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Acceptable Use of Technology Policy
Mobile Device Usage Policy - Students
Online Privacy Statement
Student Printing & Copying Policy
Acceptable Use of Technology Policy
Section 5.30 Acceptable Use of Technology
A. Policy
Access to information systems and networks owned or operated by Butler County Community College (BC3 or the College) imposes certain responsibilities and obligations and is granted subject to BC3 policies, and local, state, and federal laws. Acceptable use is always ethical, reflects academic honesty, shows restraint in the consumption of shared resources, and protects all Information Technology (IT) Resources from any unauthorized or unintended use. It demonstrates respect for intellectual property, ownership of data, system security mechanisms, and individuals’ rights to privacy and freedom from intimidation, harassment, and unwarranted annoyance unless covered by legal statutes. The establishment of this policy is to safeguard and protect all information systems, including academic and financial, that support the College’s Mission and daily operations.
B. Purpose
BC3 provides technology resources including but not limited to: computers, networks, internet access, software, e-mail, learning management systems, and cloud-based services, and subscriptions, to support the College’s mission of providing quality education, training, and lifelong learning opportunities that are accessible, affordable, and responsive to the needs of the community. The goals of this policy are to:
•Ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and accessibility of College information and technology resources.
•Protect the privacy, safety, and rights of students, faculty, staff, and the broader BC3 community.
•Maintain compliance with federal, state, and local laws, including copyright, intellectual property, and data privacy regulations.
•Promote a supportive, student-centered environment that values integrity and promotes diversity and success.
•Promote the responsible, effective, ethical, and fair use of technology resources.
C. Scope and Enforcement
This policy applies to all users of BC3 technology resources, including but not limited to students, faculty, staff, contractors, consultants, and guests. It covers all technology, including but not limited to hardware, software, subscriptions, services, files, data, and information owned, leased, managed, or otherwise used for College business or academic purposes, whether accessed on campus or remotely.
The Director of Information Technology in conjunction with the Dean of Students and/or the Executive Director of Human Resources/Equal Opportunity Compliance Officer is responsible for the enforcement of this policy. Any request for the use of technology systems other than those identified must receive prior written approval.
Violations of this policy may result in disciplinary action, up to and including suspension, termination, or expulsion. Access to College technology may be terminated or restricted at any time for any reason deemed necessary by the Director of Information Technology. Where appropriate, violations may also be referred to law enforcement authorities.
D. Acceptable Use of Technology Resources
Users must:
•Use College technology resources for educational, instructional, research, and administrative purposes consistent with the mission of the College.
•Use College technology resources in accordance with all other College policies and procedures.
•Protect usernames, passwords, and authentication tokens from unauthorized use and immediately report any suspected compromise. Passwords must never be shared for any reason without authorization from the BC3 IT department.
•Use only authentication credentials assigned to them or that they are authorized to use. Any logon to any BC3 system, application, service, subscription, or resource must be approved and created by or with the authorization of the BC3 IT Department.
•Follow all applicable laws and regulations, including copyright, intellectual property, and privacy protections.
•Follow all procedures, standards, and guidelines on College communications, including but not limited to approved methods of communications, approved content, and authorized senders.
•Protect College data, information, and technology resources by following reasonable and appropriate security practices at all times on College-owned devices, public devices, and personal devices.
•Report suspicious activity, suspected security incidents, policy violations, or technology misuse promptly to the College’s Director of Information Technology.
•Communicate respectfully in electronic communications, including but not limited to e-mail, social media, online forums, and learning platforms.
•Secure systems by logging off or locking systems and devices when unattended.
•Use multi-factor authentication where required.
•Take precautions when transmitting restricted or sensitive information electronically. Restricted or sensitive content must be encrypted appropriately before being sent electronically.
•Report any lost or stolen device with access to College resources (e.g. e-mail, cloud storage, authenticator apps, etc.) to the BC3 IT Department immediately.
•Use only college-approved technology resources.
E. Prohibited Use of Technology Resources
Users must not:
•Perform any form of network monitoring, password cracking, key logging, packet sniffing, port scanning, vulnerability testing, or any activity intended to monitor, probe, intercept, encrypt, decrypt, exploit, or disrupt College networks or systems without explicit written authorization from the Information Technology Department.
•Attempt to circumvent or compromise security controls, firewalls, endpoint protection, authentication mechanisms, or system monitoring.
•Attempt to gain unauthorized access to College systems, data, files, or accounts.
•Access or modify any files, data, or information they are not authorized to.
•Use technology resources for anything unlawful, threatening, harassing, defamatory, obscene, considered hate speech, or that incites violence.
•Access, create, store, or distribute obscene, offensive, or inappropriate material not related to educational or College business purposes.
•Download, create, manipulate, modify, store, execute, or distribute malicious software, including viruses, worms, trojans, ransomware, or other harmful code.
•Disrupt the availability or performance of technology resources through denial-of-service attacks, excessive use, or other means.
•Misrepresent one’s identity or use another individual’s identity or identifying information without their consent.
•Use College technology resources for excessive personal use, or for any commercial use, political campaigning, or activities unrelated to the College’s mission without authorization. Some incidental personal use may be acceptable if it does not interfere with employee performance or academic instruction.
•Store personal files on College-owned resources.
•Store College files and data on personal devices, including but not limited to personal flash drives, hard drives, cloud storage, laptops, tablets, phones, and desktops.
•Share, disclose, or mishandle confidential or sensitive information in violation of privacy requirements or College policies.
•Violate software licensing agreements or copyright law.
•Install, modify, or connect unauthorized hardware or software to College systems or networks (e.g., servers, wireless access points, peer-to-peer sharing programs).
•Use any technology, subscription, or service to conduct College business without approval from the IT Department.
•Share College accounts, credentials, or access tokens with others, or use another person’s credentials without authorization from the Director of Information Technology.
•Record, copy, or distribute course content, presentations, or lectures without the prior knowledge and consent of the instructor or presenter.
F. Social Media
BC3 recognizes that social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, blogs, forums, etc.) are valuable tools for communication, learning, and community engagement. The sections below define acceptable and prohibited uses of social media at BC3.
Acceptable Use of Social Media
When using social media, users must:
•Engage courteously, ethically, and honestly when interacting on social media
•Clearly distinguish personal opinions from statements made on behalf of the College. Users should not portray personal opinions as College positions or create the impression of official representation without authorization.
•Protect confidential and personally identifying information and follow all applicable laws and College policies, including FERPA, HIPAA, copyright, and
academic integrity standards.
•Follow proper procedures to create official College accounts and use those accounts only if authorized. Departments, programs, and recognized student organizations wishing to create or manage official BC3 social media accounts must first obtain approval from the Communications and Marketing Department. Each approved account must have at least one additional BC3 employee as an administrator to ensure continuity, security, and compliance.
When using social media, users must not:
•Create accounts or utilize contents which impersonate the College or others, or in any way misrepresents yourself as speaking on behalf of BC3, another user, a College department, the Board of Trustees, or any other BC3-related entity.
•Use College logos, marks, or branding without approval from the Communications and Marketing Department.
•Post any financial, confidential, sensitive, or proprietary information about the College, its students, prospective students, employees, alumni, donors, or Trustees unless doing so is within the scope of his/her job duties and the appropriate supervisor has provided advanced approval.
•Use social media in a manner that disrupts instruction, administration, or community safety.
•Use official College accounts for personal expression, commercial activity, political campaigning, or content inconsistent with the College’s mission.
•Post content that is unlawful, threatening, harassing, defamatory, obscene, considered unlawful hate speech, or incites violence.
G. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
BC3 recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) platforms are powerful tools with many potential applications. The sections below define acceptable and prohibited uses of AI at BC3.
Acceptable Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
When using Artificial Intelligence (AI), users must:
•Use AI in a responsible, ethical, and secure manner.
•Use AI in ways that uphold academic integrity and BC3’s mission of providing quality, student-centered education.
•Provide human oversight of AI-generated content for accuracy, quality, and potential bias.
•Follow all department or instructor-established rules concerning the use of AI-generated content in courses or programs.
Prohibited Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
When using Artificial Intelligence (AI), users must not:
•Use AI in a manner that violates the College’s Academic Dishonesty Policy. Unauthorized use of AI to generate assignments, assessment responses, or other coursework will be treated as an academic dishonesty violation, subject to disciplinary action.
•Use AI to generate or disseminate content that is unlawful, threatening, harassing, defamatory, obscene, considered unlawful hate speech, incites violence, or is inconsistent with BC3’s mission.
•Input, process, or store any personally identifiable information, protected FERPA information, information covered by HIPAA, or information the College has classified as restricted.
•Use AI for critical decision-making processes without significant human oversight. While AI may be used as a tool in the process, critical decisions must be made by humans.
•Employ AI tools in ways that violate copyright, intellectual property, or licensing restrictions.
H. Privacy and Monitoring
While BC3 respects individual privacy, users should be aware that:
•Electronic communications, data, files, and logs stored on College systems are College property and may be used as needed for College business or subject to disclosure as required by law.
•The College reserves the right to access, record, release, monitor, filter, block, or decrypt any network traffic, data, files, e-mails, information, or activities using the College’s networks, devices, software, applications, or other technology resources when deemed necessary. This may include, but not be limited to, Right-to-Know Act requests, audits, internal reviews and investigations, routine monitoring, or troubleshooting efforts.
•Users have no reasonable expectation of privacy when using College technology resources.
I. Reporting Misuse
Suspected violations should be reported to the College’s Director of Information Technology. Reports will be investigated by the IT department in conjunction with the Human Resources Department or the Dean of Students.
J. Disclaimer/Release/Indemnification
The College is not responsible for the loss or corruption of user data or information of any kind. Use of technology, networks, and facilities at the Butler County Community College shall constitute a full, final, and irrevocable release of Butler County Community College, its agents, and employees from any suit, claim, or cause of action arising by virtue of the use of the College’s technology, networks, devices, and facilities, including but not limited to, loss of data or information, damage to any networks, systems, software, applications, devices or any outages or loss’s caused. The user agrees to indemnify and hold the College harmless from any suit, claim, or cause of action arising from the user’s abuse or misuse of the technology, networks, devices, and facilities of the College.
K. Policy Review
This policy will be reviewed regularly by the College’s Information Technology Department in collaboration with College Leadership to ensure ongoing relevance, effectiveness, and compliance.
Mobile Device Usage Policy - Students
This policy applies to, but is not limited to, the use of mobile/cellular phones, laptop/notebook/tablet computers, smart phones and PDAs, and any mobile device capable of storing corporate data and connecting to an unmanaged network, hereinafter referred to as “mobile device.” Mobile devices can further be defined as having the ability to receive and/or transmit voice, text, data messages and/or internet usage without a cable connection.
General Mobile Device Use
A. During class sessions, all mobile devices should be on silent or vibrate mode. Students may access their mobile device in the event that their mobile devices activate simultaneously due to the e2Campus Alert System.
B. During testing situations and/or when directed by the instructor, the use of a mobile device is prohibited and mobile devices must be turned off. The instructor may leave his/her mobile device on silent or vibrate in the event that an alert would be sent over the e2Campus Alert System during testing situations.
C. To protect the privacy of the faculty, staff, students, and visitors, students are prohibited from using their mobile device as a means to photograph and/or record any individual(s) in any form (audio and/or video) without that individual’s knowledge and consent.
D. The use of mobile devices to photograph and/or record a test, classroom material, private information, and/or related item is prohibited.
E. The College will not be liable for the loss of personal mobile devices brought onto campus and/or an off-campus location.
F. Any connection to the College’s information services must adhere to the Acceptable Use of Technology Policy.
G. Students have no expectation of privacy when connected to the College’s information services.
Failure to follow the provisions of this policy could result in a violation of the Student Code of Conduct and could result in disciplinary action.
Online Privacy Statement
A. Online Privacy Practices
Butler County Community College (BC3) is committed to ensuring your online privacy with respect to third parties. BC3 does not sell or distribute to third parties any information collected from its sites unless required by law.
B. E-commerce
All online credit card transactions to BC3 are secure and encrypted. Confidential information you enter during online transactions is used only for the purposes described in that transaction.
C. Sharing of Information
BC3 strictly adheres to the Family and Educational Rights Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) otherwise known as the Buckley Amendment and does not release personal student information collected online without explicit authorization.
D. Public Forums
BC3 uses chat rooms, e-mail, discussion forums, etc. for academic purposes. While these electronic communications may be logged and reviewed, these educational records are protected from disclosure by FERPA.
E. Links to Other Sites
BC3 web sites contain links to other sites outside of the BC3 domain. BC3 is not responsible for the content or the privacy practices of these sites. If you have questions about the privacy practices, contact the Executive Director of Communications and Marketing or Director of Information Technology.
Student Printing & Copying Policy
- Students will be allotted $15.00 for printing per semester at no charge.
- Students will be able to purchase additional pages at the Bookstore, Library, and Finance Office, with a minimum purchase of $1.00. Students will also be able to purchase addition pages at Brockway, Cranberry, Lawrence Crossing, and LindenPointe by check only ($5.00 minimum).
- Students will receive a warning when their printing allowance gets low.
- It will cost .10¢ per page for black and white and .15¢ for color.
- Any balance on student accounts is non-refundable.
- Balances will not carry over to the next semester.
- These recommendations do not apply to the plotters used by CADD students
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