Computing & Information Services
Computing Policy Committee Meeting Minutes
January 25, 2007
4:00 – 5:00 p.m., ETC 309
Committee members in attendance: Paul Hovda, Luc Monnin (left at 4:30), Akihiko Miyoshi, Sonia Sabnis, Marianne Colgrove, Dena Hutto (for Victoria Hanawalt), Karen King, Jon Rivenburg, Stephen Wissow, Alex Botero-Lowry, Peter Steinberger, David Schiff, Marty Ringle, Molly Thurston Parker.
The meeting was called to order at 4:07. Marty introduced Dena Hutto, who will be attending committee meetings on behalf of Vickie Hanawalt during Vickie’s sabbatical.
Review of the Computer User Agreement (UA) (continued)
Confidential Data: Marty introduced the Confidential Data section of the UA to the committee. The section consists of mostly new material drafted by Karen King and Gary Norbraten. Marty asked the committee to consider the following questions: 1) should any changes be made to the wording of the text; 2) should this section be included in the UA or exist as a separate document, referenced in the UA.
Alex Botero-Lowry asked how “college data” is defined. Karen King explained that the term refers primarily to administrative data. She suggested that the wording of the phrase could be amended to read “all administrative college data.” Luc asked if other documents exist that address college confidential data. Karen said that many departments have their own policies for the handling of confidential information.
Peter Steinberger brought to the committees’ attention the statement, “All College data should be treated as confidential unless approved for release to the public.” The committee discussed why the ‘default option’ would be to treat data as confidential. Karen noted that the intent of that section is to raise awareness among faculty and staff about dealing with confidential data. The committee agreed that the sentence could be removed. Paul Hovda suggested adding a statement to the prior paragraph indicating that users should be aware that certain data are confidential, which would serve the same awareness-raising purpose. The paragraph was amended to include: “Users are encouraged to seek guidance from an appropriate supervisor, senior officer, or the chief technology officer if it is unclear whether or not specific information is confidential.”
The committee discussed the statement “You are responsible for all transactions carried out using your username/password.” The committee decided to change the sentence to: “You are responsible for the security, privacy, and control of data in your care, access privileges entrusted to you, and your username/password. “
The committee decided to include the Confidential Data section in the UA rather than making it a separate document.
David Schiff moved that the committee approve the User Agreement with the amendments. Alex Botero-Lowry seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Procedure for Handling Violations of the UA
The committee agreed to modify the sentence in the “Level 3” section of the policy, by changing the word "threatening" in “Someone reports that (what appears to be) a Reed student has e-mailed a threatening message.” to ‘harassing’ because the latter has a broader scope. At the next meeting, the committee will review proposed changes to the "Theft, Loss, Damage" policy.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:05pm.