College Policy on the Use of Electronic Resources
Introduction
Buffalo State electronic resources (including such services as e-mail, Internet access, and file and print services) are made available to employees to facilitate the official work of the college. These electronic resources are provided for employees and persons legitimately affiliated with the college for the efficient exchange of information and the completion of assigned responsibilities consistent with the mission of the college.
The use of campus electronic resources by any employee or other person authorized by the college must be consistent with this electronic resources policy and other applicable policies.
Principles of Acceptable Use
Buffalo State users of campus electronic resources are required:
- To respect the privacy of other users: for example, users shall not intentionally seek information on, obtain copies of, or modify files or data belonging to other users unless explicit permission to do so has been obtained.
- To respect the legal protection provided to programs and data by copyright and license.
- To protect data from unauthorized use or disclosure as required by state and federal laws, and SUNY and college regulations.
- To respect the integrity of computing systems: for example, users shall not use or develop programs that harass other users or infiltrate a computer or computing system or damage or alter the software components of a computer or computing system.
- To safeguard their accounts and passwords. Accounts and passwords are normally assigned to single users and are not to be shared with any other person without authorization. Users are expected to report any observations of attempted security violations.
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Unacceptable Use
It is not acceptable to use Buffalo State electronic resources:
- For activities unrelated to the college mission.
- For activities unrelated to official assignments or job responsibilities.
- For any illegal purpose.
- To transmit threatening, obscene, or harassing materials or correspondence.
- For unauthorized distribution of NYS data and information.
- To interfere with or disrupt network users, services, or equipment.
- For private purposes such as marketing or business transactions.
- For solicitation of religious or political causes.
- For unauthorized not-for-profit business activities.
- For private advertising of products or services.
- For any activity meant to foster personal gain.
E-mail Privacy and Access
E-mail messages are not personal or private. E-mail system administrators will not routinely monitor individual staff members' e-mail and will take reasonable precautions to protect the privacy of e-mail; however, program managers and technical staff may access an employee's e-mail:
- For a legitimate business purpose (e.g., the need to access information when an employee is absent for an extended period of time).
- To diagnose and resolve technical problems involving system hardware, software, or communications.
- To investigate possible misuse of e-mail when a reasonable suspicion of abuse exists, or in conjunction with an approved investigation.
Staff members are prohibited from accessing another user's e-mail without his or her permission.
E-mail messages sent or received in conjunction with college business may:
- Be releasable to the public under the Freedom of Information Law.
- Require special measures to comply with the Personal Privacy Protection Law.
All e-mail messages including personal communications may be subject to discovery proceedings in legal actions.
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Management and Retention of E-mail Communications
Applicable to all e-mail messages and attachments:
Since e-mail is a communication system, messages should not be retained for extended periods of time. If a user needs to retain information in an e-mail message for an extended period, the message should be transferred from the e-mail system to an appropriate electronic or other filing system.
Applicable to records communicated via e-mail:
E-mail created in the normal course of official business and retained as evidence of official policies, actions, decisions, or transactions are records subject to records management requirements under the New York State Arts and Cultural Affairs Law (Article 57-A) and specific program requirements.
The college has developed electronic letterhead to be used for the electronic distribution of official college documents (records). The letterhead is available at http://www.buffalostate.edu/collegerelations/x547.xml and should be used in Word or e-mail documents that are to be distributed in electronic format only. Questions regarding electronic letterhead usage should be directed to the College Relations Office: Cleveland Hall 307, ext. 4201, or collrel@buffalostate.edu.
Examples of messages sent by e-mail that typically are records include:
- Policies and directives.
- Correspondence or memoranda related to official business.
- Work schedules and assignments.
- Agendas and minutes of meetings.
- Drafts of documents that are circulated for comment or approval.
- Any document that initiates, authorizes, or completes a business transaction.
- Final reports or recommendations.
Some examples of messages that typically do not constitute records are:
- Personal messages and announcements.
- Copies or extracts of documents distributed for convenience or reference.
- Phone message slips.
- Announcements of social events.
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Record Retention
Records communicated using e-mail need to be identified, managed, protected, and retained as long as they are needed to meet operational, legal, audit, research, or other requirements. Records needed to support program functions should be retained, managed, and accessible in existing filing system outside the e-mail system in accordance with the appropriate program unit's standard practices.
Users should:
- Dispose of copies of records in e-mail after they have been filed in a record-keeping system.
- Delete records of transitory or little value that are not normally retained in record-keeping systems as evidence of college activity.
Agency Rights
Pursuant to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (18 USC 2510 et seq.), notice is hereby given that there are NO facilities provided by this system for sending or receiving private or confidential electronic communications.
The college reserves the right to log network use and monitor file server space utilization by users and assumes no responsibility or liability for files lost due to violation of file server space allotments.
The college reserves the right to remove a user account or device from the network.
The college will not be responsible for any damages that result from the use of campus electronic resources. This includes the loss of data resulting from delays, non-deliveries, or service interruptions caused by negligence, errors, or omissions. Use of any information obtained is at the user's risk.
Enforcement and Violations
This policy is intended to be illustrative of the range of acceptable and unacceptable uses of the electronic facilities and is not necessarily exhaustive. Questions about specific uses related to security issues not enumerated in this policy statement and reports of specific unacceptable uses should be directed to the associate vice president for computing and technology services. Other questions about appropriate use should be directed to your supervisor.
The college will review alleged violations of the Policy on the Use of Electronic Resources on a case-by-case basis. Clear violations of the policy that are not promptly remedied may result in termination of network access for the person(s) at fault and referral for disciplinary actions as appropriate.
Policy Date: September 2002
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Honoraria Reporting
To comply with the New York State Ethics Commission regulations (Title 19 NYCRR Part 930 of the Public Officers Law), the college is required to annually report honoraria received by full-time faculty and professional and management/confidential employees. An honorarium is defined as "a payment, fee, or other compensation given to an individual for services rendered not related to the individual's official state duties." It also includes payment for travel expenses when the expenses incurred are unrelated to the employee's duties.
Examples of honoraria include compensation for delivering a speech, writing an article, or attending a meeting. Salary, wages, or fees earned from outside employment are not considered honoraria. Faculty members are not required to declare honoraria received within their academic disciplines.
Reporting honoraria is required. Obtaining prior approval of requests to receive honoraria is optional; however, the college encourages employees to seek prior approval from their respective vice presidents (who act as the president's designees) before engaging in activities that lead to the receipt of honoraria.
Faculty and staff members who receive honoraria from April 1, 2004, through March 31, 2005, and do not request prior approval from their vice presidents will be required to report the source, date, and amount of honoraria received to their vice presidents by May 15, 2005.
More information regarding honoraria reporting can be found at www.dos.state.ny.us/ethc/rules/Part930.htm. Questions should be directed to Susan Earshen, director of human resource management, at ext. 3042.
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Paid Leave for Prostate and Breast Cancer Screening
Civil Service Law has been amended to allow employees to take up to four hours of paid leave annually for screening for prostate cancer. Employees who charged leave credits for prostate cancer screening on or after October 25, 2004, are entitled, upon submission of satisfactory documentation that the employee's absence was for purposes of prostate cancer screening, to paid leave for such absence and to have credits for that purpose restored.
Prostate cancer screening includes physical exams and blood work for the detection of prostate cancer. Reasonable travel time is included in the four-hour cap. Employees who undergo screenings outside their regular work schedules do so on their own time.
Remember, all employees are similarly entitled to take up to four hours of paid leave annually for breast cancer screening.
These leaves are not cumulative and expire on the last day of the calendar year. Please direct questions about these paid leaves to the Payroll Office at ext. 4124, or to Emmanuel J. Hillery, employee relations manager, at ext. 4822.
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Policy Governing Use of College Resources
College resources, including equipment, supplies, services, and facilities, shall be used for official college business only. Use of college resources for commercial purposes or for personal gain is prohibited. Any loan of college property (other than library materials) to any party for personal use is prohibited.
Please direct questions regarding this policy to Gary Phillips, associate vice president and comptroller, at ext. 4312.
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Position Announcement: Director, Academic Computing and Technical Services
Reporting to the associate vice president for computing and technology services, the director of academic computing and technical services will provide vision and leadership for academic technology initiatives to improve the teaching/learning experience at Buffalo State. The director will have primary responsibility for working with the deans, faculty, students, and staff to identify, promote, and support the development and use of leading-edge technologies in instruction, research, and management.
The director is responsible for planning, organizing, and directing the efforts of the Academic Computing and Technical Services staff; providing support for all general access and curriculum-specific computer labs; assessment of lab and classroom needs and utilization; planning and implementing campus technical training programs; and providing support for student, faculty, and staff users of the institution's Web-based applications. The director will be involved in campuswide academic technology planning activities and advisory committees, and will work directly with the other CTS directors and the Information Commons leadership in the planning and implementation of campuswide technology initiatives that support the academic mission of the college.
Applications are now being accepted for the position of director of academic computing and technical services in the Computing and Technology Services Office. Details may be found at www.buffalostate.edu/offices/hr/jobs.asp#professional.
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Students' Award for the Promotion of Respect for Diversity and Individual Differences
The President's Council on Equity and Campus Diversity seeks nominations from students to recognize faculty, librarians, and professional staff who have embraced the college's core value of respect for diversity and individual differences. The awards recognize faculty and staff who have taken steps beyond their usual job descriptions to increase students' awareness of diversity and pluralism in the United States and/or have explored prejudice, bigotry, and stereotyping in an academic classroom or out-of-classroom forum or experience.
Nomination forms may be obtained at www.buffalostate.edu/equity/documents/Nominationform.doc.
Nominations will be accepted until Friday, March 11. Award recipients and their nominators will be recognized at a special program on Tuesday, April 12. Please contact Estelle Hofschneider in the Equity and Campus Diversity Office at ext. 6235 or hofsea43@buffalostate.edu with questions.
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2003–2004 Affirmative Action Report and Plan
The 2003–2004 Affirmative Action Report and Plan is available for review in the Equity and Campus Diversity Office, Cleveland Hall 415, during normal business hours. A copy of the report is also on reserve at the Circulation Desk in E. H. Butler Library.
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College Senate Meeting
The next meeting of the College Senate will be held at 3:00 p.m. Friday, March 11, in E. H. Butler Library 210.
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Curricular Proposal Deadline
Curricular proposals should reach the College Senate Office, Cleveland Hall 211, by Friday, March 11, to allow sufficient time for spring-semester processing. Proposals received after that date are not guaranteed action before the end of the semester.
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Curricular Items
The following have been approved by the College Senate Curriculum Committee and will be forwarded to the president for final review and approval:
Minor Revision:
Biology (1725)
New Courses:
GEG 521 Watershed Analysis
GEG 525 Fundamentals of GIS
GEG 528 Environmental Assessment and Planning Applications in GIS
GEG 575 Principles of Hydrology
Course Revision:
PSY 450 Research Methods in Psychology I: Introduction to Research Methods
The following has been received in the College Senate Office and will be forwarded to the Senate Curriculum Committee for approval:
Program Revision:
B.S. Dietetics: Didactic Program (0410)
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