SECTION I. RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

A. The submission of an application for admission to Northern Virginia Community College represents a voluntary decision on your part to participate in the programs offered by the institution pursuant to its policies, rules, and regulations. College approval of your application, in turn, represents the extension of a privilege to join the College community and to remain a part of it so long as you meet its required academic and behavior standards.
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SECTION VII. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
STUDENT/PATRON ETHICS AGREEMENT AND
NVCC COMPUTER USE AGREEMENT

The VCCS (Virginia Community College System) has established an information security policy to protect the investments made in computer resources and related assets, and to guard against unauthorized or improper use of such resources. Included in this policy is the requirement that all currently enrolled students and patrons who use computer resources will acknowledge their acceptance of the following Information Technology Student/Patron Ethics Agreement and NVCC Computer Use Agreement.

Information Technology Student/Patron Ethics Agreement

As a user of the Virginia Community College System's local and wide area computer systems, I understand and agree to abide by the following ethics agreement terms. These terms govern my access to and use of the information technology applications, services and resources of the VCCS and the information they generate.

The college granted access to me as a necessary privilege in order to perform authorized functions at the college where I am currently enrolled. I will not knowingly permit use of my entrusted access control mechanism for any purposes other than those required to perform authorized functions related to my status as a student. These include logon identification, password, workstation identification, user identification, file protection keys or production read or write keys.

I will not disclose information concerning any access control mechanism unless properly authorized to do so by my enrolling college. I will not use any access mechanism that the VCCS has not expressly assigned to me.

I will treat all information maintained on the VCCS computer systems as strictly confidential and will not release information to any unauthorized person. I agree to abide by all applicable state, federal, VCCS, and college policies, procedures and standards that relate to the Information Security Policy and the Computer Ethics Guideline. I will follow all the security procedures of the VCCS computer systems and protect the data contained therein.

If I observe any incidents of non-compliance with the terms of this agreement, I am responsible for reporting them to the Information Security Officer and management of my college.

I understand that VCCNet administration, or appropriate designated college officials, reserve the right without notice to limit or restrict any individual's access and to inspect, remove or otherwise alter any data, file, or system resource that may undermine the authorized use of any network computing facilities (see VCCS Information Security Policy for details).

By acknowledging this agreement, I hereby certify that I understand the preceding terms and provisions and that I accept the responsibility of adhering to the same. I further acknowledge that should I violate this agreement, I will be subject to disciplinary action.

11/95
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________________________________________________________________ NORTHERN VIRGINIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Computer Use Agreement

Northern Virginia Community College's computing resources have been deployed to enhance the educational experience of its students and the operating efficiency of its faculty and staff. As with its other resources, these computing resources are the property of the College and are to be used for College purposes. Computers and other computer resources are College property and the rules and regulations that apply to College property apply to computing resources.

Computer software, databases and electronic documents are protected by copyright law, and users may not violate the copyright protection of any information, software or data with which they come into contact through the College's computing resources. Students, faculty and staff are responsible for understanding how copyright law applies to their electronic transactions.

Users of Northern Virginia Community College's computing resources are required to respect the privacy of other users. They may use only their own user identification unless they have been authorized by a College official to use someone else's. They may not allow others to use their user identification.

Users may take advantage only of the computing equipment and services they have express permission to use. They may use these resources only for the purposes for which they have been given permission. They may not use any system loopholes or special knowledge of computer systems to make any changes in the system, to make use of any extra resources or to take resources from others.

Users may not attempt to gain access to information owned by the College or by its authorized users without the permission of the owners of that information. They may not attempt to intercept or read messages not intended for them. Users must identify themselves in all messages sent from College computers.

The College's computing resources may not be used to support any commercial venture or for personal financial gain, unless such use has been specifically approved in advance by the College president. The College's computing resources may not be used to send or seek out obscenities or obscene materials except to the extent that doing so is a component of a bona fide College activity.

Users must obey any special rules that are posted or communicated to them by responsible staff members, whenever they use the College's computing laboratories and classrooms and computers in the Learning Resources Centers. Users shall do nothing intentionally that degrades or disrupts the computer systems or interferes with systems and equipment that support the work of others. Users must report problems with the College's resources to the staff in charge, or to the IT Help Desk. They should always try not to make matters worse.

Violating College or VCCS policy regarding computer use is a serious offense that will result in disciplinary action as well as possible prosecution under federal and state law.