1. STATEMENT. The Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (MGCCC) Network and Internet Access provides students, faculty, staff, and administrators a wide variety of communication and informational resources. All users (employees and students) will abide by policies and procedures which require users to be identified and to follow a set of practical guidelines when utilizing the college’s information technology resources and telecommunications network to protect the integrity of its computing systems, workstations, and lab facilities. These policies and procedures define appropriate use of e-mail and other network services.
  2. PROCEDURES AND RESPONSIBILITIES. The following administrative guidelines govern the use of the College’s information technology resources. All users are expected to be familiar with, and to conform to, these guidelines. In deciding what is and is not an acceptable use, there are two overriding principles of MGCCC: (1) the College’s information technology and telecommunication resources exist to support the College’s mission, and (2) the College is committed to ensuring a positive learning environment for all members of its community. Since use of the Internet is provided as an educational resource, user participation is a privilege, not a right. In addition to the guidelines provided in this statement, users are expected to comply with additional college rules and regulations as published in the MGCCC Student Handbook and other college publications.
    1. The user is solely responsible for all actions taken while using his/her user-id. Therefore, the user should change his/her password if he/she believes his/her password is no longer secure.
    2. The user will not share his/her user-id and password with anyone else including his/her family and/or friends. No one but the user is given access to the MGCCC network. If the user gives this information to another person, the user is solely responsible for the actions of the other person.
    3. The user cannot delete, examine, copy, or modify files and/or data belonging to other students or faculty/staff/administration without prior consent. Unauthorized copying of copyrighted software through the MGCCC network is strictly prohibited.
    4. The user must immediately cease any network activity because of negative impact on the network or other users when requested by network administrative personnel, college lab personnel, or faculty. Failure to comply will result in loss of network privileges.
    5. Certain materials available on the Internet are inherently inappropriate for educational purposes. Examples include material that is of a sexually explicit nature or that advocates violence or discrimination; humor of an offensive or sexually explicit nature; and pirated commercial software. Technology personnel, instructors, library personnel, lab personnel, and public safety officers have the right to monitor user activity on the Internet and deny access to these materials or invoke other sanctions as appropriate.
    6. Since most of the Internet access for students will be in the computer labs, classrooms and libraries, each location may have guidelines that prioritize computer needs. In all cases, student class needs shall take priority over surfing the Internet.
    7. Unauthorized commercial use of the computer facilities and/or services provided by MGCCC is prohibited. Authorization for use of computer facilities and/or services is obtained through the normal facilities usage procedures
  3. Unauthorized home pages and ftp sites are prohibited. Users may not create or utilize any servers or server software on their office, departmental, lab, or personal computers utilizing the college’s network without authorization from the Director of Information Technology.
  4. Users should not expect confidentiality on the College network. Administrators have the legal right to read files and e-mail. Whenever electronic mail is sent, your name and user-id are included with the message. The user is responsible for all electronic mail originating from his/her user-id.
  5. The user will not attempt to access data being transferred through the network or files on any computer connected to the network without the owner’s permission. Employees are expected to attempt to access, through any system, only information that is needed in the context of the performance of their normal duties and to exercise good judgment in the use of such information.
  6. The user will not attempt to violate any connected computer system’s security.
  7. The user will not attempt to spread computer viruses, Trojan horses, worms, or any program designed to violate security, interfere with the proper operation of any computer system or destroy another person’s data.
  8. The user will not install any unauthorized software on any college-owned computer.
  9. The user will not use the network in any manner that violates institutional policies or procedures and any federal, state, or local law including the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act designed to protect the confidentiality of data and the privacy of individuals.
  10. Since the Internet links MGCCC to many other worldwide networks, users must observe the acceptable use policies of any remote network accessed through the MGCCC Internet connection.
  11. Violation of network policies and procedures may result in loss of network and/or Internet access, dismissal or other sanctions.
  12. This policy may also be accessed at the MGCCC web site.
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