Northwest College

Student Handbook

Policies and Procedures

Standards of Student Conduct

Information Technology Responsible Use Policy Excerpts

(Copies of the complete policy available from Vice President for Academic Affairs’s office or Vice President for Student’s Office)

All users of Northwest College computing resources must comply with all federal, Wyoming, and other applicable law; all generally applicable college rules and policies; and all applicable contracts and licenses. Examples include, but are not limited to, the laws of:

  • libel,
  • privacy,
  • copyright,
  • trademark,
  • downloading of music,
  • downloading of child pornography,
  • the Electronic Communications Privacy Act,
  • the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which prohibits “hacking,” “cracking,” and similar activities,
  • the college’s code of student conduct,
  • the college’s sexual harassment policy,
  • and all applicable software licenses.

When a student of Northwest College is found to be in violation of this policy, the individual case will be handled in accordance with the terms of the student handbook. Violations of this policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including expulsion.

Appeals of any disciplinary action will be handled in accordance with the student handbook.

Users should be aware that their uses of college computing resources are not completely private. The college has access to any information on a college computer or on the college network. Appropriate copyright laws and related handbook policies will be honored. Users should utilize college computing services with this awareness. The college does not routinely monitor individual usage of its computing resources. However, the college may also specifically monitor the activity and accounts of individual users of college computing resources, including individual login sessions and communications, without notice, when —

  • the user has voluntarily made them accessible to the public, as by posting to Usenet or a Web page;
  • it reasonably appears necessary to do so to protect the integrity, security, or functionality of college or other computing resources or to protect the college from liability;
  • there is reasonable cause to believe that the user has violated, or is violating, this policy;
  • an account appears to be engaged in unusual or unusually excessive activity, as indicated by the monitoring of general activity and usage patterns; or
  • it is otherwise required or permitted by law.

Any such individual monitoring, other than that specified above, required by law, or necessary to respond to perceived emergency situations, must be authorized in advance by the Computing Services Director or the Director’s designees.

The college, in its discretion, may disclose the results of any such general or individual monitoring, including the contents and records of individual communications, to appropriate college personnel or law enforcement agencies and may use those results in appropriate college disciplinary proceedings.

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