The IT equipment at UTC Plymouth is provided and maintained for the benefit of all students, teachers, staff, parents and visitors. We ensure that all of our users have good access to IT facilities and in return we require that these facilities are used and treated responsibly. This policy lays out those requirements.
IT is an essential part of learning. However, access to UTC Plymouth IT remains a privilege, not a right; inappropriate use will result in that privilege being withdrawn at the discretion of the Senior Leadership Team or the IT Manager.
Please read this document carefully before signing and returning the last page toT UTC Reception for the attention of the IT Manager.
Document ID: 5.1 IT Acceptable Use Policy
Scope: This document applies to anyone who wishes to use the IT systems and services at UTC
Plymouth
Approval: Senior Leadership Team & IT Manager
Document Control
Date: 06-OCT-16
Version: 1.0 Draft
Changes: New document
Author: Neil Tancock
FACILITIES
Please do not eat or drink while using the IT facilities.
You are required to use the resources carefully and have awareness of your safety and the safety of others.
Do not do anything that may cause damage to yourself, others or the equipment.
You are responsible for ensuring that you are using the resources according to the government’s standard for the display screen equipment at work. If you think that the available resources may be inadequate, please inform your line manager/teacher immediately.
EQUIPMENT
Do not change or attempt to change installed software on the systems.
Do not access, or attempt to access, areas of the network you are not authorised to access.
Do not download or bring into UTC Plymouth any software that is not approved by the IT Department.
Do not alter or attempt to alter any settings, software or hardware on the systems.
Damaging, disabling or otherwise harming any of the equipment or intentionally wasting resources may result in your access to our resources being temporarily or permanently removed. Deliberate or careless damage to the systems, if found by the Senior Leadership Team, will result in you (or your parents in the case of students) being charged for the cost of repair.
Please report any faults or issues with IT to the IT Department as soon as you are able. You can raise support tickets by sending an email to
technical@utcplymouth.org.
Do not connect any USB devices, phones, tablets, etc. to the IT systems unless approved by the IT Department. It is your responsibility to ensure you do not bring viruses to the network and any files you utilise, are scanned for malware prior to joining the network. UTC Plymouth does provide file protection however you are solely responsible for scanning for malware.
Do not attempt to unplug any of the cables associated with the computers unless you have been told to do so. Pulling data and power cables causes damage to the network and the equipment, and should this cause damage you will be charged.
SECURITY AND PRIVACY
Always protect your work by keeping your password to yourself; do not share your password with anyone. It is recommended that you do not use easy to guess passwords; you will be required to use a minimum level of password complexity when you set your password.
Use of any other user’s account is strictly forbidden.
Do not disclose or share personal information about yourself or others when online.
Do not take or distribute images of anyone without their prior written permission.
Respect other computer users and do not harass, harm, offend or insult them. Respect other’s work and property and do not access, copy, remove or otherwise alter any other user’s files without the owner’s knowledge and permission.
To protect yourself and the systems, you should respect the security of the computers. Attempting to bypass or modify the security settings may put your work and others at risk.
Do not save or use files on any part of the network that may infringe copyright law.
Staff may review your files and communications at any time to mark your work and ensure that you are using the system responsibly.
UTC Plymouth retains the right to delete any files deemed inappropriate at any time without prior warning.
INTERNET
You should access the Internet only for educational purposes or for college authorised/supervised activities. Recreational use is allowed at the college when authorised. However, online auctions, online financial transactions and gambling remain forbidden.
You should only access suitable material – using the internet to obtain, download, send, print, display or otherwise transmit or gain access to materials which are unlawful, obscene or abusive is not permitted. You must respect the work and ownership rights of people outside the college, as well as other students or staff. This includes abiding by copyright laws.
You must not (unless you have permission) make large downloads or uploads, or stream media that might take up internet capacity and prevent other users from being able to carry out their work.
People you contact on the Internet are not always who they seem. Always ask a parent/guardian or teacher to go with you if you need to meet someone who you only know from the Internet or via email.
You will immediately report to your teacher or to the Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre (CEOP), any unpleasant or inappropriate material or messages or anything that makes you feel uncomfortable when you see it online.
EMAIL
You will not open any attachments to emails, unless you know and trust the person / organisation that sent the email, due to the risk of the attachment containing malware.
Be polite and appreciate that other users might have different views from your own. The use of strong language, swearing or aggressive behaviour is as anti-social on the internet as it is on the street
All emails are scanned for illegal attachments and content, any use of strong language, swearing or aggressive behaviour will be detected and then forwarded to staff to be dealt with accordingly.
If you receive an email containing material with violent, dangerous, racist, or inappropriate content, always report such messages to a member of staff. The sending of an email containing content likely to be unsuitable for children or colleges is strictly forbidden.
PRINTING
Do not waste ink or paper. Please proofread your work before you print and print in draft mode unless you are printing the finished document.
Avoid printing in colour unless it is necessary for your work. Students will only be able to print in black & white and will need permission from a member of staff to print in colour.
Do not print large amounts of blank or inappropriate material. Wasting the college resources will result in you losing your print privileges.
The printing resource provided by UTC Plymouth is for college work only. We reserve the right to charge you for any personal printing carried out.
WIRELESS BYOD
Students may bring in a personal device for use as a learning resource at the discretion of their teacher. Students are allowed to access emails and the internet for research, but under no circumstances are you allowed to use your devices for downloading, gaming or streaming media. Any attempt to infiltrate the network will result in a permanent ban from using any of the IT resources.
All devices across the network are monitored and restricted accordingly for the safety of all network users. We reserve the right to remove your access to the network should we deem your activities inappropriate.
Should a student use their device inappropriately, it will be removed and left in Reception for collection at the end of the day.
UTC Plymouth takes no responsibility for any damages caused to any device or files that have entered the campus or network. We hold no insurance for student devices and so they are used entirely at the student’s risk.
