UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 2, Page 8
September 12, 1991
Responsible computing use policy under review

     A draft document, "Policy for Responsible Computing Use," has
been drawn up to define ethical computing practices at the
University, according to Susan Foster, associate vice president for
Computing and Network Services (CNS).
     The document has been presented to President David P. Roselle,
vice presidents and deans for review and will be considered this
fall by the full Faculty Senate.
     The policy of computer ethics was first drafted by Richard
Gordon, manager of non-numerical applications in CNS User Services,
and other staff members. Two years ago, the Faculty Senate
Committee on Instructional, Computing and Research Support
Services, first chaired by David Usher, associate professor of life
and health sciences, and next chaired by Madeline Lambrecht,
assistant professor of nursing, began reviewing the draft. It was
approved by the committee in May.
     As computers have become an increasingly integral part of the
University's educational programs and administration, and as the
University has expanded interaction with world-wide computing and
information networks, a clear-cut policy about what constitutes
acceptable and ethical computing practices at the University became
essential, Gordon said.
     Three issues are addressed in the policy:
        * access and authorization
        * protection of users and University resources and
        * the education of computer users.
     The emphasis is on the individual responsibility of all
computer users for the proper use and integrity of information
resources, Foster said. Basically, the principles of academic
integrity are being applied to computer technology and stated so
that everyone is clearly informed of his or her obligations, she
said.
     When the President's Committee on Information Resource
Planning and Management (CIRPM), chaired by Foster, reviewed the
original draft, it was decided to make the document more inclusive
and to establish University-wide standards that applied not only to
faculty and students, but to administrators, professionals and
staff.
     The policy statement was then reviewed and revised by a CIRPM
task force, chaired by Jean Brown, director of records management
and archival services. This task force, which worked closely with
the Faculty Senate committee, also approved the draft document in
May.
     A draft form of the policy has been included in the Student
Handbook this fall as a guide to the ethical use of computers at
the University.
     "The policy is a positive statement of computer ethics, based
on the principles of academic honesty and respecting the rights of
others," Brown said. "We have addressed the issues of
confidentiality, privacy, plagiarism, authorized access to
information and contractual obligations among others."
     The next goal of the task force is to review guidelines to
implement the computing ethics policy. These guidelines will apply
to faculty, students, administrators and staff.
     Recently, Gordon was invited to speak at the first National
Conference on Computing Values, sponsored by the Research Center on
Computing and Society at Southern Connecticut State University.
     According to Gordon, many universities have an interest in
Delaware's draft policy. One reason is the legislative process
being used to develop the computing policy. Another aspect is the
emphasis of the draft policy on positive aspects of computer use,
in other words the "do's" as well as the "don'ts," Gordon said.
Some colleges and universities have developed policies that apply
only to faculty and students, he said, so their representatives are
interested that the University's draft policy will, when adopted,
be extended to apply to system administrators as well as faculty,
staff and student computer users.
     In addition to the revisions from Lambrecht's and Brown's
committees, Gordon said the draft policy has been improved by
comments from students, faculty, staff and administrators.
     Persons with further comments about the policy may call Gordon
at 451-1717 or contact him through his e-mail address,
richard@brahms.udel.edu.
                                        - Sue Swyers Moncure