New forms of collaboration i higher
education are essential. Some of the new applications of information
technology with the greatest potential for enabling the improvement of
teaching and learning can only be achieved through the combined efforts of
faculty, students and academic support service professionals - and
industry.
Steven Gilbert - President of the TLT Group,
the teaching, learning and technology affiliate
of the American
Association for Higher Education.
Introduction
Edgewood College strives to preserve for
all of its community members an environment that is conducive to academic
pursuit and personal growth. The College provides e-mail, and other
electronic means of communication in order to foster such an environment;
but it is also the community's responsibility to provide appropriate
guidelines for their use and to guard against their potential abuse by
individuals.
The Information Resource Committee
recommends policies for the utilization of the World Wide Web, and e-mail.
Information on these systems is provided by
members of the community, including faculty, staff, and students as a means
of fostering collegiality, communication, and informed decision-making by
facilitating access to current information.
The Web/E-mail Committee is a subcommittee
of the Information Resource Committee (IRC).
The subcommittee welcomes input from all
departments, offices or individuals on campus.
The subcommittee meets to:
- Serve in an advisory
capacity to the Computer Information Services department for issues
related to Edgenet;
- Serve as a liaison to
Computer Information Services for issues related to the web;
- Implement programs to
encourage use of the web;
- Discuss the function
and purpose of the web; and
- Act as a forum for
discussion and recommendation of policies and general guidelines regarding
usage of the web.
Recommendations on policy and guidelines
will be made to the full IRC committee for consideration.
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The size and scope of a campus-wide system
precludes the systematic review of all the documents contained therein.
Consequently, the system relies on a distributed system of information
ownership, which has the following characteristics:
- Each department or
office that publishes information on the web has full responsibility for
the content and currency of that information, just as they would for
information which they publish by traditional means;
- As described in the
electronic publication guidelines, all documents are clearly labeled with
ownership information so that responses to those documents can be directed
to the appropriate individuals;
- The College exercises
no overall editorial control over documents published on the web, beyond
the general content and stylistic
guidelines described
below.
Edgewood College recognizes that the World
Wide Web is an excellent medium for personal expression and wide dispersal
of personal ideas. Faculty, staff and student ideas are an important part of
Edgewood's identity. The CIS department will not provide technical support
for non-college related web sites.
Although there has been
no clear legal definition of responsibility for the host institution
regarding information placed on the World Wide Web, it appears that legal
responsibility rests with the host institution if it claims editorial
control over the content of pages placed on the web by its subscribers.
Edgewood College will exercise no editorial control over material maintained
on individual pages of faculty, staff and students.
Student Access to Web publishing
In general, Edgewood College does not provide web site access or
resources to students. Students can be involved with composing web sites
under the direct supervision of faculty/staff. For Student Club web sites,
the faculty advisor should be directly involved with the actual publishing
to the web.
Further guidelines for Student Club web sites:
Key persons must be involved with student club sites, including:
o
The student club faculty
advisor; and
o
The Director of Student
Activities, who coordinates linking new student club sites to Edgenet.
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- Content of web
documents must be consistent with existing College policies.
- Content of web
documents must fall within the limitations of applicable local, state and
federal laws (e.g. those regulating copyright and libel).
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The following guidelines are to provide for
a level of consistency in style and appearance, and to provide clear
indications of ownership on all documents. Web servers operated
independently by college departments and organizations must also conform to
these guidelines if they wish to be linked into the official structure.
Disputes or complaints about published
information should be resolved with the web publisher or through the
College's existing judicial system, where appropriate.
Implementation Guidelines:
- Edgewood College web
documents should be accessible and useful for all generally used web
browsers.
- All official web
documents must conform to the HTML 4.0, or higher, specifications. Limited
use of non-standard extensions (e.g. Netscape extensions) is permitted but
not recommended.
- All graphic elements
should employ the ALT tag to provide a textual replacement for the image.
- All first pages should
include the following elements:
- The Edgewood College
Nameplate;
- The name of the
department or office in prominent text or graphic;
- A document
expiration or review date;
- A contact and
modification date footer; and
- The standard
Edgewood College navigation bar.
- This template will
be available from Computer Information Services.
- All other pages should
include the following elements:
- A document
expiration or review date;
- A contact and
modification date footer; and
- A standardized link
to the Edgewood College home page.
- This template will
be available from Computer Information Services.
- All departmental pages
should include the name of the department, both in the title of the
document and prominently displayed at the top of the page.
- Documents published on
the web are public by default; web publishers should contact Computer
Information Services for help in restricting information intended for
campus use only.
- All pages should
include the author's name, e-mail address, and date of last modification.
- Within these
guidelines, all other content and style decisions are left to the
discretion of the author.
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Edgenet
Edgenet (https://edgenet.edgewood.edu/)
provides an internal web-publishing vehicle for the college. It is designed
for internal communication, news, and events. Members of the Web/E-mail
Committee, as well as Computer Information Services maintain Edgenet.
Examples of information that should be
published on Edgenet rather than the general Edgewood web and/or global
e-mail includes:
·
Administrative, faculty, staff
and student organization web sites.
o
Meeting notices.
o
Meeting minutes.
o
Messages of general interest to
these specific groups.
·
Edgewood College internal event
calendar.
·
Bulletin board.
o
For sale notices.
o
Party notices.
·
Links to points of general
interest.
o
Madison News and Events
o
Weather
See
guidelines
posted on Edgenet for further information about how to submit items to post
on the Intranet.
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Edgewood College does not routinely monitor
e-mail communications. However, all members of the College community are
expected to act responsibly and within the regulations and standards
established by the College and all civil laws and ordinances. The College
reserves the right to discipline, through fair practice and in confidence,
those whose conduct is in violation of the following guidelines and College
policies.
It is important that mutual respect for,
and sensitivity to, the needs of others be accepted by all members of the
College community in accordance with the Dominican and Christian ideals of
Edgewood College. Common sense, good manners, and integrity are good guides
to what constitutes appropriate behavior in the use of e-mail and other
electronic forms of communication. Users should respect the privacy of
others and use College resources in a manner consistent with the Mission and
Vision of the College.
The following are intended to provide
additional help in determining appropriate e-mail use at the College:
- The College provides
on-campus e-mail in order to further its goals as an institution of higher
learning. E-mail is to be used primarily for academic pursuits and for
improving communication related to the functions of the College, abiding
by all applicable guidelines and policies. Use good judgment so that the
system is not overloaded.
- Electronic
communication is neither private nor secure. Consider the content of an
e-mail message to have a similar level of privacy as a postcard rather
than a sealed personal letter.
- Take care in choosing
your language. It is easier to edit a message before you send it than to
send an apology or clarification later. Consider that the receiver of the
message can easily misconstrue humor and sarcasm. Once you send a message
it is difficult to retrieve it before the receiver reads or listens to the
message.
- It is easy for e-mail
to be sent to an unintended receiver. When sending, replying to, or
forwarding e-mail, be careful that it is sent to only those concerned. To
confirm to whom the message is being sent, double-check the TO: section on
the top of the e-mail message prior to pressing SEND.
- The privacy of
usernames and passwords is very important to protect. Never give your
username or password to someone else. They could then use your account to
send off inappropriate messages.
- Check your e-mail
accounts regularly. Individuals who infrequently read/listen to their mail
are defeating the purpose of having these services.
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E-mail
The following activities are not permitted
in the use of Edgewood College e-mail:
- Unauthorized use of
another individual's account
- Performing an act that
will interfere with the normal operation of computers, peripherals or
networks on campus
- Creating or
distributing chain letters
- Impersonation
(misrepresenting yourself as another individual)
- Violating College
policies or written standards of conduct
- Violating local,
state, or federal laws (e.g., those regulating copyright and libel)
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E-mail
Global e-mail messaging is a service that
the College provides for the community where messages can be sent to these
larger segments of the College community:
-
Students at Edgewood College
-
Faculty at Edgewood College
-
Staff at Edgewood College
While this service can be a very useful way
to promote campus-wide communication, it is also particularly subject to
potential abuse by individuals. Therefore, it is important that users follow
the guidelines agreed to by the community for its use.
The following guidelines apply to all
global e-mail messages:
- Since global e-mail
messages reach a large audience, the guidelines provided above need to be
taken especially seriously. Messages sent globally should be generally
considered by receivers to be in good taste.
- Use careful judgment
in deciding to broadcast a message to a global list. Many people do not
appreciate receiving large numbers of unwanted messages. If your e-mail
message is not of general interest, send the message individually rather
than to the group mailing list.
- Always fill in the
SUBJECT heading on global e-mail messages, and make this heading as
descriptive as possible. This helps those receiving the message to
determine how important the message's contents are to them, and allows
them to immediately delete messages that they judge not to be of interest.
- Messages sent globally
should be of interest to the entire group addressed. All other messages
should be posted to the appropriate area in Edgenet.
Categories of global e-mail that are
strongly discouraged:
- Commercial or
political advertisements.
- Solicitation from
off-campus groups or individuals, unless of widespread College interest
and clearly supportive of the College Mission.
- Messages that are of a
clearly partisan political nature, pertaining to political parties outside
the Edgewood community and with no direct connection to the Mission or
Vision of the College.
- If you are uncertain
as to whether your message is appropriate for global messaging (or as to
which campus group is appropriate to send to), it is recommended that you
seek advice from the Dean of Students, the Academic Dean or the
Information Resource Committee.
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All members of the Edgewood College
community are urged to report violations or suspected violations of these
policies and guidelines to the appropriate office.
- Student questions or
concerns should be directed to the Dean of Students.
- Faculty and staff
should direct questions and concerns to the Academic Dean.
- Other Edgewood
community members may also report to the chairperson of the Information
Resource Committee. The committee will evaluate such reports for possible
referral to other appropriate persons or committees.
Misuse of these
facilities will not be tolerated. Any misuse that cannot be handled under
existing published College policies will be forwarded to the Information
Resource Committee for its recommendation.
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Edgewood College community members found to
be in violation of College policies regarding electronic use are subject to
possible disciplinary action, which could result in loss of access or other
disciplinary actions. The College reserves the right to search any account
or change a password, if sufficient evidence exists to indicate that the
account is being abused. When applicable, law enforcement agencies may be
involved.
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In addition to the policies and guidelines
listed above, the students are reminded that there is a set of regulations
governing the student use of computers on campus. The student should refer
to the Student Code of Conduct in the Student Handbook for additional
information. The following is excerpted from that code. Misconduct which
is subject to disciplinary action includes, but is not limited to, the
following:
Computers: Theft or abuse of computer time
including, but not limited to: unauthorized entry into a file to use, read,
or change the contents, or for any other purpose; unauthorized transfer of a
file; unauthorized use of another person's identification and password; use
of computing facilities to interfere with the work of another student,
faculty member, or college official or staff member; use of computing
facilities to send harassing, obscene or abusive messages; the sending or
causing to receive, harassing, obscene or pornographic drawings, images,
photographs, or the like; plagiarism or fabrication of electronic sources;
using electronic sources to cheat on academic assignments; or use of
computing facilities or capabilities to interfere with normal operation of
the College computing system. Misuses as defined in policies guiding campus
information systems, electronic equipment and use.
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1.
Academic webs – Web sites
are in place for academic departments to be used for teaching and learning
via the web. Types of academic webs include:
- Home pages for
Academic Departments
- Course Information
Webs
- Class sites (private
webs)
- Curriculum Vitae pages
For assistance with web publishing, contact
webmaster@edgewood.edu.
2.
Other web sites maintained by
staff at Edgewood include:
- Main Edgewood College
web site (the internet)
- Edgenet (the campus
intranet)
- Library
- Athletics
- Employment
- Center for Democracy
- Edgewood Calendar
3.
Edgenet – Edgenet
provides an internal web-publishing vehicle for the college. Edgenet is
designed for internal communication, news, and events. Edgenet is composed
of a series of sub webs that are maintained by Edgenet web publishers.
Members of the Web/E-mail Committee, as well as Computer Information
Services maintain Edgenet.
4.
File Webs
Private file webs are in place, and are designed for file-web access.
File webs are designed for departmental, or class use. File webs enable the
user to retrieve files stored on the network server via Internet
Explorer. For assistance with file webs, contact Computer Information
Services.
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