Maricopa Community Colleges

Public Stewardship

Online Policy Manual

4.3 Electronic Communications

  1. General Statement

    Electronic messaging services at the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) are provided to support education, research, scholarly communication, administration and other MCCCD business. Electronic communication is not different from any other form of communication and is subject to all applicable federal and state regulations and MCCCD administrative regulations.

    As is the case with other technology resources, electronic messaging services are shared among the entire MCCCD community. Everyone using electronic messaging services should be considerate of the needs of others, and be certain that nothing is done to impede anyone else's ability to use this service. All electronic messages must contain the name and electronic mail address of the person making the information available - no anonymous information may be sent.
  2. Application of Other Policies
    1. All policies applied generally at MCCCD are expressly applicable to the electronic environment. Policies that apply to the use of MCCCD resources, including equipment and time also apply to electronic messaging. Relevant institutional policies include, but are not limited to:
      1. MCCCD Governing Board policies
      2. MCCCD Administrative Regulations
      3. Employee policy manuals
      4. Student Code of Conduct
      5. Confidentiality of student records
      6. Sexual harassment policy
      7. General Standards Governing use of Maricopa County Community College District Technology Resources (Technology Resource Standards)
    2. This is not a comprehensive list of applicable MCCCD policies. Any policy which applies to the use of MCCCD resources, including equipment and time, also applies to electronic messaging. In the event of a conflict between policies, the more restrictive use policy shall govern.
    3. MCCCD colleges and operational units may develop additional "conditions of appropriate use" for local computing and network facilities to supplement the Technology Resource Standards with additional detail, guidelines or restrictions. Such conditions must be consistent with and subordinate to the general computing standards.
  3. Specifically Acceptable Uses
    1. Communications with local and foreign educators, students, administrators, researchers and colleagues in connection with instruction or research
    2. Communication and exchange for scholarly development, to maintain currency, or to debate issues in a field or sub-field of knowledge
    3. Use in applying for or administering grants or contracts for research or instruction, but not for non-Maricopa public relations activities
    4. Announcements of new products or services for use in research, college administration, student services, or instruction but not commercial advertising of any kind
    5. Factual vendor communication relevant to official MCCCD business
    6. Communication incidental to otherwise acceptable use, except for illegal or specifically unacceptable use
  4. Specifically Unacceptable Uses
    1. Using electronic messaging for illegal activities is strictly prohibited
    2. Use for for-profit activities (sales, consulting for pay, and so on) or use by for-profit institutions unless covered by the general principle, or as one of the specifically acceptable uses
    3. Use for private or personal business in violation of MCCCD policies
    4. Chain letter, or any illegal schemes or activities
    5. Mailings to large numbers of people that contain unwanted solicitations or information; these mailings are often referred to as "spams" or "letter bomb," etc.
    6. Communication that constitutes harassment
    7. Anonymous mailings, or mailings which impersonate another individual
    8. Allowing anyone else to use your account
    9. Any communication which adversely impacts the communications of MCCCD by over-loading the network
  5. Confidentiality

The confidentiality of electronic messaging cannot be assured, and any confidentiality may be compromised by access consistent with applicable law or policy, including this policy, by unintended redistribution, or due to current technologies inadequate to protect against unauthorized access. Users, therefore, should exercise extreme caution in using electronic messaging to communicate confidential or sensitive matters, and should not assume that their electronic messaging is private or confidential.

In addition, MCCCD is subject to public records statutes that require state agencies, political subdivisions and other governmental entities to make available records they maintain--both paper and electronic-- for public inspection.

  1. Complaint Procedures

Persons experiencing misuse, abuse, harassment or other incidents related to the technologies which they cannot pursue on their own, should report the matter to the supervisor, designated college (IT) personnel or to the authority at the company or service from which the sender is transmitting. Violations of privacy or property involving the technology may be reported, even if the perpetrator is not a member of the college community.

  1. Enforcement of Policy

Engaging in any activity that violates the Technology Resource Standards can result in the loss of access privileges or other discipline as defined in other sections of these standards or other relevant policies. Supervisors, college presidents or their designees, should take necessary steps to ensure that employees under their supervision have notice of, and will comply with this regulation and any protocols of the MCCCD electronic communications network, as issued by the vice chancellor of information technology, college president or designee. Issues related to enforcement of policy will be addressed in accordance with established processes in job group policy manuals.

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