Access and Disclosure

  1. The College does not in the ordinary course of business monitor the content of IT resources accessed by users. However, the College reserves the right to access any content within its information technology resources, including a user’s account.
  2. Examples of instances where the College would need to access resources or accounts include:
    1. In the course of an investigation triggered by indications of misconduct or misuse.
    2. As needed to protect health and safety.
    3. As needed to support the academic and administrative missions of the College.
    4. As needed to locate information required for College business that is not more readily available by some other means.
    5. If an employee is absent or otherwise not available and access to their network account and/or other protected electronic/digital resources is required. When employee absence is planned or otherwise known in advance, such as when terminating employment, on vacation/sick leave, traveling on College business, or absent for personal reasons, the supervisor should work with the employee to arrange for any necessary access to electronic files, including email messages, storage locations/devices, and voicemail. Examples of providing this access include:
      • The employee providing the supervisors with a password-protected shared area on their system.
      • Transferring necessary files to the supervisor’s network storage area or common storage area.
      • Automatic email/voicemail forwarding rules

        Users and supervisors who need assistance with arranging this access should contact the Help Desk.

        Where advance arrangements have not been made, and for situations where employee assistance is not appropriate or practical, the supervisor may request access to the employee’s electronic/digital resources by submitting a request to IT. Formal approval from the appropriate Vice President must be included with the request. With this authorization, IT will either provide access to specifically requested resources  or change the employee’s account password and provide a new password to the supervisor. The supervisor is then responsible for explaining the situation and reviewing this information with the employee upon return from the absence. For situations where confidentiality or litigation potential is not an issue, these requests should be submitted via the Help Desk. In cases where confidentiality/litigation is or may become an issue, these requests should be submitted via HR, directly to the CIO or CISO.
  3. The College partners with various public institutions and businesses with more stringent IT-related policies and procedures. Network content is strictly regulated and content monitoring and/or filtering are mandated in some of these organizations. For example, public library and schools routinely monitor and/or filter Internet content. Users utilizing IT resources within these partner institutions are required to become familiar with and adhere to the usage policies of these organizations regardless of "ownership" of the equipment or resources.
  4. Student Access to Information. Students attending postsecondary educational institutions are entitled to inspect and review the certain information included in their education records pursuant to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Requests by students to inspect and review this information may be made by following guidelines published by the Office of Registration and Student Records.
  5. Legal Investigations. Court order or law enforcement investigations may require the examination and release of electronically stored information and other information resource date.