Undergraduate Conditions of Use

The purpose of this "Conditions of Use" Agreement is to promote the responsible, ethical and secure use of the Department of Computing Science's computing facilities.

Definitions

  • In the following, "account" or "user-id" will mean a login identifier.
  • "Computing Facilities" refers to any equipment or services provided or maintained by the Department of Computing Science.
  • "Agreement" refers to this Conditions of Use Agreement.
  • "The Governors of the University of Alberta and the Department of Computing Science" will mean "Department of Computing Science".
  • A "user" is any person or organization who has been given an "account" which allows access to any part of the Department of Computing Science computing facilities.
  • "University" refers to "The University of Alberta".
  • "the network" refers to all Department of Computing Science networks.
  • "authorized" refers to permission granted by Department of Computing Science officials.

Use

In accepting the Department of Computing Science Agreement, the user agrees to use the computing facilities in an authorized, appropriate and responsible manner, as described below.

Authorized Use

  • Users shall use computing facilities in a manner consistent with University policy. Department of Computing Science computing facilities shall be used only for the purposes specified by the Department of Computing Science. For instance, any user-id given out for course or degree program should only be used for course or degree related work.
  • Users shall respect the privacy of other users. They shall not obtain passwords or gain access to the accounts or machines of other users by any means. They shall not intentionally seek information about, obtain copies of, or modify files, digital media or any data belonging to other users unless they have been given explicit authorization to do so by those users and then only for the purposes intended by the Department of Computing Science.
  • Users shall not attempt to develop or use programs which:
    • harass other users of the computing facilities;
    • infiltrate or gain unauthorized access of any kind to the computing facilities;
    • damage the computing facilities;
    • alter the software components of the computing facilities;
    • or attempt to infiltrate, or gain unauthorized access of any kind to other systems networked to the computing facilities.
  • Users will not accept or give access to any Department of Computing Science facility from/to any other person. A user-id is for the exclusive use of the individual to which it is assigned. Granting access to any other individual by ANY means, or accepting access to another user-id by ANY means without explicit prior authorization by the Department of Computing Science constitutes a violation of these Conditions of Use.
  • Users will not use a user-id or access to Computing Science facilities, including access to any networks, for a commercial venture or personal profit of any kind that was not authorized.
  • Users shall not create, obtain, possess, execute, modify or redistribute any computer programs or material in violation of copyright or any other Canadian laws, such as, but not limited to, obscene or hatred promoting material, movies, music, or books. Users are advised and forewarned that the international network which is accessible from many Computing Science facilities may contain material violating the above.
  • Users will not develop, procure, possess, execute, distribute, nor aid in the distribution of programs, such as trojan horses, worms or viruses, which may affect the performance of any computing facilities in, or networked to the Department of Computing Science unless authorized to do so.
  • Users shall not create, obtain, possess, modify, execute, or distribute any programs or material to harass or libel other users, individuals, or institutions or impersonate machines or users to gain access to any network or resource or to engage in harassing or illegal activities.
  • Users shall not create, modify, execute or retransmit any computer program or any material designed to obscure the true identity of the sender of any electronic mail or other messages of any kind.
  • Users shall not copy or remove any disks, software, or documentation from the Department of Computing Science computing facilities without prior authorization from the Department of Computing Science.
  • Users shall refrain from using computing facilities for illegal activity including, but not limited to, software piracy.

Appropriate Use

The user shall use the computing facilities in a manner consistent with the objectives of the specific Department of Computing Science project, course, or any activity for which such use has been authorized. It is inappropriate to use computing resources:

  • for non-educational purposes;
  • simply to use computer resources;
  • a frivolous manner; and
  • in a way unrelated to the objectives of the Department of Computing Science.

Responsible Use

Users are required to use the computing facilities in a responsible and efficient manner consistent with the goals that the Department of Computing Science authorized for that computing facility. Users are expected to:

  • honour any current system resource and lab (both instructional and research) usage policies;
  • utilize efficient and effective techniques for program execution;
  • refrain from engaging in wasteful practices such as, but not limited to:
    • unnecessarily large or unnecessary printer listings/jobs;
    • unnecessary computations;
    • unnecessary holding of system resources, such as workstation consoles;
    • unnecessary holding of terminals or telecommunications lines; and
    • unnecessarily large or unnecessary usage of the network.

While using the Department of Computing Science system, users are expected to help maintain an environment conducive to all users accomplishing their work as specified by the Department of Computing Science. Therefore, users are expected to:

  • keep instructional laboratory areas clean, and quiet;
  • keep all areas clean;
  • honour scheduled instructional laboratory times, a user must give up a station during scheduled instructional laboratory time if they are not a member of the scheduled laboratory;
  • honour all policies specifying which activities have priority on the system.
  • respect other users who share lab and office space.

Users shall report to the Department of Computing Science any information which they may have obtained concerning instances in which the above conditions have been, or are being, violated.

Notice of Penalties

All users are hereby advised that violation of one or more of the above conditions of use shall be treated as both unethical conduct and a breach of these Conditions of Use. The Department of Computing Science is obliged and empowered to take any action necessary to combat and prevent such violation. This may include suspension, restriction or cancellation of user privileges, immediate disconnection from the network, and any other penalty or discipline which the Department of Computing Science deems necessary in the circumstances. These actions may be taken without warning to the user. This may also include bringing the circumstances to the University of Alberta's disciplinary committee for review, which could possibly affect the status of the user within the University. In particular, violation of these ``Conditions of Use'' by students will be reviewed and disciplined in accordance with the GFC Policy Manual "Code of Student Behavior". In addition, the user is advised that unauthorized use may be an offense under the Criminal Code of Canada or other Federal or Provincial legislation and may be reported as such by the University for prosecution.

All users are hereby advised that any suspension, restriction, or cancellation of user privileges as outlined above may be undertaken by the Department of Computing Science independent of the user's status in the Department of Computing Science. Users who have had their access suspended, restricted, or canceled are responsible for obtaining adequate computing resources independent of the Department of Computing Science in order to complete or continue any course, degree program, or other work within the Department of Computing Science.

The Department of Computing Science reserves the right to take remedial action in the case of possible abuses of the above "Conditions of Use". To this end, the Department of Computing Science, with due regard for the right of privacy and confidentiality of users' data, shall have the authority to examine files, passwords, printouts, digital media, or other material which may aid the investigation. Users are expected to cooperate in such investigations when requested. Failure to do so may be grounds for cancellation of access privileges.

System Monitoring

Users accessing the Department of Computing Science systems should be aware that monitoring and logging of system processes and activities occurs on an ongoing basis.

Network Access for Personal Machines

Conditions of Use

To use the Department of Computing Science's wireless network or network docking ports you must be:

  • a member of the faculty, staff or graduate students of the Department of Computing Science, or
  • taking at least one undergraduate Computing Science course in the current academic term and have a valid login ID on the Department of Computing Science's undergraduate systems, or
  • a formally recognized guest of the Department of Computing Science.

All users of the Department of Computing Science's network are bound by:

  • the Department of Computing Science's Conditions of Use; and
  • the AICT Conditions of Use; and
  • if you are a student of the University of Alberta you are also bound by the Code of Student Behavior.

Failure to comply with the conditions in any or all of these documents will be dealt with by AICT and the Department of Computing Science in accordance with University of Alberta policies concerning the disciplining of students. In addition, access to the network and other University systems may be denied.

Responsible Use and Awareness of Connectivity Abuses

  • Users are responsible for securing their own machines prior to making connections to the Department of Computing Science's network.
  • Users are responsible for any and all personal machines they connect through the Department of Computing Science's network.
  • Users must be aware that as they connect their machines through the network that they expose their computers to: worms, viruses, trojan horses, denial-of-service attacks, intrusions, packet-sniffing, data theft, and other abuses by third-parties on and off campus.

Liability

  • The Department of Computing Science is in no way liable for any damage, undesired resource usage or detrimental effects that may occur to the user's machines.
  • The user is responsible for any actions taken from his/her personal computing device, whether intended or not, that cause damage or otherwise affect other systems, computers or users, on or off campus.

Release

I hereby release the University from liability for any loss, damage, undesired resource use, detrimental effects, or injury which, I, or my computer, may sustain as a result of being allowed access to any of the Department of Computing Science's computing facilities. I agree to be solely responsible for any such loss, damage or injury.