Technology

Technology Usage Policies

Campus Computing Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP")

Bethel College's computing resources are maintained for the purpose of enhancing the educational process and performing related tasks. Access to the campus network is a privilege and requires responsible use by all account holders. Use of any campus computing and/or network resources is subject to this AUP.

Persons wishing an account on Bethel's network servers must fit into one of the following user account groups:

  1. Student accounts: must be enrolled at Bethel College
  2. Faculty/staff accounts: must be an employee of Bethel College
  3. Guest accounts: must have a relationship with Bethel College and have a need for an account (i.e. a volunteer, emeritus faculty, visiting scholar, etc. Friends and family in and of themselves do not qualify.)

Each person applying for an account on Bethel's network servers must be a user in good standing, not having violated the Acceptable Use Policy or other rules of conduct. Each applicant must also agree to the terms of the Acceptable Use Policy each academic year.

All users agree to abide by the following:

  1. The user will not allow any other person to use his/her account or use another person's account.
  2. The user will not use his/her account for any unlawful purpose, including attempting to access any systems or files to which the user has not been granted access.
  3. The user will not use his/her account for commercial purposes that lead to personal financial gain.
  4. The user will not use his/her account to harass any individual or institution.
  5. The user will register his/her computer with the Information and Media Services department when requested.
  6. The user will use shared resources (bandwidth, printing, remote access, email lists, etc.) in responsible ways.
  7. The user will not save copyrighted audio or video files on network servers, lab machines, or any other Bethel-owned computer. Files of these types will be deleted without user notification.
  8. Student users employed by campus departments will follow the faculty/staff acceptable use policy while using a Bethel-owned computer.
  9. Student users are given a quota of 1 GB of storage space on the primary campus file server. 30 GB of storage space is available through Google Apps for Education.
  10. Users in the public labs will abide by the following Lab Use Priorities:
    1. Work (other than word processing, e-mail and Web browsing) related to courses at Bethel, i.e. assignments requiring Mathematica, Systat, LabView, etc.
    2. Other work related to class assignments
    3. Personal tasks

Users should be aware that any use of the Bethel computer network is subject to monitoring by IMS. However, monitoring is generally reserved for diagnosis of network problems and evaluation of network performance.

Users who violate the acceptable use policy will lose access to the campus computer network. The first offense will result in a warning from IMS staff and temporary suspension of the user's account while the warning is processed. The second offense will result in an immediate one week suspension of the user's account (regardless of user class deadlines). If a user commits a third offense, he/she will no longer be allowed to have an account on the campus computer network. These penalties are cumulative over the life of the account. Users do not get three offenses of each type or three offenses per year before losing network privileges.

Activation/termination of student accounts: Student accounts will remain active as long as the student remains enrolled and file sizes stay under the stated limits. Accounts for non-returning students and graduating seniors will be terminated six weeks after the conclusion of the semester. IMS reserves the right to terminate accounts immediately for students who are asked to leave Bethel for any reason.

Bethel College prohibits the illegal use of copyrighted materials. Under the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the College is committed to respond to lawful requests for information. Bethel College will not protect or defend a user against criminal investigations or lawsuits resulting from intentional copyright infringement.

Note: Bethel College reserves the right to revoke any account or restrict access on its campus computing and/or network resources at any time for any reason.

Revised August 2014
 

Student Printing Policy

 

 

 

Bethel College provides printers at several locations that are available for general student use. Printers are located in the WAC 101 computer lab, libraries and bookstore. Usage policies are different for these locations, however.
 
 
 
Computer Lab Printer
This printer is located in the Will Academic Center 101 computer lab. There is no charge for printing documents on this printer, but users are responsible for providing their own paper. While no limit is directly enforced on the number of pages a user can print, please remember that this is a shared resource and that toner cartridges are expensive.
 
 
 
Other Printers
General use printers are also located in the bookstore and the libraries. However, there is a per-page charge for printing to these printers. Paper is provided. Contact the library or the bookstore for current printing charges.
 
Revised August 2014

Personal Webpage Usage Policy

Bethel College provides space, upon request, for students, faculty and staff to host personal webpages and make them available on the web. The following guidelines should be observed when creating college-hosted personal webpages. Failure to follow these policies could result in the removal of the user's personal webpage(s).
 
Content must be appropriate. This means that, according to the standards of the Bethel College community, all content on personal webpages should be appropriate for a broad audience and should not be libelous or slanderous.
 
Personal webpages are not to be presented as "official" Bethel College content. Personal webpages represent the opinions and ideas of the individual who created them, and these pages must not claim to be part of the official Bethel College website. This includes copying visual aspects of the official college site, such as layout and graphical elements, and integrating them into personal webpages.
 
Pages hosted by Bethel College may not be used for commercial endeavors. Personal webpages are not intended to be utilized as store fronts, e-commerce sites or anything else designed primarily for the purpose of financial gain.
 
Personal webpages must respect copyright laws. Webpages should not plagiarize copyrighted content and must not be used to distribute illegally copied media.
 
Users should limit the total size of their personal webpage folder to 100 megabytes or less. Once a student or employee graduates or leaves the college, their personal webpages will be removed.
 
Revised November 2012 

Guest Account Usage Policy

Visitors to Bethel (convocation speakers, other lecturers, service organization representative, etc.) often ask to use the campus computer network, generally for the purpose of connecting to the Internet. Public access computers on campus, as well as the bc-wireless network, require a user account on the Bethel network in order to get past the login screen. In order to meet the requests of our guests, maintain network security and minimize demands on library and IMS staff, the following guidelines have been established.

  1. The password on the guest account changes weekly.
  2. The account is designed for use by "official" guests of Bethel only. This account is not intended for use by friends or family members of Bethel students or employees. Rather, the account is for use by individuals who have been invited to Bethel as resource persons for some event.
  3. The faculty or staff person handling arrangements for a guest is responsible for securing network access if the guest needs/wants it.
    1. The host should ask the guest (prior to arrival on campus) if network access will be needed.
    2. If yes, the host must either contact IMS to get the user account information or retrieve the information from the "Technology Resources" area of ThresherConnect. Contact with IMS should be made at least 24 hours before the arrival of the guest. IMS will provide user account information to the host promptly.
    3. The host needs to give the user name and password to the guest, direct the guest to public use computers in the library or computer lab, and explain general rules regarding the use of these computers. If the guest is on campus for more than one day, the host will need to provide user account information daily to the guest.
    4. If the guest encounters login problems, IMS or library staff will provide assistance.
Revised November 2012

HEOA Policies

Compliance with the Higher Education Opportunity Act Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Requirements

Introduction

H.R 4137, the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA), is a reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. It includes provisions that are designed to reduce the illegal uploading and downloading of copyrighted works through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing. These provisions include requirements that:

  1. Institutions make an annual disclosure that informs students that the illegal distribution of copyrighted materials may subject them to criminal and civil penalties and describes the steps that institutions will take to detect and punish illegal distribution of copyrighted materials.
  2. Institutions certify to the Secretary of Education that they have developed plans to effectively combat the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material.
  3. Institutions, to the extent practicable, offer alternatives to illegal file sharing.

This document outlines Bethel College's plan to comply with these requirements

Annual Disclosure

Consistent with our educational principles, we view education as the most important element in combating illegal sharing of copyrighted materials at Bethel College. We use a wide variety of methods to inform our community about the law and Bethel’s response to copyright infringement claims:

  • In order to use college computing resources, all members of the Bethel College community endorse a Acceptable Use Policy that includes a section on copyright compliance.
  • Incoming students are informed about the law and Bethel's position on copyright infringement during orientation sessions.
  • Information & Media Services staff, including student Help Desk workers, are regularly trained on the College's position with respect to copyright issues.  Student workers provide an important channel for communicating with the student community.
  • Information & Services staff periodically briefs members of the Student Senate about copyright, illegal file sharing, and related issues.
  • Periodically, all College employees receive email from the President or other officers regarding copyright infringement and related issues.

Plans to Effectively Combat the Unauthorized Distribution of Copyrighted Material

Bethel College has deployed a  NetEqualizer  to shape bandwidth. We also have the ability to limit the number of simultaneous traffic flows from our residence hall and wireless networks. When we discover a system using excessive bandwidth, we contact the owner to ensure that the bandwidth consumption is for legal purposes and that the user is aware of the College's policies concerning illegal file sharing.

Offering Alternatives to Illegal File Sharing

Bethel College provides links to sites that provide numerous options for obtaining music, videos, and other digital content in a legal manner. Members of the Bethel College community are encouraged to take advantage of these legitimate sources of digital content. Some of these sources can be found  here

Revised August 2010

Google Apps Acceptable Use Policy

AV Content Policy

The use of college-supported AV equipment on campus is limited to academic/classroom functions where the AV content is an integral part of the curriculum.

Section 110.1 of US Copyright Law states:
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, the following are not infringements of copyright: "Performance or display of a work by instructors or pupils in the course of face-to-face teaching activities of a nonprofit educational institution, in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction, unless, in the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, the performance, or the display of individual images, is given by means of a copy that was not lawfully made under this title, and that the person responsible for the performance knew or had reason to believe was not lawfully made."

The following is an excerpt from the New Yorker Films Public Performance Rights FAQ.

1. What are public performance rights?
Public performance rights are the legal rights held by distributors or producers over the showing of a film outside of one's home. The rights-holder can grant others the temporary right to show the film by selling them or granting them a public performance license.

2. When do I need to obtain a public performance license?
Anytime a film is shown outside a person's personal home, the screening is considered "public". It does not matter if admission is charged or if the entity screening the film is a non-profit organization, school or library. If the film is being shown outside the home, it is considered "public."

3. What about the "teaching exemption"?
The copyright act allows films to be screened in face-to-face teaching situations, defined by specific criteria. To be eligible for the teaching exemption, the screening is limited to students who are enrolled in a class in which the film is a part of systematic mediated instructional activities, the instructor is present, and the screening is an integral part of the classroom session. Playing films for the department, for honors students, or as a "film series" or lecture series does not qualify for the teaching exemption, but requires a public performance license.

4. I bought a tape or DVD from the distributor for my school or library. Does it include public performance rights?
Most tapes are sold without public performance rights, but some tapes or DVDs are sold with limited public performance rights. They may enable you to play the tape for its lifetime in public screenings on your campus. However, you may not copy the tape or lend the tape to other institutions or organizations, or charge admission for the screenings you hold with that tape. These rules may vary, so check carefully with the distributor when purchasing.