James Williams
The Paw Print
The Adams State College Board of Trustees recently approved a campus-wide policy regarding unauthorized downloading and file sharing of copyrighted digital materials by students, faculty, and staff.
According to the policy, the purpose is “to ensure that ASC acts in good faith and makes a reasonable effort to combat copyright abuse related to peer-to-peer file sharing on its campus network. This policy also addresses the general requirements called out in the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) that deal with unauthorized file sharing.”
The Department of Education regulations specified in an August 21, 2009 posting required that the policy must be implemented and in writing. The policy is required to inform its students that unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material may subject a student to civil and criminal liabilities. The policy must also include a summary of the penalties for violation of Federal copyright laws and a summary of the institution’s policies regarding illegal downloading and distribution of copyrighted materials.
Mike Nicholson, the director of computing services and telecommunications, stated that a policy has always been in place, but now is a relevant time for this policy to be enacted even further.
“We’ve received two to three notices per week from the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America regarding copyright infringement violations. The frequency of violations has been picking up over the last month.”
Nicholson added that there are three separate policies, with one each for students, faculty and staff, and guests to the ASC campus. All three policies of escalating response are similar.
A first offense results in suspended network access until a meeting with either the Support Services Lead or the Residential Network (ResNet) Lead to discuss the incident. The student must also sign an ASC Computer Misuse Notification form.
For a second offense, on-campus students will meet with Bruce Del Tondo, the director of housing, and the Support Services Lead or the ResNet Lead to discuss the incident. Students who reside off-campus will meet with Ken Marquez, the dean of students, the Support Services Lead or the ResNet Lead. The student must sign another ASC Computer Misuse Notification Form, and copies will be placed in either the student’s housing file or the student’s file maintained by the Office of the Dean of Students, whichever is appropriate. Computing Services will also keep the form on file for one academic year.
A third offense will result in the same level-appropriate meetings, and in addition to signing another ASC Computer Misuse Notification Form, the student’s ASC computer will be rate-limited for 60 days or the remainder of the semester, whichever is longer. The rate-limited access to the network will still allow general browsing of the Internet and use of email, but the student will not be able to use bandwidth-intensive applications.
A fourth offense will result in a complete suspension of the student’s ASC computer account until access is re-authorized by the Office of the Dean of Students, at their discretion. The student will be required to sign another ASC Computer Misuse Notification Form which will be placed in the appropriate file with either the Housing Office or the Office of the Dean of Students. In addition, the form will remain on file with Computing Services indefinitely. Further disciplinary action will be the responsibility of the Office of the Dean of Students.
“We don’t see many repeat offenders,” said Nicholson.
The policy is up for review annually, but Nicholson doesn’t anticipate many changes “unless the technology changes and forces us to make changes in response.”
Enforcement of the HEOA provisions doesn’t formally begin until July 1, 2010, but as of August 2008 all colleges and universities were required to make a good-faith effort at compliance.
“We’re not out to police the Internet and get people in trouble. We only take action when we receive a forwarded violation notice from Qwest (ASC’s Internet Service Provider). All we’re trying to do is protect the institution legally and comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA),” said Nicholson. “The intent is simply to educate and to keep educating the students about the potential legal ramifications associated with copyright infringement.”
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