Terms of Use

To support our educational mission, we have developed and contracted numerous information technology resources for use by The Online College’s faculty, staff, students, and visitors.  By the very nature of the internet, our users also access many public and shared resources; thus, any use of our resources must be consistent with the goals of the entire online community.  Furthermore, as members of the online community, all users are expected to act responsibly and in the best interest of the community as a whole.  To make sure every community member has the best possible experience, we have developed a set of guidelines to spell out our expectations.

This Terms of Use Policy includes the following guidelines and comes with the expectation that you (the user):

a. Respect the rights of others to freedom from harassment or intimidation.  Sending of abusive or unwanted material causing the work or experience of others to be disrupted is a violation of this Policy, may violate the law, and is generally unacceptable.  For the purposes of this Policy, harassment is defined as targeting another person or organization to cause distress, embarrassment, injury, unwanted attention, or other substantial discomfort.

b. Use common courtesy in all communications.  Use of vulgar, abusive or hateful language is prohibited.  We expect common courtesy to govern all communications between students and The Online College and between The Online College and students.  Common courtesy dictates that all community members maintain politeness, respect, and tolerance in all communications whether participating in CHAT sessions, communicating live online, talking on the telephone, or using e-mail messaging.  Any use of profanity will not be tolerated.  Failure to comply may result in restricted access, denied access, or termination as deemed appropriate by the Principal.

c. Use college resources efficiently.  STUDY HALL discussions should be limited to conversations relating to course work and/or subject material.  Should you and others wish to chat off topic, please log in to the STUDENT LOUNGE to continue your off-topic conversation.

d. Protect passwords at all times.  You have been given passwords for one or more specific purposes.  You are responsible for maintaining all passwords in confidence and may not disclose or make available any password to third parties without our prior written consent.  You will be held responsible and will be liable for any harm resulting from your disclosing your password to any other individual.

e. Respect copyright and other intellectual-property rights.  Copying of files or passwords belonging to others will be considered a violation of our policies, a violation of law and may constitute fraud, plagiarism or theft.  Software licensed by the college must only be used in accordance with the applicable license.  Modifying or damaging information without authorization (including but not limited to altering data, introducing viruses or simply damaging files) is unethical, may be unlawful, and is certainly a violation this Policy.

f. Identify yourself clearly and accurately in electronic communication.  Anonymous or pseudo-anonymous communications appear to dissociate you from responsibility for your actions and are inappropriate.  Concealing your identity or misrepresenting your name or affiliation to mask or attempt to distance yourself from irresponsible or offensive behavior is a serious abuse and is a violation of this Policy.  Using identifiers of other individuals, particularly adopting another’s identifiers as your own, constitutes fraud and is a serious violation of this Policy.

g. Abide by security restrictions on all systems and information.  Distributing or making your password or another person's password or access code available to others or otherwise attempting to evade, disable or "crack" password or other security provisions or assisting others in doing so threatens the work, privacy and well-being of many others and is a serious violation of this Policy, grounds for immediate suspension of your access privileges and other disciplinary action.

h. Recognize limitations to privacy in electronic communications.  Please be aware that the level of privacy that can be reasonably expected with respect to electronic information on shared systems and networks is approximately that of paper documents in a sealed envelope – under normal circumstances, the contents of what you write or otherwise create, store and send will be seen only by the indented recipients or those to whom you give permission; however, occasionally those determined to breach your privacy will do so.

i. Accept responsibility for your own work by learning appropriate uses of software to maintain the integrity of what you create.  Keep archives and backup copies of important work.  Learn to use the features for securing or sharing access to your information on any computers you use.  Keep passwords secure and do not share them.

All resources of The Online College may be used for lawful and permitted purposes only.  Use of resources for unlawful purposes or assisting another in such use, is a serious violation of this Policy policies and is grounds for disciplinary action and/or other sanction.

Cases of apparent abuse or violation of any of the guidelines of this Policy will be referred to the appropriate parties and action may be taken.  If found in violation, a community member may have privileges restricted or suspended and may be denied access to The Online College resources.  If and when required, legal action may be necessary and appropriate.

Issues concerning these guidelines or allegations of harassment or other irresponsible use of the information technology resources should be brought in writing to the attention of the Principal.