Internet Policies and Procedures

Internet Access Requirements

Access Control

1. The College encourages users to explore the Internet, but this exploration should be for business or educational purposes, and not personal use. Non-business or non-educational activities must be performed on personal time. Internet access in the workplace is a privilege, not a right, and is given to assist users in work-related or educational objectives.
2. All users wanting access to the Internet must authenticate themselves at a firewall, or approved internet service provider. These firewalls are selected, approved, installed and managed by Technology and Instructional Resources. Anyone connecting to the Internet without a firewall authentication is subject to loss of network privileges and disciplinary action up to and including termination. Direct access via a dial-up connect to an Internet service provider is prohibited unless explicitly required for your job. Prior approval, by College administration is required.
3. Unless prior approval is obtained from the Vice President, Business and Financial Services, users may not establish internal or other external network connections that could allow non-College users to gain access to College Information Systems and information. No incoming , Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) session calls will be permitted.
4. Approval for Internet access must be requested from the department Director/Dean. Internet connections will not be moved or transferred. The request should obtain reasonable business justification for access to an outside web site, and the URL of the web site(s) you are most likely to access.
5. Users should use sensible, reasonable judgment when transferring large amounts of data which may affect other users. Users should be sensitive to the needs of other users, both in the quantity and type of data you are accessing

Transfer of Information

1. Users must not place Baptist Memorial College of Health Sciences, (hereafter College) materials (software, internal memos, etc.) on any publicly accessible Internet computer which supports anonymous FTP or similar services unless the posting has been approved in writing by the Vice President, Business and Financial Services,.
2. Secret, proprietary, or private information must not be sent over the Internet. Users must not publicly disclose internal information that may adversely affect College student relations, vendor relations, public image, or financial standing. Users must be careful to properly structure comments and questions posted to mailing lists, public news groups, and related public postings to ensure inadvertently providing sensitive information. If a user is involved with an unannounced project or related confidential matters, all related postings must be cleared with their manager prior to being placed in a public spot on the Internet. Users are prohibited from responding to vendor surveys presented on-line.
3. College software, documentation, and all other types of internal information must not be sold or otherwise transferred to any non-College party for any purposes other than business purposes expressly authorized by management.
4. Unless approved by the Vice President, Technology and Instructional Resources and legal counsel, users are prohibited from establishing new business channels or communication channels using new Web technology.

Security

1. Credit card numbers, telephone calling card numbers, log-in passwords and other parameters used to access services within the College must not be sent over the Internet. If users are contacted via the Internet or other source asking for disclosure of service access passwords, the incident should be reported immediately to Tech Support at (901)572-2598.
2. At any time and without prior notice, the Administration of the College reserves the right to examine e-mail, personal file directories, and other information stored on College computers. This examination assures compliance with internal policies, supports the performance of internal investigations and assists with the management of the College.
3. Lost, stolen or disclosed passwords must be reported to Tech Support immediately.
4. Users must not probe security systems at the College or other Internet sites.
5. Internet Telnet access, either outgoing or incoming, is not permitted for reasons of network security and safety from hackers.

Software Procurement

1. Exchanges of software and/or data with the College and any third party may not proceed unless a written agreement has first been signed and approved by the Vice President, Business and Financial Resources. Such an agreement must specify the terms of the exchange, as well as the ways in which the software and/or data is to be handled and/or protected.
2. The College strongly supports strict adherence to software vendors’ license agreements. When at work, or when doing computing in conjunction with the College, copying of software in a manner that is not consistent with the vendor’s license is strictly forbidden. Sending or retrieving software to/from pirate software bulletin boards and similar activities is strictly prohibited.
3. All software and/or files downloaded from the Internet must be scanned for viruses before loading onto shared directories. No executable code should be imported to a College computer system without prior approval by Tech Support.

Public Representations

1. Reproduction of words posted or otherwise available over the Internet must be done only with permission of the owner.
2. Users may indicate their affiliation with the College in bulletin discussions, chat sessions, and other offerings on the Internet. This may be done by explicitly adding certain words, or it may be implied. In any case, whenever workers provide an affiliation, they must also clearly indicate the opinions expressed are their own and not necessarily those of the College. Additionally, whenever any affiliation with the College is included with an Internet message or posting, “flaming” or similar written attacks are strictly forbidden. Users are prohibited from participating in discussions that are of a racially or sexually offensive nature.