Technology Division

1. Introduction  

   1. The purpose of this policy is to articulate the rights and responsibilities of all persons using information technology (IT) resources owned, leased, or administered by Chattanooga State Community College. The College provides these resources to support its educational and administrative mission; therefore, responsible use must be ethical, reflect academic honesty, and show restraint in the consumption of shared resources. Access to College technology resources is a privilege, not a right, and may be revoked for non-compliance with College or TBR policies. 

2. Scope 

   1. This policy applies to all students, faculty, staff, contractors, and guests who access any College-provided network, software, service, data, or hardware resource, regardless of whether that access occurs on-campus or remotely.

3. User Responsibilities  

   1. Users are expected to comply with the following standards, which are illustrative and not exhaustive: 

      1. Access: Users shall obtain proper authorization before using IT resources and shall not share access credentials (passwords or multifactor authentication methods) with any other person. 

      2. Professional Conduct: Users shall not use IT resources to transmit or distribute material that is harassing, threatening, defamatory, or obscene. 

      3. Institutional Mission: IT resources shall be used for activities that conform to the mission of the College. Private for-profit use or unauthorized solicitation is prohibited. 

      4. Property Respect: Users shall not intentionally or negligently damage, vandalize, or modify College-owned hardware or software. 

4. Respect for Intellectual Property 

   1. Copyright: Users must respect the legal protection provided by copyright and license agreements for all software and digital content. 

   2. Software Acquisition: Only software authorized by the College may be installed on College-owned IT resources. Personal or unlicensed software is prohibited. 

   3. Peer-to-Peer: Unauthorized peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing is prohibited. 

5. Network Integrity and Shadow IT  

   1. To ensure network stability and security, users shall not connect unauthorized hardware (such as personal routers, servers, or wireless access points) to the College network. The College reserves the right to disconnect any device that adversely affects network performance or poses a security risk. 

6. Employee Use of Personal Accounts for College Business 

   1. Employees may not use personal accounts for College business.  Electronic records created in the course of College business must remain within systems the College owns or controls.  Employees using personal accounts for College business have zero protection from liability. 

7. Privacy and Monitoring 

   1. Users have no reasonable expectation of privacy when using College-owned IT resources or networks. The College reserves the right to monitor, log, and inspect any network activity or electronic records-including email and stored files-without notice to ensure compliance with policy, maintain system integrity, or respond to legal discovery requests. 

8. Enforcement and Sanctions  

   1. Violations of this policy may result in the immediate suspension of IT access privileges, pending disciplinary action in accordance with the Student Handbook or employee disciplinary procedures.

Reference: TBR Policy 1.08.05.00 (IT Acceptable Uses) 

Submitted to Policy Review Committee on March 2, 2026

Submitted to Policy Review Board on April 13, 2026

Approved by Policy Review Board on April 29, 2026

Previous Versions:

Updates Approved by Policy Review Board on April 21, 2021

Approved by Policy Review Board on December 6, 2018