This document
sets forth Smith College's
policy with regard to access
to and disclosure of electronic
mail messages sent or received
by Smith students, faculty,
and staff with the use of
the college's electronic
mail system. It also sets
forth policies on the proper
use of the electronic mail
systems.
Smith College intends to honor these policies
but must reserve the right to change them at any
time.
Account name changes
Upon request, ITS will change the full name and user
name associated with the Information Technology Services issued user account of any student
who has officially changed his or her name with the
Registrar's office. The same policy holds for staff
and faculty members who have officially registered
a name change with the Human Resources
department.
Permissible uses of electronic mail system
Smith provides electronic mail to students, faculty, and staff, at the college's
expense, for their use on college business and for academic purposes. Individual
computer accounts for access to electronic mail are available to all students,
faculty, and staff. Sharing an account or password with anyone is not permitted.
Use of electronic mail for non-college-related commercial activities or for
solicitations or canvassing is not permitted. (For exceptions, see the college-wide
solicitation policy in the Staff Handbook.) Incidental and occasional personal
use of electronic mail is permitted, but such messages will be treated no differently
from other messages with respect to privacy.
It is a violation of college policy for any student or employee, including
supervisors and Information Technology Services' staff, to use the electronic
mail and computer systems for obtaining access to the files and communications
of others, with no substantial work-related purpose.
It is a violation of college policy to use Smith electronic mail services to send
chain letters, to send messages containing sexually explicit language, to send
copies of documents in violation of copyright laws, or to infringe on the rights
of or to harass other users in any way.
The college's electronic mail services provide a means via the Internet by which
members of the public may communicate with members of the Smith community.
Messages sent between the college and members of the public must conform with
the college's electronic mail policy and will be treated no differently from
other messages with respect to privacy. Always use care in addressing messages,
especially when using distribution lists, to make sure you do not inadvertently
send a message meant for someone else.
Monitoring for security violations
During the routine course of business, Information Technology Services' staff
monitor the college's computer systems, including the electronic mail services.
If system administrators find anomalies indicating the possibility of illegal
activity or violations of college policy or security, they will investigate
further and report their findings to the CIO.
The college may inspect the contents of electronic mail messages in the course
of an investigation triggered by indications of impropriety.
Right to access and disclose information
Smith recognizes that members of the college community have some reasonable
expectations of privacy with regard to the electronic mail messages they send
or receive. The college reserves the right to access and disclose the contents
of electronic mail messages, but will do so only when it has a legitimate work-related
need to do so. The college also reserves the right to disclose any electronic
mail message to law enforcement officials.
The Vice President for Information Technology will review any request
for access to the contents of electronic mail without the consent of a sender
or recipient. Such requests must be approved in advance and any access undertaken
without such approval is a breach of college policy.
Sanctions
Violations of the college's electronic mail policy can result in removal of
your account from the system and/or more serious sanctions. Some offenses are
punishable under federal law. For more information on related college policies
and sanctions, Smith students should refer to the Student Handbook, Smith faculty
should refer to the Faculty Code, and Smith staff should refer to the Staff
Handbook.