All of our policies and rules of conduct apply to student use of College-owned computing devices found on the Campus at the College’s Computer Lab. All communications (email, instant messaging, and Internet access) on College-owned computing devices are subject to the College’s policies on appropriate use. This means, for example, that students may not send harassing messages, access pornographic or gambling websites, or violate any of the College’s other rules on appropriate communications content. The College reserves the right to close or reserve the computers in the computer lab for any reason and at any time.

You may not download, install, or use any software programs on a College-owned computing device unless that program has been approved by the College administration.

Use the same malware precautions when using your own computing devices as when utilizing the College’s computers. Do not open attachments to email or instant messages if you do not know the sender or otherwise aren’t sure that the attachment is legitimate. Do not open, read, or download any undetermined file from the Internet, especially without having had it scanned for viruses first.

No Instant Messaging. Because of the security risks associated with publicly available IM software, instant messaging is prohibited at the College. Students may not download or use personal IM software from the Internet to send or receive instant messages on College computers. For example, students may not use Yahoo! Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, Google Talk, or Google Hangouts. Additionally, students will refrain from utilizing any IM software to communicate with fellow students while in class. Violation of this policy may result in disciplinary action, as per the College’s Conduct Policy.

The College reserves the right to monitor student use of the Internet at any time while on campus. You should not expect that your use of the Internet — including but not limited to the sites you visit, the amount of time you spend online, and the communications you have — will be private. If a violation of the Internet Policy is determined, or if inappropriate use of the computers has been reported or has occurred, the student may be subject to disciplinary action as set forth in the College’s Conduct Policy.

The College’s monitoring software may keep track of everything you type on a College-owned computer. Therefore, although the College allows students to access their personal email accounts using College equipment, students should not expect any messages they send or view from the College equipment to be private. The College recommends that you reserve viewing and sending your email from your own personal computing devices during non-classroom hours.

We understand that students may occasionally wish to use their own portable computing devices – such as laptops and smartphones – for school. However, typing on a computer during class may be disruptive to your fellow students, and cell phones are never to be turned on during class (see College Conduct Policy). Therefore, if you wish to use a computer during a normal class lecture period, discuss this request with the faculty prior to the start of the lecture. Discretion will be left to the faculty giving the lecture; however, if permission is granted, the faculty member may also at any time request that you turn off your computer for the duration of class. Under normal circumstances, using a computer during class is not necessary and is also discouraged by the College administration, since most students find the constant tapping of the keyboards during lectures to be distracting.

The College network and Internet access are for personal use only outside of classroom hours and only in accordance with the other terms of this policy. Any student who engages in inappropriate Internet use may be subject to immediate disciplinary action, as per the College’s Conduct Policy.

Students may not, at any time, access the Internet using College equipment or personal equipment for any of the following purposes while on campus:

Students may not use the College’s equipment to transmit their personal opinions by, for example, posting comments to a blog or contributing to an online forum. Even if you don’t identify yourself as a College student, your use of College equipment could cause your opinion to be mistaken for the College’s view, and is thus, prohibited while using the College’s computers. The College’s Computer Lab is intended to provide students with computers to use for academic related purposes.

We are concerned for your safety and for the safety of other drivers and pedestrians, and texting, checking messages, going online, or otherwise using a portable computing device or smartphone while driving can lead to accidents. The legislature passed a law in Illinois in 2009 that prohibits texting while driving. The law went into effect on January 1, 2010. The law is set forth in the Illinois Vehicle Code at 625 ILCS 5/12-610.2. Texting while driving is a moving violation in Illinois, and therefore, can result in a suspended license. The statute prohibits more than just texting, however.  In 2014, this law was updated to include making or receiving calls while driving unless using a hands-free device. Further, a driver cannot text, instant message, email, or surf the web while driving, with either a cell phone or a laptop computer. See the Illinois Department of Motor Vehicles or other State-sponsored websites for more information on the State’s current driving laws.

Please refrain from texting, talking (without a hands-free device), reading emails, etc. while driving on the campus, or while driving to any College sponsored activity, including driving to the Medical Examiner’s Office, for your safety, the safety of your fellow students, and for other pedestrians and drivers on the road.

If you must send or read a message while driving, you must wait until you can pull over safely and stop the car before doing so. Failure to comply with this safety policy on campus, or off campus going to or from a College-sponsored course, activity, or event, may also result in disciplinary action, as per the College’s Conduct Policies.

The office will not disturb scheduled classes unless the telephone call for the student is an emergency. Messages of an important nature will be posted outside of the door next to your assigned classroom. No cell phone usage is permitted during class, which includes texting, instant messaging, or surfing the web. Failure to comply with the cell phone policy may result in disciplinary action being taken by the faculty or administration as per the College Conduct and College Examination Procedure Policies.

Social media tools, including College-sponsored blogs and microblogs, social networking sites, video or picture sharing sites, wikis, and other means of communicating online, are an important part of our College’s face to the public. These social media offer new opportunities to shape opinion about our unique learning environment and an avenue for our College to communicate directly with students and industry professionals. Social media is a means to provide added value for our students, and to be part of the online conversation about important developments in our field.

Exercise your good judgment when requesting that fellow students, coworkers or managers, join your online social networks, or when responding to such requests. Keep in mind that, although you may be friends outside of class or work, you are also colleagues while in school, and must always treat each other with respect and courtesy. A post or comment that might be appropriate among social friends may sound different when coming from a classmate, boss, subordinate, or coworker. All of the College policies apply when posting comments on the internet, and any inappropriate, bullying, harassing, or vulgar comments, will not be tolerated and may incur disciplinary action.

The College recognizes that some of our students may choose to express themselves by posting personal information on the Internet through personal websites, social media, blogs, or chat rooms, by uploading content, or by making comments at other websites or blogs. We value our students’ creativity and honor your interest in engaging in these forms of personal expression on your own time, should you choose to do so. However, problems can arise when a personal posting identifies or appears to be associated with the College, or when a personal posting is used in ways that violate the College’s rights or the rights of other students.

You are legally responsible for content you post to the Internet, in a blog, social media site, or otherwise. You can be held personally liable for defaming others, revealing proprietary information or copyright infringement, including posting College-owned course or exam content, among other things.

All of the College policies apply to anything you write in a personal blog, post to the Internet, or upload to the Internet, and inappropriate posts may include possible disciplinary action. This means, for example, that you may not use personal postings to harass or threaten other students, faculty or administration of the College, or reveal confidential information. Embarrassing or unkind comments about other College students, visitors, speakers, College events, or other College activities are also inappropriate and will not be tolerated.

If, in the process of making a personal post or upload on the Internet, you identify yourself as an student of our College, whether by explicit statement or by implication, you must clearly state that the views expressed in your post, or at your blog, social media page, or website, are your own, and do not reflect the views of the College.

You may not use College trademarks, logos, or other images, nor may you make false or misleading statements about the College’s philosophy, products, services, opinions, or make false or misleading statements against affiliations with other companies or institutions associated with the College. If you have any concerns about the confidentiality or propriety of something you would like to post, check with Leili McMurrough, Program Director, at the College prior to posting.

Please keep in mind that your personal postings will be read not only by your friends and family, but possibly by your fellow students, coworkers, and bosses, as well as by the College’s customers, clients, and other institutions.  Even if you post anonymously or under a pseudonym, your identity can be discovered relatively easily. Use your common sense when deciding what is appropriate content to include in an online post or comment.

Only authorized students or personnel may set up or post to College-sponsored blogs or microblogs, social networking pages, or other social media. Authorization is granted by Leili McMurrough, Program Director of the College. Before anyone will be allowed to begin posting content, they must agree to attend social media training, or any other preparation as deemed necessary by the College administration.

Remember, you are legally responsible for what you post online, whether on a personal site or a College-sponsored site. You can be held personally liable for defaming others, revealing proprietary information, or for copyright infringement, among other things. All College policies apply to your online posts, including those posted on College-sponsored sites.

All students who post content to College sites or other website pages or blogs, when making any references regarding the College, fellow students, faculty, administration, courses, or any College-sponsored events, must remember to keep in mind the College policies regarding appropriate conduct. Additionally, if you choose to cite personal opinions relating to the College or about any student, administrator, faculty or College-sponsored events or curriculum, which again, are also not offensive or disrespectful in any way as per the College’s Conduct Policy, your post must include the following disclaimer:

“The posts on this page express my own views and opinions, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Worsham College.”

Worsham College has a help desk available to assist with both hardware troubleshooting as well as assistance with Worsham Email, Canvas, and other school computer applications.  Students can access this service Monday-Friday from 9:00AM to 4:00PM by phone or email techsupport@worsham.edu.  If student prefers they can fill out a help ticket using the HelpDesk 24/7 (https://www.worsham.edu/support/).  The help ticket will be logged and handled within 24-48 hours.  In the event of an academic or advising issues, use the contact information in the syllabus to contact your instructor, adviser or program director.

Updated July 2019