Policy Statement | The Information Technology facilities of Monash University are provided to students for legitimate University purposes. This will normally mean academic coursework, academic research activities and administration. This Policy covers:
What are information technology (IT) facilities?
The Acceptable Use of Information Technology Facilities by Students governs all computers, computing laboratories, lecture theatres and video conferencing rooms across the University together with use of all associated networks, internet access, email, hardware, dial-in access, data storage, computer accounts, software (both proprietary and those developed by the University), telephony services and voicemail (the IT facilities').
Access to the IT facilities
Users of the IT facilities must be aware of the conditions on which access is provided
Access to the IT facilities is restricted to authorised users, ie enrolled students of Monash University. Access is normally based on correct enrolment status in the University student database, Callista.
Login access to the IT facilities is granted by Information Technology Services. Access to some faculty-owned facilities is granted by authorised faculty staff.
The administrator of an IT facility may restrict access to an individual user on the grounds that the user is in breach of this Acceptable Use policy. Disciplinary action may be taken against users of the IT facilities under Monash University Statute 4.1. Unlawful use will breach this Policy and will be dealt with as a discipline offence. Unlawful use of IT Facilities may also lead to criminal or civil legal action being taken against individual students. This could result in serious consequences such as a fine, damages and/or costs being awarded against the individual or even imprisonment. The University will not defend or support any student who uses IT facilities for an unlawful purpose.
Responsibilities of users
Each user is responsible for
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The unique computer accounts which the University has authorised for the user's benefit;
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Selecting and keeping a secure password for each of these accounts, including not sharing passwords and logging off after using a computer. Users must not compromise or attempt to compromise the security of any IT facility belonging to Monash or other organisations or individuals, nor exploit or attempt to exploit any security deficiency
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Using the IT facilities in an ethical and lawful way, in accordance with Australian laws/ relevant local laws where a student is based in another country (see section on Relevant Laws).
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Co-operating with other users of the IT facilities to ensure fair and equitable access to the facilities.
The University accepts no responsibility for:
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loss or damage or consequential loss or damage, arising from the use of its IT facilities for academic or personal purposes;
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loss of data or interference with files arising from its efforts to maintain the IT facilities.
Misuse of IT facilities
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Unauthorised access to accounts - Users are expressly forbidden unauthorised access to accounts, data or files on Monash IT facilities, or on IT facilities belonging to other organisations.
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Student computing laboratories - Users of student computing facilities are required to abide by all rules and guidelines set by the facility administrator. These shall normally be displayed on adjacent noticeboards.
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Peer to peer filesharing programs - installation or use of peer to peer filesharing programs such as Kazaa, BitTorrent, DC++ (Direct Connect), etc is not permitted on computers connected to the Monash network.
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Unlawful activity - Users are not permitted to use Monash IT facilities for unlawful activity, e.g. infringement of copyright, defamation, etc.
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Databases, online journals, ebooks - use of electronic resources provided by Monash is governed by individual licence agreements and is for non-commercial research and study purposes only. Users are required to comply with use restrictions set out on the specific site or stated in the licence agreement, and must not systematically download, distribute or retain substantial portions of information.
See Terms and conditions for use of electronic resources.
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Pornography - Users are not permitted to utilize the University's IT facilities to access pornographic material or to create, store or distribute pornographic material. It will not be a defence to claim that the recipient was a consenting adult.
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Game playing - Game playing is not allowed on Monash IT facilities, except as a formal component of a University academic subject or through a Faculty sponsored event.
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Assignment services - Users are not permitted to use IT facilities to sell or purchase assignments, or to offer to write assignments or to request help with assignments.
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Online assessment - During online assessments (eg exams), users must use only those IT facilities required for the assessment. The use of other IT facilities such as email will be considered 'Academic Misconduct' and dealt with under Statute 4.1 - Discipline.
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No business activities - Users are not permitted to run a business or to publish a journal or magazine (unless authorised by the University) on Monash IT facilities.
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Monash logo - Users are not permitted to use the University's name, crest or logo on their personal web pages, email, or other messaging facilities.
The university reserves the right to withdraw a service or withdraw access for student owned computers if there is evidence of misuse of IT facilities.
Electronic mail and other messaging
Users are entitled to use the University's email and messaging facilities for private purposes, provided such use is lawful. Messaging facilities may include chat sessions, IRC, newsgroups and electronic conferences. Monash University reserves the right to withdraw this permission in the event that such use places the IT facilities at risk or poses a security or other threat. Users must respect the privacy and personal rights of others.
Users must not:
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publish their Monash email address on a private business card
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use their Monash email to conduct a private business
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send defamatory messages
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send aggressive or rude email messages to staff or other students
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threaten or harass another person
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send sexually explicit material
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send bulk unsolicited emails
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send spam (defined as unsolicited commercial electronic messaging - refer SPAM Act 2003 (Cth). A single message can be spam. The message does not need to be sent nor received in bulk to be spam.)
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propagate chain mail (email sent to a number of people asking the recipient to send copies of the email with the same request to a number of recipients)
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impersonate another person by sending a message which appears to have come from another person's computer or represent themselves as being of a different gender, race etc (eg in a chat session or electronic conference)
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plagiarise or infringe copyright or trade marks, or breach trade practices legislation.
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send, without permission of the copyright owner, an audio or video file, music charts/lyrics, or commercial photographs to another person using email.
Internet use
During their studies, students will be expected to make reasonable use of the internet for research and communications with academic staff and other students.
Internet usage is not free. Your faculty pays for internet access as part of student educational programs. Some non-educational uses of the internet can result in very large financial charges to a faculty and are not part of an educational program. Internet access which results in excessive use of the internet or breaches this Acceptable Use policy may result in the student personally being charged the cost of this access and any additional charges which may apply.
Each faculty may prescribe additional rules about internet usage.
All internet transactions are recorded and can be traced to a particular username. For this reason students must keep their username and password secure. If a user has reason to believe that others may have obtained and could be using their username, then the user must report it immediately to IT Services.
Authorised users (ie students) are expressly forbidden to make digital files of commercially available recordings, music albums, album covers, and videos, without permission of the copyright owner. Infringing activities can be detected by investigative bodies and a student will be personally liable for damages and costs if a copyright owner takes action for infringement of copyright.
NOTE: Distribution of music/film files for the purpose of trade or any other purpose which affects the copyright owner prejudicially eg making music files available for downloading free of charge on an internet website, is a criminal offence punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment for up to 5 years.
Students using databases, online journals, ebooks and other electronic information resources provided by Monash must restrict their use to a reasonable level to support their study and research at Monash. Excessive use can be detected by information providers and reported to the University for investigation. Using software including, scripts, agents, or robots is prohibited and may result in loss of access to the resource for the whole Monash community.
Privacy and Surveillance
The University does not generally monitor email, personal websites, files and data stored on University computers or traversing the University network. However, the University reserves the right to access and monitor email, websites, server logs and electronic files and any computer or electronic device connected to the Monash University network including personally owned equipment, should it determine that there is reason to do so. Such reason would include, but not be limited to, suspected or reported breaches of this Acceptable Use policy, or breach of any statutes, regulations or policies of the University, or suspected breaches of the law.
Relevant Australian laws
Users need to be aware of conduct which may breach laws outside of the University and lead to criminal or civil proceedings and/or penalties for which they will be held personally accountable. These laws include:
Copyright Act (1968) (Commonwealth)
Text (including song lyrics), computer programs, illustrations (including maps and diagrams) photographs, music recordings, videos, films and television broadcasts are all protected by copyright. The duration of copyright protection is generally 70 years following the death of the author. A user must not copy, send or place materials on the web without permission from the copyright owner. Infringement of another person's copyright could result in personal liability for damages.
Users should assume that all materials published on the web are in copyright, unless explicitly stated otherwise. If a user wishes to include material from another webpage in one of their own pages, they should create a hypertext link pointing to the material rather than copy it. It is suggested that the permission of other webpage owners be sought prior to creating links to their pages.
Conduct which will infringe copyright
Examples of conduct which will infringe copyright if undertaken without the permission of the copyright owner (e.g. the relevant recording company), includes but is not limited to:
- converting a CD to an audio format, such as MP3, and using it on a personal computer (PC);
- downloading a film, MP3 recordings, or software from the internet using University internet access or computers;
- uploading audio files, video files, software or commercial photographs, to a University website and making these available to the public;
- providing on a University website, links to other websites that directly offer copyright infringing material or direct users to copyright infringing material, including audio files such as MP3 recordings, video files, software or commercial photographs;
- sending copyright material, including audio files, such as MP3 recordings, video files, commercial photographs or software, to another person using University email;
- storing copyright material, including audio files, such as MP3 recordings, video files, commercial photographs or software, on University computers or servers.
Copyright infringement could apply to any file format, including, but not limited to MP3.
Trade Marks Act (1955) (Commonwealth)
A user must not copy a trademark or logo belonging to another party. Trade mark infringement will expose the user to liability for damages.
Trade Practices Act (1974) (Commonwealth)
The Trade Practices Act contains provisions which prohibit passing off and misleading and deceptive conduct. If a user were to copy material from an external site onto a Monash website (including features such as logos and trademarks) so that persons accessing the website would believe that Monash had been authorised to carry the material, this would constitute passing off or deceptive or misleading conduct.
Spam Act (2003) (Commonwealth)
Under the Act, users must not send unsolicited commercial electronic messages. Any commercial messages that are sent electronically (including email, instant messaging or telephone accounts) must include information about the individual or organisation who authorised the sending of the message and a functional unsubscribe facility.
Anti-discrimination legislation
Commonwealth and State laws and the University Equal Opportunity policy prohibit sexual harassment and discrimination, vilification or victimisation on certain grounds such as race, gender, sexual preference, disability, or status as a parent or carer. University IT facilities must not be used to humiliate, intimidate or offend others on the basis of their race, gender, or any other attribute prescribed under anti-discrimination legislation.
Defamation
A user should not publish a statement about another person which could harm that other person's reputation. There is no need for the person to have been named specifically if he/she can reasonably be identified. Photographs and cartoons can also be defamatory if they hold someone up to ridicule or contempt. In a defamation case, truth is not always a defence.
Censorship legislation
Commonwealth and state laws prohibit publication of hard core pornography (in particular where it involves children, bestiality, violence, cruelty and/or exploitation). A breach of these laws would constitute a criminal offence.
Incitement to commit an offence
Users must not publish material which is an incitement to commit or instruction in crime eg, material on how to prepare explosive devices, or how to steal or provide a link to a site that offers file-sharing software, use of which is likely to result in infringement of copyright.
Need Help?
Users requiring assistance with interpretation of the policy, or who wish to report a breach of this policy should contact the Manager - ITS Campus Services on their campus. See the Contact ITS website
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