©2007
   StudentAffairs.com
   All Rights Reserved

Internet Rights and Responsibilities
Computer Affairs: A Booming Profession

Welcome to our introductory column for Student Affairs Online on Internet Rights and Responsibilities. The staff of Project NEThics from the University of Maryland will use this space to bring to your attention issues and resources that bear upon the legal and ethical use of our college and university networked computing resources. We also hope that this column will stimulate further dialogue on information technology uses and misuses within higher education and their impact upon the student affairs profession.

I suspect that many of your are familiar with the mission and functions of our various student affairs areas, including commuter affairs, Greek affairs, multicultural affairs, and the like. But how many of you are familiar with the booming student services field known as "computer affairs"? You might assume that we use the term to describe those central IT support organizations that we know as the "Office of Information Technology", "Academic Computing", or some similar name. While information technology support services are growing operations at both the central campus as well as local departmental level, we do not intend to use that term to refer to the technical support or infrastructure services common within most IT organizations. Rather, the computer affairs function that we envision is the one with a student development focus that concerns itself with the social, ethical, and moral dimensions of networked computer use within our campus communities.

Project NEThics is such a unit that exists within the Office of Information Technology at the University of Maryland, College Park. The mission is to promote the responsible use of information technology through education about the ethical and legal uses of technology as well as enforcement of University policies and guidelines. The unit is unique in that it attempts to organize and blend the perspective and expertise of the information technology community with the talents and experience found elsewhere on campus. There is an advisory committee that consists of representatives from judicial affairs, resident life, human relations, legal affairs, public relations, human resources, and campus police. The Project Director holds a law degree and has a background in student affairs administration and civil rights compliance. Additional support is provided from graduate assistants from the college student personnel program, typically doctoral students with significant students affairs experience.

While Project NEThics has proved extremely successful at the University of Maryland, it is not the only model and perhaps a difficult one to replicate on your campus. Student affairs divisions have assumed an important educational and enforcement role on many campuses, particularly the offices of judicial affairs and residential life. Information technology divisions tend to manage computer misuse with staff from their help desk operation, an IT security officer, or "computer emergency response team" (sometimes referred to as "abuse team"). Regardless of how you are organized on your campus to prevent and respond to incidents of computer misuse, there are a few common elements to an effective "computer affairs" program.

First, strive for collaboration and information sharing between the various campus departments concerned. Aside from entities responsible for legal issues and student discipline (such as judicial affairs, resident life, police, and legal counsel), we have also found that other offices that can serve as a resource and with an interest in appropriate use of technology include human relations, public relations, and human resources. There are also important academic and professional connections for fighting computer crime and exploring the social, legal, and ethical dimensions of networked technologies.

Second, ensure that you policies are in alignment with your community expectations, administrative obligations, and the evolving legal framework for Internet use. We must periodically revisit our existing policies or the acceptable use policy to ensure that it addresses emerging issues. Incidents of copyright infringement, defamation of character, obscenity, and computer fraud will present new and complex challenges to policy development and our existing disciplinary procedures.

Finally, we must balance the negative publicity that accompanies incidents of computer misuse with the greater value and contribution of information technology to the educational enterprise. Anyone who spends energy responding to student misbehavior on the Internet tends to hold a tainted view of technology use as a result of those experiences; however, you do not have to look very far on the campus to see how technology is transforming and improving teaching and learning, student services, and business or administrative processes. (see other articles in this edition. DS).

We will return to these broader themes in future columns. We will also provide insights into some common forms of computer misuse and emerging legal issues, including: computer ethics, Internet hate, computer viruses, intrusion and unauthorized access, cheating and term paper mills, privacy, threats and intimidation, harassment, anonymous communications, copyright and trademark infringement, unsolicited junk mail, and commercial use of institutional resources. We welcome your questions, comments, or suggestions (NEThics@umail.umd.edu) as we begin this journey in unraveling Internet Rights and Responsibilities.