Personal Computer Policy
The purpose of this policy is to:
- Ensure that university data is adequately protected
- Minimize the personal liability of staff in the event of a data loss
- Clarify support responsibilities for personally-owned equipment
Use of Personal Computing Equipment
Personally-owned computers or peripherals may not be brought to campus with
the purpose of accessing, supplementing or replacing divisionally-owned
computing systems.
Staff may bring other portable computing devices to campus and access
web-based resources through the wireless network. These machines will not have
access to file or or print servers.
Personal PDA or Smartphone devices may be used to
access the divisional email server, as long as the device supports Exchange
ActiveSync synchronization and security functionality.
Data Security
In accordance with university data security policies and for personal
liability purposes, staff should not make copies of university data to be edited
or accessed on non-university equipment, including home computers. Staff wishing
to work from home should use remote
desktop so that data remains on university systems at all times.
The use of portable USB storage devices is not recommended. Staff can use the
webmail client to
remotely access personal or shared documents on the file server.
University data should be deleted from personal computing devices as soon as
it is done being used.
Remote (POP) access to the divisional mail server through client applications
(Eudora, Thunderbird, etc.) is not permitted.
Data Loss Disclosure
Any loss or theft of a personal computing device or peripheral containing
university data must be immediately reported to the IT Operations Group.
This includes, but is not limited to:
- Home computers which may have contained university documents and email
- PDAs or smartphones which may have contained university documents and email
- CDs or portable storage devices which may have contained university documents
Support of Personal Computing Equipment
Due to limited resources, the IT Operations Group is unable to provide
general hardware and software support for personally-owned computing equipment,
regardless of the physical location of that equipment.
The IT group will provide documentation and best-effort support for
connecting to divisionally-supported resources from personal equipment. Issues
with VPN connectivity are handled by the ITS Help
Desk.
The ITS Care Center is expected provide service for personally-owned machines
at a later date for an hourly fee.
Last Updated: October 14, 2009