Acceptable Use Policies

SF's Acceptable Use Policy and Internet Rules of Use meet a lot of the standards set by the National Education Association, but not all.

The preamble explains why the policy is needed, the goals of the policy, and that employees need to adhere to the general code of conduct of the company. It does not include any information on the "process of developing the policy."

The definition section is non-existant. Under defintions there is one word: "None."

The policy statement does list the specific computer services that the policy applies to and the qualification requirements of using the systems.

The acceptable uses section does list specific examples of how the network may be used, but it does not define what is meant by "primarily for business purposes."

The unnacceptable uses section does give "clear, specific examples of what constitues unacceptable use."

Finally, the violations/sanctions section does list a contact number for questions regarding the policy, but it does not mention how employees can report violations of the AUP. I was confused by this standard because the word "sanction" isn't included in the standard's definition. I would expect the standard to also include what will happen to an employee/student if there are repeated violations.

I'm including my notes in case we were supposed to reference specific examples.AUP.docx

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Comment by ajmkatz on November 13, 2011 at 1:52pm: The definition section becomes important especiallyin the interpetation of the "rules". Interesting about no info on reporting violations.

Comment by Ondalee on November 13, 2011 at 11:48pm: It seems as though most of the AUPs have a clear unacceptable uses section, in fact, it seems to be the most direct and in depth section of the majority of the AUPs I have come across. I find it perplexing that many (including SF's) AUPs are able to tell you what not to do, but do not tell you what happens if you do it.

When we set up our classroom expectations we tell the students exactly what we expect them do and how we expect them to behave (acceptable uses). We do not focus on what studnets should not be doing (unacceptable uses). After laying out the expectations, we tell students the consequences for not behaving as expected (violations/sanctions). This is common practice for establishing rules and expectations in schools. If I am not mistaken, an AUP is in essence a set of rules to follow when using technology, yet it is laid out oppositely of what would be considered best practices for establishing rules and expectations.

Comment by Ambur Halla on November 20, 2011 at 8:51am: I agree, Ondalee. I was surprised that there was nothing written about the specific consequences of violating the policy.