1. Purpose

1.1. This document is the University of Bedfordshire ("the University") Policy for the acceptable use of the computer network and associated services.

2. Scope

2.1. The University Computer Network may only be used in accordance with this policy.

3. Policy

3.1. The University Network ("the UBN") may not be used for any of the following purposes:

a. creation, transmission or deliberate receipt (other than for properly supervised and lawful research purposes) of any offensive, obscene or indecent images (including pseudo images), data or other material, or any data capable of being resolved into obscene, unlawful or indecent images or material;

b. creation or transmission of material which causes, or is likely to cause annoyance, revulsion or needless anxiety to the University, its staff, students, visitors or any third party;

c. creation or transmission of defamatory abusive or other unlawful material in respect of the University, its staff, students, visitors or any third party;

d. transmission of material in such manner that it infringes the copyright of the University, another person or organisation or which discloses confidential or sensitive information or data relating to the University, its staff, students, visitors or any third party;

e. transmission of unsolicited commercial or advertising material;

f. any other act which is considered unlawful in any country where the network is being accessed;

g. deliberate activities with any of the following characteristics:

i. wasting staff effort or networked resources, including the effort of staff involved in the support of these services;

ii. corrupting or destroying the University's or other users' data;

iii. manipulating and altering assessments, grades or transcripts;

iv. accessing and copying files of other users in order to obtain an improper advantage;

v. violating the privacy of the University or other users;

vi. disrupting the work of other users; using the UBN in a way that denies service to other users (for example, deliberate or reckless overloading of access links or of switching equipment);

vii. continuing to use an item of networking software or hardware after a request that use cease because it is causing disruption to the correct functioning of the UBN;

viii. other misuse of UBN or networked resources, such as the introduction of viruses, extracting material of others and passing it off as one's own, manipulating material of the University or others to one's own advantage, whether pecuniary or otherwise

3.2. Where the UBN is being used to access another network, any abuse of the acceptable use policy of that network will be regarded as unacceptable use of the UBN.

3.3. All the provisions of the Acceptable Use Policy of the Joint Academic NETwork ("JANET") apply to users of the UBN in addition to the provisions herein.

3.4. Users are not permitted to access the UBN on behalf of third parties without prior written agreement of the University;

3.5. It is beyond the resources and ability of the University to monitor all activities on the UBN. However, where there is sound reason to suspect unacceptable use as defined above, the University reserves the right to inspect a user's material and use history, including email messages, and at its sole discretion block or edit such material as it sees fit. Furthermore, from time to time, the University may implement technical measures to monitor activity on the UBN to ensure compliance with the requirements of this Policy and to carry out tests for research purposes.

3.6. Acceptance of the right of the University to take steps to prevent suspected misuse is a condition of access to the UBN.

3.7. Any external organisation having a direct link into the UBN must take all reasonable steps to ensure compliance with the requirements of this Policy and to ensure that unacceptable use of the UBN does not occur. The external organisation must also accept responsibility for adequately informing its own users of the conditions of use of the UBN;

3.8. Where necessary, and at the sole discretion of the University, access by an individual or organisation may be withdrawn, either temporarily or indefinitely.

3.9. In the event of misuse of the UBN the University reserves the right to exclude access to any external organisation (see point 7 above), or employee, or student and in the case of:

• misuse by an employee of the University, to proceed against that employee under the University's disciplinary procedures for employees and
• misuse by a student, to proceed against that student in accordance with the University's Student Disciplinary Procedures.

3.10. Individuals must not share the passwords for any of their University accounts. Account owners are held responsible for all activities and content associated with their accounts. Failure to conform to these requirements may lead to the suspension of account privileges or other actions as provided by the appropriate University policy. If an individual believes that someone else is accessing their account, they must report this immediately. For students, contact the Student Information Desk. For staff, contact the ICT Service Desk.