UMKC Computer Usage Guidelines
University owned or operated computing resources are provided for use by faculty, students, staff, and authorized associates of the University of Missouri-Kansas City. All faculty, students, staff, and associates are responsible for use of UMKC computing resources in an effective, efficient, ethical, and lawful manner. The following guidelines relate to the use of these computing resources:
- Computing resources and accounts are owned by the University, and are to be used
for University-related activities only. All access to Information
Services' managed computer
systems, including the issuing of passwords, must be approved; approvals range from
displaying proper identification when requested to completion of forms. All access to
School and Departmental computer systems must be approved by the School Dean, Department
Chair or an authorized representative; approvals vary depending upon the unit.
- Computing resources and accounts are to be used only for the purpose for which
they were assigned, and are not to be used for commercial purposes or non-university
related activities. The continued use of an account after the student enrollment or
faculty/staff/associate employment ends is a non-university related activity.
- An account assigned to an individual, including Student Use accounts, must not be
used by others without written permission from either Information Services or the School or
the Department which granted the account. Faculty, students, staff, and associates are
individually responsible for the proper use of their accounts, including proper password
protection and appropriate use of Internet resources. Allowing friends, family, or
co-workers to use accounts, either locally or through the Internet, is a serious violation
of these guidelines. Also, faculty, students, staff, and associates are responsible for
choosing an appropriate password that is difficult for others to guess. Change the account
password at least once per semester, particularly if someone may have seen the password
being entered.
- Programs and files are confidential, unless they have been explicitly (either via
written approval or security systems) made available to others by the owner. Information
Services or Departmental staff may access others' files when necessary for the maintenance
of computing systems, or during investigation of serious incidents. The latter would
require the approval by the appropriate institutional official, or as required by local,
state, or federal law.
- University computing resources cannot be used to intimidate or create an
atmosphere of harassment based upon gender, race, religion, ethnic origin, creed, or
sexual orientation. Fraudulent, threatening, or obscene email or graphical displays used
to harass or intimidate are prohibited. Chain letters, mass mailings, and repeated sending
of email after being requested to stop are also examples of inappropriate uses of
University electronic communications resources.
- No one should deliberately attempt to degrade the performance of a computer
system (including network resources) or to deprive authorized users of resources or access
to any University computer system.
- It is a violation of these guidelines to use knowledge of loopholes in computer
system security or unauthorized knowledge of a password to damage any computing systems,
obtain extra computing resources, take resources from another user, gain access to
computing systems, or use computing systems for which proper authorization has not been
given - either on-campus or off-campus.
- Software use must conform to copyright laws and licensing agreements. Please
review the guide published by EDUCOM and ITAA titled, "USING SOFTWARE: A Guide To Ethical And Legal Use Of
Software For Members Of The Academic Community, January 1992", which is stored
on-line for easy access.
- For the protection of all UMKC computer users, an individual's computer use
privileges may be suspended or restricted immediately upon the discovery of a possible
violation of these guidelines or other campus policies. Whenever possible, users whose
computer access has been restricted or suspended will be notified of the restrictions and
the means for resolving the matter. The
Information Services senior staff and/or appropriate
Departmental Chair/representative will judge an offense as either major or minor. A first
minor offense will normally be dealt with by a senior staff member and/or appropriate
Departmental Chair/representative. In the case of sponsored research or associate
accounts, the account sponsor will be consulted regarding the offense. Major or additional
minor offenses will be forwarded to the appropriate Dean and/or Vice Chancellor. The
account may be removed or de-activated or privileges removed from one or all University
computing systems permanently or until the matter is completely resolved.
- Students who violate these guidelines will be subject to sanctions as outlined in section 200.010 of the Student Conduct Code. All such cases will be forwarded to the Primary Administrative Officer in the Student Life Office for appropriate action.
- Faculty or staff who violate these guidelines will be subject to disciplinary measures as outlined within the University Policy Manuals.
Violations of some of the above guidelines may constitute a criminal offense. Individuals using UMKC computing resources are urged to review the University Personnel Policy Manual, Computer Crimes Bill passed by the Missouri State Legislature, and the MOREnet Acceptable Use Policy. These guidelines are available via UMKC's World Wide Web Server at the URL address http://www.umkc.edu/is/policies/.
