Computer Policies
Franklin Pierce Law Center Network and Computer Services
Acceptable Use Policy (Updated 8-29-06)
Acceptable Use Policy Form
Section 1: Introduction
a. This policy is established to make users of Pierce Law’s computing resources aware of
their privileges and responsibilities.
b. This policy is established to maximize the value of those resources to the Law Center
community while permitting maximum freedom of use consistent with law, the Law
Center's mission statement, the Student Handbook, the Personnel Policies and
Procedures Manual, the Faculty Handbook, and a productive environment. Any use of
Pierce Law computer resources which violates policies contained in these manuals and
handbooks also violates this policy; nothing in this policy shall contradict existing Law
Center policy.
c. Violation of this policy can result in reprimand, reduction or loss of computing privileges,
and/or referral to Law Center authorities for disciplinary action. Violation of law may
result in referral to appropriate authorities.
Section 2: Definitions
a. Network -- the physical network media and the attached computers and software owned
or controlled by the Law Center.
b. Internet -- the global computer network composed of millions of computers and
thousands of networks.
c. Logged on -- connected to a service with a non-public user identification (e.g., personal
account).
d. Resource -- any computing device, peripheral, software, or related consumable (e.g.,
paper, disk space, central processor time, network bandwidth) owned or controlled by
the Law Center.
e. Service -- any software that makes a computer's files or other locally stored information
available for use by another computer or facilitates the transfer of data between two
remote computers. Services include, but are not limited to, web, file, and e-mail server
software.
f. Spam -- unsolicited mass e-mail for the purpose of advertising a service, personal gain,
or other inappropriate use.
Section 3: General Use Statement
a. Network and computing resources at the Law Center are provided primarily to support
the mission of the Law Center. Users may occasionally use the network for personal
needs as long as such use is consonant with established Law Center policy and does not
inhibit academic or administrative use of the network.
b. The Law Center cannot provide, and will not be responsible for, software kept on
personally owned computers, nor are they responsible for the installation, repair,
maintenance or upgrade of personally owned hardware.
c. Users should not leave a computer logged on if the user will be away from the computer
for an extended period of time (e.g., 30 minutes) or the computer is in an unsecured
area.
d. No data, unless required to ensure proper functionality of any given application, shall be
stored locally (on any hard drive) of a Pierce Law owned computer. All data should be
saved in an appropriate location on the network. Computer Services shall not be
responsible for the loss of any data that is not stored on the network.
e. Personal accounts are private and should not be shared with others.
f. The use of Law Center resources, including the network, for political gain or exclusive
personal gain shall not be permitted.
g. The Law Center may restrict the use of computing and network resources. This includes
blocking spam messages and deleting user files and mail to conserve disk space on Law
Center owned computers.
h. Employees, students, and other authorized users may post electronic documents and
images (e.g. web pages) for public access provided that those documents conform to
policies contained within the documents listed in Section 1{b} and United States and
international copyright law.
Section 4: Account Eligibility/Network Registration
a. All students, faculty, and staff must register their computer (network card hardware
address), using their school-provided e-Mail account credentials, in order to be granted
access to the Pierce Law network.
b. Granting network access to visitors and/or would-be internet users that do not have a
Pierce Law e-Mail account is at the sole discretion of the Computer Services department.
The use of personal account credentials by any Pierce Law user for the purpose of
granting access to such individuals is strictly forbidden.
c. All Student Groups requesting email accounts must get prior approval from the
Assistant Dean of Student Affairs. This account will be reviewed on a yearly basis for
use/need.
d. Students who are no longer enrolled at Pierce Law due to their own choosing will have
their network/email access privileges removed one (1) week after notification from The
Assistant Dean of Student Affairs.
e. Students who are dismissed will have their network/email access privileges revoked
immediately upon notification from The Assistant Dean of Student Affairs.
f. Graduated students will have their network/email access accounts deleted one (1) full
calendar year after graduation with no exceptions. If a graduated student is employed
by Pierce Law and said employment requires access to the internet or network,
provisions can be made to accommodate this request for a limited time. All Pierce Law
Alumni can opt-in to our Alumni e-Mail forwarding service at any time by contacting a
member of the Computer Services department.
g. Attorney Members of the Pierce Law Library are the only people afforded the privilege to
use the two (2) Attorney Member workstations located in the Pierce Law library. No
other person(s) shall use said computers at any time.
Section 5: Computer Labs
a. Balance-free print/copy/identification cards shall be handed out to each enrolled student
at the beginning of their academic career. It is the responsibility of each student to
place funds on their own print card using the machine located on the second floor of the
library. Student printing will be charged at the rate of 10 cents per printed page. The
Law Center shall not be responsible for lost or damaged cards. In the event that a
print/copy card is lost or damaged, the first card re-print will be provided for free by the
Law Center, each re-print after that will cost $5 (with the prior balance being
transferred to each new card).
b. There shall be absolutely no food or drink in any of the computer labs. This includes
permanent and spill-proof containers.
c. Around the clock courtesy hours are observed in all computer labs. The use of cellular
phones is expressly forbidden.
Section 6: Unacceptable Uses
a. Using the network for any unlawful activity.
b. Sending spam or creating or retransmitting chain e-mail messages.
c. Sending e-mail from another user's account.
d. Altering the header of an e-mail message to prevent the recipient from determining the
actual sender of the e-mail.
e. Logging into or using any computer account or accessing, modifying, or creating any
files without the account owner's permission.
f. Introducing new services or resources (e.g., personal web server) or altering existing
services or resources (e.g., registering personal domain name) on the network without
the approval of Computer Services.
g. Transmitting, without authorization, information proprietary to the Law Center or
information that could be construed as a statement of official Law Center policy,
position, or attitude.
h. Distributing information encouraging the patronage of network sites containing material
prohibited by policies contained within the documents listed in Section 1{b}.
i. Wasting resources such as print services, disk space, and network bandwidth.
j. Intercepting network traffic without authorization.
k. Using the network for any activity that results in degradation of Law Center provided
services, denies services to other network users, or jeopardizes the security or
capabilities of the network.
l. Installing, using, or introducing non-endorsed (by Computer Services) software on ANY
Pierce Law owned computer. This includes, but is not limited to, instant messaging
software, spyware, and games.
m. Creating personal copies of licensed, proprietary software or running illegally copied
software.
n. Altering system files of operating system software in any way that prevents or interferes
with the intended use of the computer system by others.
Section 7: Software Licensing / Support
a. The Law Center does not provide any software or support (beyond a simple wireless
configuration and printer client access) for any non Pierce Law owned computers.
Section 8: Privacy
a. Pierce Law cannot guarantee the privacy or security of user’s computer files or the
anonymity of any user. Staff of the Computer Services department may be required to
enter any user’s files/accounts, at any time, in order to rectify system problems or to
address other improper system use.
b. Images of students, faculty, and staff appear throughout the Law Center’s website.
Unless requested otherwise via the Associate Dean for Student Affairs and the web
department, the right for the Law Center to use said images for the use on Pierce Law
owned and operated web pages is accepted by the user.
Franklin Pierce Law Center
Web Policy
Section 1: Introduction
a. No personal student web pages shall be hosted on any Pierce Law server.
b. Student groups authorized by the Associate Dean for Student Affairs are eligible to
apply for a web presence for the group (including, but not limited to a Pierce Law e-
Mail account, BBS forum, and listserv).
c. Individual students that are under the supervision and/or direction of a Pierce Law
faculty member for a web project authorized by the Dean and/or Associate Dean
can apply for a web presence for the project.
d. To apply for a web presence on a Pierce Law server, one must arrange a
consultation with appropriate Computer Services staff.
e. The Pierce Law Webmaster retains complete control, including the prerogative to
change site content, as well as the approval of what is and is not allowed on our
servers, for all Pierce Law hosted sites.
Section 2: Use of Images on the Web
a. Individual student’s names are not to be placed in the ALT text of images without
expressed written consent. Said expressed written consent shall remain on file with
the Computer Services department.
b. Photos of students, faculty and staff in and around Pierce Law that appear on the
Law Center's web pages are intended to portray the vital role that they play in the
day-to-day events at Pierce Law.
c. Students, faculty and staff who do NOT wish to have their image appear on the
Franklin Pierce Law Center website can complete an opt-out request that shall
remain on file with the Computer Services department and the Associate Dean for
Student Affairs. Requests by a person to remove any specific images will be
honored to the fullest extent that is possible.
Section 3: Copyrighted Materials
a. Copyrighted graphics, images, or other content must have the appropriate
permission(s) (along with proof of said permission) available upon request before
being placed on a Pierce Law server.
Section 4: Accessibility
a. All web pages are to comply with the World Wide Web consortium's (W3C) Web
Accessibility Initiative (WAI) [http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/].
Section 5: Technical and Coding Considerations
a. All images and graphics are to have descriptive ALT tags.
b. The use of cascading style sheets is highly recommended.
c. Deprecated tags should not be used unless absolutely necessary and only after
consultation with the Webmaster. For example, font and bold tags have been
deprecated and should not be used.
d. Pages should be designed for viewing at a resolution of 800 by 600 pixels. Avoid
forcing the user to scroll to the right or left to read a page.
e. All class material intended for the web needs to be presented to Computer Services
in an electronic format that is easily converted to an appropriate web format.
f. Regular HTML files should end in the .htm extension, not .html and should be
named with all lowercase characters and with no spaces.
g. "Enhancements," such as Java, Javascript, and/or animations should be used
sparingly, always keeping in mind that not everyone uses Java (by choice or by
circumstances) and that these will slow down the loading of pages. In general, we
tend to prefer and use Macromedia products such as Flash and ColdFusion to
provide enhancements or database driven content.
h. Links to other pages and graphics within any Pierce Law site should always employ
relative links and not absolute links.
i. Frames should not be used at all. If there is a situation that demands frames, please
consult with the Webmaster.
Section 6: Content Providers
a. At least one person from each department or organization shall be designated as
the contact person for that department or organization's web content. Said contact
person will be responsible for the maintenance of relevant and up-to-date content of
that department or organization’s pages. Failure to comply with said responsibility
could result in the de-activation of said department or organization’s web privileges
and/or content.
