Information Technology

Internet Use

Due to limitations of data transfer and computer capacity, access to Minnesota West Internet services is restricted to students, faculty, and staff. Individuals using the Internet at Minnesota West's campuses or locations must abide by state and federal laws and the following College guidelines.

Prohibited behaviors include:

1. Students are to comply with the college Code of Conduct and Policy 5.22.1 Acceptable Use of Computers and Information Technology Resources.

2. Plagiarism. No one may copy or incorrectly paraphrase the work of someone else without proper attribution.

3. Pornography. Viewing or downloading pornography will result in loss of ALL computer access on campus for students and others authorized to use the computers. Accessing pornographic sites through college servers or network systems using student-owned devices is also prohibited.

4. Violations of copyright, patent, or trademark laws. Using Minnesota West or any State of Minnesota-owned equipment to download copyrighted material is forbidden. Illegal downloading or distribution of copyrighted materials can result in criminal prosecution and/or civil litigation. Minnesota West reserves the right to monitor all computer network activity to prevent copyright infringement. Violators will be held personally liable for any damages resulting from illegally downloading copyrighted material.

5. Inappropriate or illegal use of email. No student, faculty or staff person shall distribute fraudulent, harassing or obscene messages or materials in or outside of the institution.

6. Misuse of chat-lines. College equipment may not be used to access entertainment chat-lines.

7. Financial Gain. No student, faculty member or staff member may use campus computing equipment to achieve personal financial gain.

8. Deliberate introduction of any type of virus program.
   

9. Unauthorized sharing/downloading. File sharing of any copyrighted material including but not limited to multimedia, music, etc, without the permission of the copyright owner is prohibited. No user shall make available any information or file stored on Minnesota West equipment or campus without the written consent of the computer administrator and the campus technical coordinator. The computer administrator or his/her agent reserves the right to view, audit, edit, or alter all computing activities using College equipment.  No movies or other copyrighted material may be downloaded.