Digital Rights and Responsibilities

Acceptable Use Policy For Education Institutes 

• Purpose
• This policy guides users of the CommunityNet (CNET) Learning VPN (LRNVPN) Information Technology (IT) infrastructure. It balances the user's ability to benefit fully from information technology with CNET's need for secure and effectively allocated and utilized IT resources (Government of Saskatchewan, 2012).
• Policy
• The CNET Learning Infrastructure Committee of the LSCAC has the responsibility of developing and implementing the CNET LRNVPN Acceptable Use Policy.
• Participating entities will follow guidelines and policies to enable reasonable and appropriate usage of information systems, and to perform their roles in accordance with all applicable laws, regulations and policies. The LSCAC will periodically redefine and enhance these guidelines and policies (Government of Saskatchewan, 2012).
• This policy addresses circumstances that are new and evolving, or at least unfamiliar. It augments existing user group and the Ministry of Education policies. Users who are found in non-compliance of this policy will be subject to a range of actions up to and including the disconnection of CNET services.
• It is the responsibility of the user group Director, CEO and/or Director of Education to ensure that any local Acceptable Use Policies do not contravene this policy. There are three usage types for the LRNVPN infrastructure:
• Acceptable 
• Acceptable uses are activities required to conduct the businesses of education and libraries. They help fulfill the mandates set forth by School Divisions, Post Secondary Institutions, Libraries, First Nation education authorities and the Ministry of Education.
• Incidental
• Incidental uses are those that are neither explicitly permitted nor explicitly denied.  Incidental usage that becomes an imposition on others or burdens systems is no longer incidental, but unacceptable, and is not permitted.
• Unacceptable
• Unacceptable use impedes the work of others and may unintentionally damage the infrastructure. Unacceptable usage may generate extra costs for CNET and/or its CNET partners. It is unacceptable to:
• Use, copy, or otherwise access anyone else's files without authorization.
• Permit unauthorized access.
• Create or propagate computer viruses.
• Damage files, equipment, software, or data belonging to others.
•  Basic rights and responsibilities of students
1. You will only have access to computers that you have authorization over
2. You may not attempt to copy or assume another users’ password to gain access to their account
3. You are responsible for all resources allocated to you which include hardware and software
4. One is expected to adhere to agreements that are set out by third parties in connection to resources
5. You should be responsible for protecting your credentials in order to limit unauthorized access
6. Do not try access restricted portions of the network without permission
7. You are to adhere to policies and guidelines set out by the university/college at all times

The site I chose is from the Brown University which clearly states their AUP which can be viewed on the link above. This site is a prime example of what information and resources are available to its students. By reading the web page, one is able to gauge that the students at the university are privileged enough to have access to the internet. This means that they have digital access (EDC, 2015) (Institute of International Education, 2015) (Brown University, 2015).

Within their AUP, it explains all the information necessary for users of their network i.e. the students. The webpage starts off by out lining the importance of the AUP under the heading of “Purpose of the AUP” (Brown University, 2015). It then moves on to explain the “Scope of the Policy” which means that it outlines all the resources allocated to you and what your responsibility is in relation to Brown University. The next section covered is the “Policy” itself(Brown University, 2015). There are a number of subsections that link back the policy in which it explains what the policy will cover (Brown University, 2015). It also includes the penalties that may occur if one does not adhere to the AUP (Brown University, 2015).