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The Nightingale-Bamford School
Acceptable Use Policy for Faculty and Staff
Updated 8/18/2009
The Nightingale-Bamford School (herein referred to as Nightingale) provides you and other
users (“you”) with access to the Nightingale network in order to advance and promote
education at Nightingale and to assist in the collaboration and exchange of information among
all that are concerned with education. The term “network” refers to a number of computers
and other electronic tools that are connected to each other for the purpose of communication
and data sharing. This Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) is an overview of your rights and
responsibilities as a user of the Nightingale network.
To get Internet access and access to the Nightingale network, you must do the following:
1. Read this AUP and ensure that you understand these terms and conditions and agree to
abide by them.
2. Complete and sign the AUP Agreement Form below.
3. Return the completed form to the Director of Technology.
USE OF THE NIGHTINGALE NETWORK
Your use of the Nightingale network, both within and outside of the Nightingale facilities,
must be in support of education and research and be consistent with the educational objectives
of Nightingale.
If Nightingale provides you with a laptop computer, the laptop computer is considered part of
the Nightingale network and all of the above conditions apply. The laptop and any
information on the laptop remain the property of Nightingale and must be returned to the
school when the employee leaves Nightingale.
Your use of the Nightingale network is a privilege, not a right. You are responsible for what
you say and do on the Nightingale network. Because interaction with thousands of others is
so quick and easy, it is important for you to think before communicating and to show respect
for other people and their ideas. Your electronic communications must observe the same
rules and principles that govern the rest of your behavior as a Nightingale faculty or staff
member.
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ACCESS
There are a few basic principles of access about which you should be aware in using the
Nightingale network:

Privacy. Nightingale network administrators may review your use of the Nightingale
network and your communications to maintain system integrity and insure that you
and other users are using the Nightingale network responsibly.

Storage Capacity. Please note that the resources of the Nightingale network are not
infinite. You are expected to remain within your allotted disk space and delete e-mails
or other materials which take up excessive storage space.

Information Encountered While Using Nightingale Network. The Nightingale
network is intended to provide you with an interface to Internet services to be used in
accessing instructional and reference material on the Internet. You must be aware that
inappropriate materials may be encountered during your research required to achieve
valid instructional objectives. If you encounter such inappropriate material, you should
remove such material from your screen immediately.

Proper Credit. Any and all information accessible via the Internet through the
Nightingale network should be assumed to be private property. Any sources you may
use in research must be properly cited (as would be the case when using materials
from a physical library) and credit must be given to the author.

Security. Security on any computer system is a high priority especially when the
system involves many users. The Nightingale Technology Department makes every
effort to maintain reliable service and user privacy, but the Nightingale Technology
Department cannot guarantee that the Nightingale network will always be available,
that files always will be saved, or that user privacy can always be maintained. If you
feel you can identify a potential security problem on the Internet or the Nightingale
network, you must immediately notify a member of the Technology Department. Do
not demonstrate the problem to other users. Do not use another individual’s account.
PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES
When you access the Nightingale network, you are responsible for all of your activity online.
For this reason, you violate the AUP if you engage in the following prohibited activities:

Spamming – sending unsolicited bulk and/or commercial messages or chain letters
over the Nightingale network (known as “spamming”). This practice is harmful to
recipients and can overload the Nightingale network and disrupt service to other users
of the Nightingale network.

Intellectual Property Violations – engaging in any activity that infringes or
misappropriates the intellectual property rights of others, including copyrights,
trademarks, trade secrets and patents. Note that Nightingale is required by law to
remove or block access to content upon receipt of a proper notice of copyright
infringement.

Commercial Uses of the Nightingale Network – using the Nightingale network to
advertise products or services or to provide information about for-profit entities.

Obscene Speech or Materials – using the Nightingale network to advertise, transmit,
store, post, display, or otherwise make available pornography or obscene speech or
material.

Defamatory or Abusive Language – using the Nightingale network as a means to
transmit or post defamatory, harassing, abusive or threatening language.

Forging of Headers – forging or misrepresenting message headers, whether in whole
or in part, to mask the originator of the message.

Illegal or Unauthorized Access to Other Computers or Networks – accessing
illegally or without authorization computers, accounts, or networks belonging to
another party, or attempting to penetrate security measures of another individual’s
system (often known as “hacking”).

Distribution of Internet Viruses, Worms, Trojan Horses or Other Destructive
Activities – distributing information regarding the creation of or sending of Internet
viruses, worms, Trojan horses, pinging, flooding, mail-bombing, or denial of service,
or conducting any activities that disrupt the ability of others to effectively use the
Nightingale network or any connected system, service or equipment.

Facilitating a Violation of this AUP – advertising, transmitting or otherwise making
available any software, program, product or service that is designed to violate this
AUP.

Other Illegal Activities – engaging in activities that are determined to be illegal,
including but not limited to advertising, transmitting, or otherwise making available to
people pyramid schemes, fraudulently charging credit cards, and pirating software.

Other Activities – engaging in activities, whether lawful or unlawful, that Nightingale
determines in its sole discretion to be harmful to other Nightingale network users, the
operation of the Nightingale network, or the reputation or goodwill of Nightingale.

Tampering with the Nightingale Network – any action that compromises the
security of any Nightingale computer or the Nightingale network, attempts to log on as
a system administrator, or tampering with any piece of hardware or software whether
it is connected to the network or not, including, but not limited to, unauthorized
installation of software, transformation of settings or controls on any computer, or
neglectful use of peripherals, such as digital cameras, printers, and scanners.

Vandalism – any malicious attempt to harm or destroy the Nightingale network
equipment, the data of another user or any Internet provider used by the Nightingale
network.

Unauthorized Downloading – any downloading of programs from the Internet that is
not directed by the Technology Department of Nightingale, including but not limited
to the downloading of screensavers, wallpaper, music, and instant messaging software.
You should never download or install any software onto Nightingale network drives or
disks, unless you have written permission from the Nightingale Network
Administrator or Director of Technology. You also should not intrude into other
users’ files.
Nightingale reserves the right to monitor your access to the Nightingale network at any time
to ensure compliance with this AUP. Nevertheless, the responsibility for avoiding these
harmful activities rests primarily with you. If you are accused of any of the above actions, it
will be considered a serious infraction of the AUP and will be dealt with by the Head of
School.
The Nightingale-Bamford School
Acceptable Use Policy Agreement Form
The employee must complete and sign this section.
Employee Name: _____________________________ (This will be used to create your email address
so please print clearly and give us the name you want your email address to be based on. For example,
if you write “Bill Smith” your email address will be [email protected]).
I understand and will abide by the Acceptable Use Policy for network and Internet access at The
Nightingale-Bamford School. I further understand that any violation of these terms and conditions is
unethical and may constitute a criminal offense. Should I commit any violation, my access privileges
may be revoked and school disciplinary action and/or appropriate legal action may be taken.
You will need a password to login to the Nightingale computers and your email. The password should
be all lowercase. Please clearly print the password you want here: ____________________________
Employee Signature:
Date:
Upon completion of this form, please return only this page to the Director of Technology (Mr. Van
Auken). You may scan and email it to [email protected], drop it off at the technology office
(Room 603), or mail it to:
Adam Van Auken
The Nightingale-Bamford School
20 East 92nd Street
New York, NY 10128