Policies and Procedures

Technology Use Policies Heading link

Applicability

These policies govern the use of law school technology resources by faculty, staff, students, and other authorized users. Resources provided to users by third parties pursuant to contractual arrangements with the law school are also subject to these policies. These rules replace the law school’s computer use policies and rules dated August 1, 1995.

Permitted Uses

Law school technology resources are to be used for school-related purposes. Personal noncommercial use of such resources for other purposes is permitted only if it is merely incidental, does not consume substantial resources nor interfere with school-related uses, does not violate other published policies, and does not tend to create a false or misleading appearance of endorsement by or association with the law school.

Prohibited Activities

  1. No person may access law school technology resources without authorization or in a manner that exceeds the scope of authorized access or violates published law school regulations or No person may use another person’s password. Users must not conceal or disguise their identities.
  2. No person may use law school technology resources in a manner that is unlawful or that damages the property of, violates the rights of, or otherwise causes injury to the law school or another person. This includes but is not limited to engaging in harassment or
  3. Except as permitted by other provisions of these policies, no person may intentionally disrupt access to law school technology facilities by other This includes, but is not limited to, spamming, bombing, chain letters and other activities that are wasteful of the law school’s technology resources, as well as the distribution of viruses, worms, or other rogue programs.
  4. No person may share a password or other confidential account information with any third party, nor knowingly or recklessly permit any third party to access technology resources without authorization. A person who violates this provision may be held responsible for any actions taken by such third
  5. Except where specifically authorized by the law school, a person may not use more than one law school computer at a time and may not reserve or obstruct the use by others of any computer during periods of Users may not remove or modify any of the law school’s equipment without authorization.
  6. Users may not violate civil or criminal laws including but not limited to the infringement of copyright and other intellectual property rights or the violation of contract and licensing
  7. Users may not send communications to third parties falsely suggesting that the law school is endorsing or condoning the content of the communication or that the sender is acting on behalf of the law
  8. For student users, failures of technology resources shall not be considered an excuse or justification for late or incomplete academic work except at the discretion of the faculty member concerned.
  9. Faculty members shall have the discretion to establish and enforce policies on the use of computers and other technology resources within their classrooms consistent with this policy

Privacy

The Law School recognizes the rights of all users to confidentiality and privacy of their electronic mail, other communications, and stored data and undertakes to respect these rights as much as possible while maintaining the integrity and effective operation of its technology resources. The law school will monitor, access, examine, or disclose the contents of such communications and information without a user’s consent only for legitimate purposes as set forth below.

  1. The Law School will not routinely monitor the content of users’ communications and information but may do so as deemed necessary for purposes of maintaining the integrity and effective operation of its systems necessary for communications and other technology resources.
  2. The Law School may inspect and disclose the contents of communications and information that is transmitted, received, or stored using the law school’s technology resources only under the following circumstances:
    1. in the course of an investigation triggered by indications of misconduct or misuse including violation of this policy;
    2. as needed to protect health and safety;
    3. as needed to prevent interference with the law school’s academic mission;
    4. as needed to ensure the proper functioning of the law school’s technology systems operations;
    5. as needed to locate substantive information required for law school business that is not readily available by some other means;
    6. where required by law or to fulfill the law school’s legal obligations to third parties.
  3. The extent of any inspection or disclosure shall be limited to that reasonably necessary to serve its legitimate purpose.
  4. Except where notification would be inconsistent with the purpose of the inspection or disclosure, a user shall be notified in the event of an inspection or disclosure of the user’s communications or information. Where feasible such notification shall occur in advance, and the user shall be given a reasonable opportunity to seek review of the decision before it is implemented. Where advance notification is not feasible, a user normally shall be notified contemporaneously with the inspection or disclosure, or as soon thereafter as is reasonably feasible.

Limitation of Liability

The law school does not provide a warranty, either express or implied, for its technology resources and related services that may be provided and undertakes no obligation to provide such resources and services. The law school assumes no responsibility for data stored or transmitted using its resources. Any backups maintained by the law school are maintained solely for the law school’s own benefit and use. The law school is not liable for any losses, including lost revenues, claims, or demands against any user by any other party.

Enforcement

The Dean has the authority to temporarily or permanently limit, suspend, or terminate any user’s access to the school’s technology resources if, in the Dean’s discretion, it is in the best interests of the school. Violations of this policy additionally may result in disciplinary action in accordance with the appropriate disciplinary procedures for faculty, staff and students.

Termination of Access to the UIC Law Network

For staff employees, adjunct instructors, and contractors, access to the Law School network, including access to a UIC email account and Ellucian/Banner or successor ERP system, will terminate on (i) the last active workday, for staff employees; (ii) the date of termination or expiration of their adjunct appointment, for adjuncts; or (iii) the date their contractual engagement for the school ends, for contractors. The Law School may provide students with access to a UIC email account and limited access to the Law School network for up to one year after graduation.

The Law School reserves the right, from time to time, to review and revise use policies and rules.

Network/Server Maintenance Policy Heading link

Maintenance Window

The Information Technology Services scheduled maintenance window will occur on the following days and times:

  • Second and fourth Thursdays of each month: 9 p.m.–midnight

During these maintenance times users can expect that connectivity and application support may be interrupted. Interruptions may not occur on these scheduled evenings, but users should be aware that they could be possible during this timeframe.

This scheduled maintenance gives both the ITS department and the user community a predictable timeframe when maintenance can occur.

Computer Restart Policy

The Law School ITS Department will conduct automated restarts of all UIC Law computers between 2–3 a.m. on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of every month. Please save all work prior to the restart, as documents may be lost if not saved beforehand, and refrain from accessing your computer during that window.

Emergency Maintenance

When emergency maintenance does occur, it may occur upon short notice. ITS will always try to give as much notice as possible in an emergency situation, but cannot always guarantee that notice will be given.

Policy Agreement for Technical Services Performed Heading link

The Law School ITS Department offers students free, limited, computer troubleshooting and repair. Due to the limited nature of the support, we can not guarantee that all problems will be resolved.

Prior to support being performed on any equipment, we request that this service agreement is read, signed, and dated. Please read the following carefully;

By signing this release agreement you (user) acknowledge the following:

  1. A technician will attempt to install, configure, or troubleshoot the operating system, software, and/or hardware on your computer; however, because of possible defects or improperly configured computer software or hardware, not every attempt is successful. The Law School ITS Department does not guarantee that the work done on your computer equipment will be successful.
  2. Attempts to install, configure, or troubleshoot operating system, software, and/ or hardware has inherent dangers of data or software loss that no amount of care, caution, instruction, or expertise can eliminate. It is your (user’s) responsibility to back up all important data or software before releasing your computer to us (UIC Law) in an attempt to install, configure, or troubleshoot the operating system, software, and/or hardware on your computer.
  3. The process of installing, configuring, or troubleshooting the operating system and/or hardware requires time to complete properly. UIC Law will make every attempt to provide you with an estimated time. By signing this agreement, you acknowledge that UIC Law may exceed the estimated time of completion in order to complete the troubleshooting process.
  4. Signing this agreement acknowledges that you are expressly assuming the risks of the dangers set forth above and that by signing this release agreement, you hereby forever release UIC Law and/or its representatives from any legal liability arising from the attempt to install, configure, or troubleshoot the operating system, software, and/or hardware on your computer. This release includes, but is not limited to, any loss of data system, software, and/or hardware on your computer or from the loss of use of the computer equipment due to the length of time needed for troubleshooting.
  5. ITS will make every possible effort to ensure all of your data is kept confidential, safe and intact on your computer.