Use of College Information Technology

Access to modern information technology is essential to Minnesota State College Southeast's mission of providing students with educational services of the highest quality. Information and data accessed through the college is governed by laws of privacy, confidentiality, and non-disclosure. It is in this framework that students understand and comply with rules of conduct for computer and network use that permit all students to fully use this resource.

Software on Southeast computer workstations is licensed by the college or third parties and protected by copyright and other laws, license terms, and other contractual agreements. Users must respect and abide by the terms and conditions of software use and redistribution licenses.

Unauthorized access to information resources, unauthorized use of college computing facilities, and intentional corruption or misuse of information resources is a direct violation of Southeast's standards for computer use. Examples of inappropriate behavior include:

• Using Southeast information technology resources to receive or distribute copyrighted material without proper authorization from the copyright holder is prohibited.
• Establishing services on non-college owned machines using campus facilities.
• Viewing, copying, altering, or destroying another's personal electronic files without permission.
• Using campus computers or networks to harass or defame another person.
• Sharing computer accounts, passwords and other types of authorization assigned to individual users.
  • Students are responsible for any use of their account(s). If an account is shared or the password divulged, the holder of the account may be held responsible for any actions that arise from the misuse of the account.
• Permitting unauthorized access: Students shall not run, operate, or otherwise configure software or hardware to intentionally allow access by unauthorized users.
• Attempting to degrade or compromise in any manner the performance of a computer system or network or to deprive authorized personnel of resources or access to any Southeast computer or network is prohibited. Breach of security includes creating or knowingly propagating viruses, hacking, password cracking, unauthorized monitoring of electronic communications, or unauthorized viewing of other files.
• Abusing campus computer resources including, but not limited to propagating chain letters, posting a message to multiple list servers, distribution lists, or news groups with the intention of reaching as many users as possible, and the use of computing and networking resources for commercial purposes.
• Students shall not install, run, or configure software that is not part of their instructor's curriculum.
• Unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material including unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing may subject the student to civil and criminal liabilities.

Contact Information: Report any abuse, virus, or other security compromises to the Chief Information Officer at 507-453-2726.