible
opportunity, notify the affected individual of the action(s) taken and the
reasons for the action(s) taken.
In general, both law and School policy prohibit the
theft or other abuse of computing resources. Such prohibitions apply to
electronic mail services and include (but are not limited to) unauthorised
entry, use, transfer, and tampering with the accounts and files of others, and
interference with the work of others and with other computing facilities.
Users should not use floppy discs at all unless they
are certain that they have not been used previously outside of the School. If a
floppy disc is being used, that has been used on any computer outside of the
School, then it must first be scanned for viruses. Such discs can be for school
use only.
Cautions:
Users should be aware of the
following:
·
Both the nature of
electronic mail and the sharing of information and files make electronic mail
less private than users may anticipate. For example, electronic mail intended
for one person sometimes might be widely distributed because of the ease with
which recipients can forward it to others, and e-mail may unintentionally be sent
to a wrong recipient, who may in turn forward it to others.
·
The School cannot
routinely protect users against such eventualities, but care should be taken to
make sure that e-mails are sent only to intended recipients.
·
The School, in general,
cannot and does not wish to be the arbiter of the contents of electronic mail
or web access. Neither can the School, in general, protect users from receiving
electronic mail they may find offensive. Members of the Staff, however, are
strongly encouraged to use the same personal and professional courtesies and
considerations in electronic mail as they would in other forms of
communication, If a member of staff is receiving offensive e-mails assistance
should be sought to block the receipt of such e-mails.
·
There is no guarantee,
unless "authenticated" mail systems are in use, that electronic mail
received was in fact sent by the purported sender, since it is relatively
straightforward, although a violation of this Policy, for senders to disguise
their identity. Furthermore, electronic mail that is forwarded may also be
modified. As with print documents, in case of doubt receivers of electronic
mail messages should check with the purported sender to validate authorship or
authenticity.
·
Users should not accept open attachments that are not
necessary for school or other services provided by the school.
·
Attachments should only
be opened when they are from known reliable sources where it appears that the
sender created such attachments. If
any user is in doubt then advice should be sought from School Authorities or
the Schools ICT Co-ordinator.
·
In the event of users
receiving e-mails with attachments from a source, which is not necessary for
the School or other services, provided to or by the School, such e-mails should
be entirely deleted from the system without opening the attachment.
In
general, use of School computing facilities and electronic mail services is
governed by policies that apply to the use of all School facilities. In
particular, use of School electronic mail services is encouraged and is
allowable subject to the following conditions:
Electronic mail services are
to be provided by the School in support of work undertaken by the School, and
the administrative functions that support this work.
Users of School electronic
mail services should log on using their own password and respect of the privacy
of all e-mails of other staff members.
It is prohibited to create,
send, forward or in any manner use e-mails that can be offensive to any person.
School electronic mail
services may not be used for unlawful activities; commercial purposes not under
the auspices of the School; personal financial gain; personal use inconsistent
with School policies or guidelines.
Electronic mail users shall
not give the impression that they are representing, giving opinions, or
otherwise making statements on behalf of the School or any unit of the School
unless appropriately authorised (explicitly or implicitly) to do so. Where
appropriate, an explicit disclaimer shall be included unless it is clear from
the context that the author is not representing the School. An appropriate disclaimer
is: "These statements are my own, not those of Moyle Park College.”
School email users shall not
employ a false identity, and shall log on and create e-mails in their own name
only.
School computer facilities
email services shall not be used for purposes that could reasonably be expected
to cause, directly or indirectly, excessive strain on any computing facilities,
or unwarranted or unsolicited interference with others’ use of email or email
systems.
School electronic mail
services may be used for incidental personal purposes provided that, in
addition to the foregoing constraints and conditions, such use does not:
· directly or
indirectly interfere with the School operation of computing facilities or
electronic mail services;
· Spend more then 20
minutes a day writing or sending e- mails.
· Users will not
make deliberate attempts to disrupt the computer system performance or destroy
data by spreading computer viruses or by any other means. These actions are
illegal.
· Security problem
users will immediately notify the system administrator if they have identified
a possible security problem. Users will not go looking for security problems,
because this may be construed as an illegal attempt to gain access.
·
Restrictions against
Inappropriate Language apply to public messages, private messages, and material
posted using school e-mail addresses.
·
Users will not use
obscene, profane, lewd, vulgar, rude, inflammatory, threatening, or disrespectful
language.
·
Users will not post
information that, if acted upon, could cause damage or a danger of disruption.
·
Users will not harass
another person. Harassment is persistently acting in a manner that distresses
or annoys another person. If a user is told by a person to stop sending them
messages, they must stop.
·
Users will not
knowingly or recklessly post false or defamatory information about a person or
organization.
Users will not re-post a
message that was sent to them privately without permission of the person who
sent them the message.
Users will not post private
information about another person.
·
Users will use the
system only for educational and professional uses.
·
Users will not download
files unless absolutely necessary, and with the permission of School
Authorities or the ICT coordinator.
·
Users will check their
e-mail frequently, delete unwanted messages promptly.
·
The School is providing
employees with access to the School’s electronic communication system, which
includes Internet access.
·
Users may not use the
system for commercial purposes, defined as offering or providing goods or
services or purchasing goods or services for personal use.
·
School Authorities will
establish a system to ensure adequate supervision of users using the system,
and be responsible for interpreting the School’s Acceptable Use Policy.
·
World Wide Web. All
staff will have access to the Web through the School’s networked computers.
The School Acceptable Use
Policy contains restrictions on accessing inappropriate material. There is a
wide range of material available on the Internet, some of which may not be
fitting with the particular values of the School. It is not practically
possible for the School to monitor and enforce a wide range of use of the
Internet. Further, the School recognizes that users bear primary responsibility
for what is and is not acceptable to access through the School system.
·
Users will not use the
School system to access or e-mail material that is profane or obscene
(pornography), that advocates illegal acts, or that advocates violence or
discrimination towards other people.
·
If a user inadvertently
accesses such information, they should immediately disclose the inadvertent
access to the administrator. This will protect users against an allegation that
they have intentionally violated the Acceptable Use Policy.
· Internet access may not be used for transmitting,
retrieving or storage of any communications of a discriminatory or harassing
nature or materials that are obscene or X-rated.
· Harassment of any kind is prohibited. No messages with derogatory or inflammatory
remarks about an individual's race, age, disability, religion, national origin,
physical attributes or sexual preference shall be transmitted.
· No abusive, profane or offensive language is to be
transmitted through the school's e-mail or Internet system.
·
The confidentiality of
web access and electronic mail cannot be assured. Users, therefore, should exercise extreme caution in using email
to communicate confidential or sensitive matters.
·
Notwithstanding the
previous paragraph, users should be aware that, during the performance of their
duties, network and computer operations personnel and system administrators
need from time to time to observe certain transactional addressing information
to ensure proper functioning of School email services, and on these and other
occasions may inadvertently see the contents of email messages.
Except
as provided elsewhere in this Policy, they are not permitted to see or read the
contents intentionally; to read transactional information where not germane to
the foregoing purpose; or disclose or otherwise use what they have seen.
One
exception, however, is that of systems personnel (such as
"administrators") who may need to inspect email when re-routing or
disposing of otherwise undeliverable email. This exception is limited to the
least invasive level of inspection required to perform such duties.
Furthermore, this exception does not exempt the Administrator from the
prohibition against disclosure of personal and confidential information of the
previous paragraph, except insofar as such disclosure equates with good faith
attempts to route the otherwise undeliverable email to the intended recipient.
Re-routed mail normally should be accompanied by notification to the recipient
that the email has been inspected for such purposes.
·
The School attempts to
provide secure and reliable email services, but users of School electronic mail
services are expected to follow sound professional practices in providing for
the security of electronic mail records, data, application programs, and system
programs under their jurisdiction.
·
Since such professional
practices and protections are not foolproof, however, the security and
confidentiality of electronic mail cannot be guaranteed. Furthermore, operators
of email services have no control over the security of email that has been
downloaded to a user’s computer. As a deterrent to potential intruders and to
misuse of email, email users should employ whatever protections (such as
passwords) are available to them.
Password shall be provided
to each user, which passwords are changed from time to time at the discretion
of the ICT Coordinator. Users password
should not be disclosed to any other person save in exceptional circumstances
and with the permission of the Administrator or School Authorities. If any user believes another person is
using their password they should inform the administrator without delay. The disclosure of a users password to any
person who is not an employee of Moyle Park College is strictly forbidden.
·
Violations of School
policies governing the use of School electronic mail services may result in
restriction of access to School information technology resources.
·
In the event there is
an allegation that a user has violated the School Acceptable Use Policy, the
employee will be provided with a written notice of the alleged violation and an
opportunity to present an explanation before School Authorities.
·
Disciplinary actions
will be tailored to meet specific concerns related to the violation and to
assist the users in gaining the self-discipline necessary to behave
appropriately on an electronic network.
School
Authorities are responsible for development and maintenance of this Policy.
___________________________________
Board
Of Management
Moyle
Park College