ICT Research Laboratory

Acceptable Use Policies and Guidelines

Version 1.0, 04 June 2004

Section I. Introduction

The mission of the Information and Communications Technology Research (iCTR) Laboratory is to support and promote instructional and research activities in the University. It is composed of servers, workstations, personal computers, and various multimedia equipments. The computer systems are interconnected with other several local area networks supervised by the SLU Network Office (SLUNET).

The policies and guidelines presented here apply to all computer systems of iCTR Laboratory, regardless of their operating system or manufacturer. In this document, the term "user" refers to any person consuming resources on iCTR Laboratory facilities. All facilities require authority from iCTR Laboratory before they can be used. The term "authorized user" refers to any person who is authorized by iCTR Laboratory to use the facilities. The term "SLUNET" refers both to the hardware resources making up the network and to the group of staff members responsible for the operation of those resources. The term "SLUNET staff" includes a group of full-time professional staff who work in the areas of hardware maintenance and operations.

Access to computing resources of iCTR Laboratory is a privilege, not a right. It is a privilege that the University extends to its faculty, staff, and students who are trusted to make responsible use of computing resources in accordance to the purpose of the laboratory.

Most of the policies and guidelines presented in this document are expressed in general terms. They are applicable to all facilities and services that iCTR Laboratory are providing. Policies and guidelines that are more specific to the use of network resources including maintenance thereof must be referred to the SLUNET Office.

As a user of iCTR Laboratory you are automatically governed by the policies and guidelines in this document.

Section II. Disclaimers

The iCTR Laboratory makes available to faculty, staff, students and others, computing facilities consisting of hardware, software and documentation. The use and operation of these facilities is subject to the following disclaimers.

Every effort is made by the iCTR Laboratory staff to prevent loss of data stored on its servers in the event of hardware or software failure or through human error. This is done by making regular backup copies of data stored on the iCTR Laboratory servers to optical disks or other media. It must be recognized, however, that in rare cases it may not be possible to restore the latest version of every data file from these backups, and some data loss may occur. Because these cases are outside the iCTR Laboratory staff's control, the staff cannot be held liable for any loss of data arising directly or indirectly from the failure of hardware, software, or from human error.
Because the goals of the iCTR Laboratory are primarily educational in nature, computer systems are generally open to perusal and investigation by users, and security controls may be less restrictive than they would be in other environments. Although an appropriate effort is made to maintain system security, unauthorized access to information is possible through malicious mischief. The iCTR Laboratory staff cannot guarantee against loss of privacy, theft of information, damage, or loss of data arising directly or indirectly from the absence or failure of system security protection mechanisms.
Some of the software used on the iCTR Laboratory are purchased or licensed from third-party vendors, with or without source code. The iCTR Laboratory can make no warranty, express or implied, regarding the use of these software or their fitness for any particular purpose.

Section III. Access to iCTR Laboratory Facilities

When applying for access to iCTR Laboratory facilities, a valid University identification card must be presented. For some facilities, iCTR Laboratory may require application to be endorsed by the adviser or the lecturer in charge of the class.

The facilities of the iCTR Laboratory are made available to the faculty, staff, and students of the University for instruction, research, and training purposes. Some services require the payment of applicable fees to the Accounting office. Facilities may also be made available to student organizations, staff organizations by special arrangement.
Only properly authorized persons may access iCTR Laboratory facilities; proper authorization is provided by iCTR Laboratory staff members or their designates.
A user may not permit any other person, including other authorized users, to access iCTR Laboratory facilities on the user’s behalf.

Section IV. Reservation Requirements

All reservation requests for the use of the iCTR Laboratory facilities, and additional equipment that may be needed for presentations must be submitted to the iCTR Laboratory staff for verification and evaluation. A request is NOT a reservation. No assumptions should be made unless you receive verbal or preferably an e-mail confirmation.

Reservations for the use of the iCTR Laboratory and its facilities should be made as far in advance as possible. Regularly scheduled classes and events directly supporting the mission of the Laboratory will be given priority.
If special setup arrangements or equipment (e.g., projector, network connection, etc.) are needed, a minimum of one working day’s notice for reservation will be required. Staff members are not available for assistance with setup. Users will be responsible for equipment checkout, setup, and knowledge of how to operate the equipment. Allow time in advance of any presentation for setup and to be certain everything is working correctly.
The iCTR Laboratory requires contact information for at least one person who will be responsible for the lab reservations and equipment and who can be reached in the event of changes.
All equipment and accessories must be returned in the same condition as when checked out and be checked in by an iCTR Laboratory staff. Be sure that all cables and accessories are returned in their proper cases. The person responsible for the items checked out will be liable for repair or replacement for any damage or loss.
Always have a backup plan for your presentation in case equipment becomes unavailable, fails during your presentation, or because it has not been returned on time from a prior checkout. The iCTR Laboratory cannot be held responsible for equipment that is unavailable because it is undergoing repair or because it has not been returned on time from a prior checkout.

Section V. User Rights and Responsibilities

Users of the iCTR Laboratory have the following rights and responsibilities.

To enable the iCTR Laboratory staff to accurately maintain information about the user, each user is responsible for supplying current information to the appropriate iCTR Laboratory staff member including department affiliation, degree program (undergraduate or graduate), and the University position (faculty, staff, graduate staff, or student). Providing false or misleading information for the purpose of obtaining access to iCTR Laboratory facilities is a violation of University policy.
Users are responsible for protecting their own files and data from reading and/or writing by other users, using whatever protection mechanisms are provided by the operating system in use.
Most iCTR Laboratory facilities are made available on an unmonitored basis. It is the responsibility of every user to act in such a manner as to not cause damage to the physical equipment. Accidental damage, or damage caused by other parties, should be reported to the iCTR Laboratory staff as soon as possible so that corrective action can be taken.
Users who borrow hardware, software, or documentation from iCTR Laboratory are responsible for its proper care and for returning it in a timely fashion.
Users who are authorized by iCTR Laboratory may not be denied access to iCTR Laboratory facilities by someone who is not using the facilities for instructional, or research purposes or who is not a faculty, staff, or student member of the University. An authorized user may ask the offending person to relinquish the resource, or may ask any iCTR Laboratory staff member to intervene on his or her behalf.
Users have the right not to be harassed while using iCTR Laboratory facilities, whether it be physical, verbal, electronic, or any other form of abuse. Harassment should be reported immediately to the iCTR Laboratory staff.

Above all, users of the iCTR Laboratory facilities are responsible at all times for using them in a manner that is ethical, legal, and not to the detriment of others.

Section VI. iCTR Laboratory Staff Rights and Responsibilities

The iCTR Laboratory staff generally may do whatever is necessary to carry out his responsibility to maintain effective operation of the iCTR Laboratory facilities.

The iCTR Laboratory staff has the responsibility to make every reasonable effort to maintain the privacy of user's files.
In the normal course of examining and repairing system problems, and when investigating instances of improper use of iCTR Laboratory facilities, the iCTR Laboratory staff may need to examine users' files; temporarily revoke user account or block access to user files.
Investigations that discover improper use may cause the iCTR Laboratory staff to: limit the access of those found using facilities or services improperly; disclose information found during the investigation to University; initiate disciplinary actions as prescribed by University policies and procedures.
In order to protect against hardware and software failures, backup of all data stored on iCTR Laboratory systems are made on a regular basis. The iCTR Laboratory staff has the right to examine the contents of these backups to get sufficient information to diagnose and correct problems with system software, or to investigate instances of improper use of iCTR Laboratory facilities.
The iCTR Laboratory staff may alter the priority or terminate the execution of any process that is consuming excessive system resources or objectionably degrading system response, with or without prior notification.
The iCTR Laboratory staff may remove or compress disk files that are not related to the acceptable use of iCTR Laboratory resources or which are consuming large amounts of disk space, with or without prior notification.
It is the responsibility of the iCTR Laboratory staff to keep the database of user accounts in the computer systems up-to-date. A user account and data files will be deleted, without prior notice, once he/she is not a member of the University.
The iCTR Laboratory staff may terminate connected login sessions that have been idling (unused) for long periods of time, in order to free resources. This applies particularly to limited resources such as network connections. The definition of a "long period" of time may vary from system to system, depending on resource availability.
The iCTR Laboratory staff has the responsibility to provide advance notice of system shutdowns for maintenance, upgrades, or changes so those users may plan around periods of system unavailability. However, in the event of an emergency, the iCTR Laboratory staff may shut down a system with little or no advance notification. Every effort will be made to give users a chance to save their work before the system is taken out of service.
iCTR Laboratory staff members have the responsibility to report any violations of University policy to the appropriate authorities.
The iCTR Laboratory staff may refuse or restrict access of iCTR Laboratory facilities to any person who has violated the guidelines in this document, or who has violated the guidelines of other computer facilities under the supervision of SLUNET Office.

Section VII. Proper Use

The iCTR Laboratory facilities are provided for use by faculty, staff, and students to support the missions of the laboratory. All faculty, staff, and students using iCTR Laboratory facilities are responsible for using these facilities in an effective, ethical, and lawful manner.

Many resources, such as disk space, CPU cycle, login sessions, and software licenses, are shared by all users. No user may monopolize these resources.

Users should consume as little disk space as practical; making use of available means for compressing files and archiving unused files off-line.
Users should not load the system in such a way that others cannot perform useful work. Only a single instance of large, resource-intensive programs should be executed at one time.
Many software packages have a limited number of licenses, requiring users to share the licenses.

iCTR Laboratory facilities are provided for academic use (instruction and research). iCTR Laboratory facilities must not be used for commercial or personal gains.
The iCTR Laboratory staff recognizes the academic value of research on computer security and the investigation of self-replicating code. However, the use and development of this type of software, if not properly supervised, can inadvertently affect the operation and integrity of iCTR Laboratory systems.

Users may not intentionally develop or use programs, which harass other users of the system, bypass system security mechanisms, steal passwords or data, or "crack" passwords.
Users may not intentionally develop or use programs that, by design, attempt to consume all of an available system resource (cpu, memory, swap space, disk space, network bandwidth, etc.)
Users may not intentionally develop or use programs designed to replicate themselves or attach themselves to other programs, commonly called worms or viruses.
Users may not intentionally develop or use programs designed to evade software licensing or copying restrictions.
Users who believe that they have a legitimate reason to use or develop programs in the above categories must give prior notice to the iCTR Laboratory staff. Special arrangements can be made to provide an adequate environment for conducting the research without risking damage to or impairment of other systems.

Files owned by individual users are to be considered private property, whether or not they are accessible by other users.

The ability to read another user's files does not implicitly grant permission to read those files.
Under no circumstances may a user alter a file that does not belong to him or her without prior permission of the file's owner. The ability to alter another user's files does not implicitly grant permission to alter those files.

Because this is an educational environment, computer systems are generally open to perusal and investigation by users. This access must not be abused either by attempting to harm the systems, or by stealing copyrighted or licensed software.

System-level files (not owned by individuals) may be used and viewed for educational purposes if their access permissions so allow.
Most system-level files are part of copyrighted or licensed software, and may not be copied, in whole or in part.
The same standards of intellectual and academic honesty and plagiarism apply to software as to other forms of published work.
Deliberate alteration of system files is vandalism or malicious destruction of University property.

Harassing, defamatory or pornographic material may not be sent via electronic mail or posted to electronic bulletin boards, web pages and news groups.
Sending forged electronic mail or posting forged messages in forums are regarded as dishonest and are forbidden.
Unsolicited massive e mailing without explicit approval from iCTR Laboratory is prohibited. Sending electronic messages to people you do not know or who do not need to get your message is a nuisance.
iCTR Laboratory facilities and network connections may not be used for the purposes of making unauthorized connections to, breaking into, or adversely affecting the performance of other systems on the network, whether these systems and networks are University-owned or not. The ability to connect to other systems via the network does not imply the right to make use of or even connect to these systems unless properly authorized by the owners of those systems.
Other organizations operating computing and network facilities that are reachable via the iCTR Laboratory may have their own policies governing the use of those resources. When accessing remote resources from iCTR Laboratory facilities, users are responsible for obeying both the guidelines set forth in this document and the policies of the other organizations.

Section VIII. Copyrights and Licenses

The software used on iCTR Laboratory facilities is operated under license agreements with software vendors.

Installing software that violates license agreements and copyright laws are strictly prohibited.
Software license agreements serve to increase compliance with copyright and patent laws. It is against iCTR Laboratory policy to violate the copyrights or patents on computer software. It is against iCTR Laboratory policy and may be a violation of applicable laws to violate software license agreements.
Software in use on iCTR Laboratory facilities, unless it is stored in areas specifically marked as containing software available for copying, may not be copied to hard or floppy disks, including any other media, or otherwise removed from iCTR Laboratory facilities.
Source code for licensed software is not allowed to be included in software that is released for use outside the iCTR Laboratory.

Section IX. Procedures to Handle Violations of Policies and Guidelines

Step 1. When a student or staff is alleged to be abusing computing resources, all of his or her computing privileges may be suspended immediately to protect the computing resources and to assure reliable service to the rest of the community.

Step 2. The student or staff will be notified and be requested to discuss, in person, with the responsible person of iCTR Laboratory.

Step 3. If the student or staff is proven to have violation of the policies and guidelines set forth in this document, penalties will be imposed as described in Section (9) of this document.

Section X. Enforcement

The disposition of situations involving a violation of the guidelines set forth in this document and the penalties that may be imposed for these violations are as described below.

Minor violations of these guidelines, when likely accidental in nature, such as overloading systems, excessive disk space consumption, and so on are typically handled internally to iCTR Laboratory in an informal manner by electronic mail or in-person discussions.
More serious violations are handled via formal procedures:

Violations such as using iCTR Laboratory facilities for commercial purpose, forging e-mail or electronic message; harassment, sending massive number of un-solicited e-mails, also known as spamming, or repeated minor violations as described above will result in temporary loss of iCTR Laboratory access privileges for ONE month.
Repeated violations as described in the preceding item will result in temporary, THREE months, or permanent loss of iCTR Laboratory access privileges and the case will be escalated to the University authorities. If the offender is a student of the University, the case will be referred to the Dean of the student's college or the Graduate School for further action. If the offender is a staff member of the University, the case will also be referred to the appropriate authority of the University for further action.
More serious violations, such as unauthorized use or access, attempts to steal password or data, attempts to steal licensed software, and attempts to damage computer facilities (inside or outside the University) will result in temporary, THREE months, or permanent loss of iCTR Laboratory access privileges. The case will also be escalated to the University authorities for further action. If the offender is a student of the University, the case will be referred to the Dean of the student's college or the Graduate School for appropriate action. If the offender is a staff member of the University, the case will be referred to the appropriate University authority for further action.
Repeated violations as described in the preceding item will result in permanent loss of iCTR Laboratory access privileges. The case will also be escalated to the University authorities. If the offender is a student of the University, the case will be referred to the Dean of the student's college or the Graduate School for further action. If the offender is a staff member of the University, the case will be referred to the appropriate University authority for further action.

Section XI. Consultation, Support and Inquiry

For any inquiries or comments, please contact the iCTR Laboratory at Room S319.

Website: http://ictrlab.slu.edu.ph
Email: ictrlab@slu.edu.ph