Use of College Equipment and Property Policy

Approval of Uses

Personal use of CCSN property is generally prohibited. At no time may CCSN property be removed from the campuses without written approval of a supervisor designated by a vice-president, after full disclosure of the circumstances necessitating the removal, subject to responsibility for loss or damage. Any personal use of equipment that is not incidental must be shown to be for the benefit of the student(s) or CCSN and be preapproved by a supervisor designated by a vice-president. The primary principles governing personal use of CCSN resources are that reasonable and incidental personal use is authorized only so long as:

Personal use of CCSN property is limited on campus, and does not involve:

• a disruption of CCSN's operations;
• a compromise of NSHE and CCSN's tax status;
• a conflict of interest for the user;
• an appearance of impropriety;
• CCSN incurs no additional cost from that use other than the minimal cost incurred from ordinary wear and tear, and the use of minimal amounts of other resources (e.g., ink, toner, or paper);
• the use does not inappropriately interfere with or reduce the hours worked by the employee (e.g. excessive telephone usage for personal business);
• the use does not preclude others with work-related needs from using the resources;
• the use does not violate any applicable laws, regulations, or other NSHE or CCSN policies.

When CCSN incurs no additional costs or only nominal additional costs from personal use of a CCSN resource (e.g., local telephone calls; e-mail; Internet usage; cell phones and PDAs subject to fixed price charges; and fax machines, copiers, and printers), reasonable and incidental personal use of the resource is permissible, but supervisors and employees are responsible for keeping that personal use to a minimum.

When personal use of a CCSN resource would result in CCSN incurring noticeable incremental costs, full disclosure of the use must be made to a supervisor designated by a vice president and the supervisor must approve in writing before the use of CCSN property or equipment.

Permissible Uses of CCSN Property

Permissible college purposes include the following:

• an employee's performance of assigned duties at CCSN
• a faculty member's teaching, research or other assigned duties
• an employee's service to a nonprofit professional association or community organization where the individual is not receiving any remuneration
• other activities as approved in writing by the individual's department chair, dean, director, or designee, as appropriate

Impermissible Uses of CCSN Property

Examples of impermissible uses of CCSN resources include, but are not limited to:

• Any personal use that could reasonably be expected to cause congestion on, or disruption of, electronic communications resources;
• Use for private income-producing activities or for other commercial purposes (e.g., consulting services, or sales of goods or services);
• Frequent use of CCSN systems and services for personal purchases;
• Uses that are unlawful, such as improperly copying licensed or copyrighted software materials, or using any resources acquired for a research project for personal purposes;
• Copying or exporting CCSN data not related to an employee's assigned duties or responsibilities to computers that are not owned and operated by CCSN without the permission of a supervisor designated by a vice-president;
• Loaning or borrowing CCSN supplies, tools and equipment to perform personal tasks at home or at work;
• Uses that divert technology resources from their intended purposes;
• Ordering personal supplies from NSHE or CCSN vendors for delivery at CCSN work site;
• Removing surplus waste or discarded CCSN supplies, from CCSN property, i.e., dumpsters, trash receptacles, etc.;
• Uses that do not respect the privacy and personal rights of others;
• Uses that violate other CCSN policies or guidelines;
• Any action in which CCSN property, equipment, supplies or facilities are not used for the purpose intended, or the benefit of students, is considered inappropriate, with the exceptions of approved usage in section 2, and disciplinary action may be initiated when any infraction is disclosed.

Exceptions to these uses may only be made by a vice-president, in writing, after full disclosure of all of the facts and circumstances and a determination that the use is in the best interests of the student(s) or CCSN.

Employees and supervisors are responsible for keeping incidental personal use of CCSN resources to a minimum. Supervisors are expected to monitor periodically for abuses, and violations may result in disciplinary action.

Officers, faculty, staff, and other employees acting on the institution's behalf have an obligation to report actual or potential violations of this policy.