Florida International University
School of Computing and Informational Sciences
Academic Computer Labs - General Usage Policy
Spring 2006
The School of Computing and Informational Sciences (CIS)
at Florida International University has established these policies in
order to provide a secure, consistent and effective learning environment
while ensuring that computer and information resources are used appropriately.
This policy document applies only to the labs maintained by the School
of Computing and Informational Sciences and all users of our labs including
students and lab support staff. Please note that this document is subject
to change and will be reviewed and updated from time to time. Failure
to abide by these policies may result in the loss of computing privileges
or possible disciplinary action.
The CIS Academic Labs are staffed and managed directly
by the School of Computing and Informational Sciences. Lab Assistants
are hired by the school to assist students in the labs with account and
system issues. Lab Assistants can be found in the JCCL (ECS 241) during
all hours that lab is operational. The Lab Manager oversees all operations
of the CIS Academic Labs and is responsible for the staffing and maintenance
of the labs.
Access
Users are only permitted to work in labs during posted lab hours. If a lab
is closed at a time that it is scheduled to be open, please contact the
Lab Manager using the information posted at the entrance of the lab. Campus
security is only permitted to open a lab for designated CIS Computer Lab
staff.
Undergraduate Labs:
Each semester a schedule including days and hours of operation is posted
outside of each undergraduate lab: The John C. Comfort Lab (JCCL) in ECS
241, the Instructional Lab (ILab) in ECS 141 and the IT Hardware Lab (ITLab)
in ECS 252. In general terms the JCCL is open seven days a week for specific
hours and is closed only for University holidays, maintenance periods
between semesters and unexpected emergencies. The ITLab and the ILab are
open for class meetings or by appointment only. Occasionally, specialty
labs are built or organized around specific course needs or projects.
Access to any specialty labs will be communicated to students in class
and will be posted in and around the lab locations. Detailed information
about hours and schedules can be found on the web at: http://www.aul.fiu.edu.
Graduate Lab:
The CIS graduate student lab is available to CIS graduate students 24
hours, 7 days a week with key-card access. The lab closes periodically
for routine maintenance and cleaning either during or between semesters
and all University holidays. These events are posted in the graduate lab
in advance of the anticipated closure.
Obtaining Accounts:
Each semester, students are issued accounts in the CIS computer labs based
on course enrollment. Students receive an account automatically at the
beginning of each term, if they are enrolled in an CIS course which is
eligible to use our labs. Students who drop courses will have their computer
accounts disabled. All undergraduate accounts are disabled and recreated
at the beginning of each semester. Graduate accounts are carried over
from semester to semester.
A student who is "auditing" a course, finishing
work to satisfy an incomplete, or is working on a project that is not
related to a specific course can have an account enabled in the labs with
the approval and by request of their sponsoring faculty. The sponsoring
faculty will need to request the account on behalf of the student by sending
email to request@cis.fiu.edu.
CIS faculty can have accounts enabled in any CIS lab on
request. In many cases, accounts are preexistent. Please contact the Lab
Manager if you require assistance in gaining access to an CIS computer
lab.
NOTE: Accounts generally require 24-48 hours to be created. Please allow sufficient time for us to process your request.
Account Sharing:
Accounts in the CIS environment are assigned to individuals for the purposes
of completing coursework, instruction or support of CIS. THE SHARING OF
CIS COMPUTER ACCOUNTS IS PROHIBITED. Further, it is your responsibility
not to share your account or your password with any other student. The
lab reserves the right to revoke account access if account use is not
consistent with the guidelines stated in this document.
Logging Off:
All computer lab users must log off after they have finished their
computer
session. This is to protect your account and our system from
mischievous
users. Workstations that run Windows are configured to automatically
log out
users after they have been idle for 15 minutes. Any unsaved work
WILL BE
LOST. Individual users are responsible to keep their data secure by
locking
or logging out of lab workstations. Users who are not aware of
proper logoff
procedures should contact a Lab Assistant for help.
Administrative and Instructor Stations:
Students are only permitted to use workstations which are located in the open or instructional labs. Instructor or Lab Assistant workstations are off limits and are clearly marked.
Instant Messaging and Recreational Usage
Instant messaging programs have been installed throughout
the CIS computer labs. These programs are provided as a service and should
be used appropriately. As with all applications in our labs, these are
provided to facilitate a comfortable, innovative and efficient environment
for students to complete their course assignments. Please note that you
may chat with Lab Staff and administrators on our own Jabber I.M. network.
For help in creating an account on our Jabber network, please visit this
site:
https://www.cis.fiu.edu/jabber.php
Lab Assistants are available to help you set up your jabber account.
Recreational web surfing is permitted, but only when it
does not interfere with the primary purpose of the Lab: support of CIS
coursework and academic research. If there are students waiting for computers,
anybody who is not doing coursework related work may be asked to surrender
their computer seat.
Conduct and Harassment
Users engaging in improper or disruptive behavior including yelling, swearing, and using inappropriate language will be asked to leave the labs. Additionally, the display of offensive material on websites or computer wallpaper is prohibited. Students and Lab Staff are equally held responsible to refrain from offensive conduct and to report it when it is encountered.
If you have a specific problem that you feel is not being resolved please contact the Lab Manager using the contact information posted at the entrance of each lab. All rules and guidelines listed in the Florida International University student and University employee handbooks will be followed regarding improper conduct or harassment.
Environment
Dress:
Users are expected to dress appropriately, as this is a public environment. Users dressed improperly will not be admitted to the labs.
Food:
No food or drink is allowed in the computer labs. Water bottles with sports lids are the only exception. In addition, users are not permitted to leave food and/or drink containers outside of any computer lab. These items must be discarded in appropriate trash receptacles. Lab assistants will not retain items for any individual.
Music:
All users must wear headphones when listening to music. The volume of the listening device must be kept low enough as not to distract other lab users.
Cell Phones and Pagers:
To maintain a comfortable environment for all users, cell phones and pagers
brought into the Labs should be set to "silent" mode. Additionally,
cell phone calls should be kept short and quiet. If conversations are
lengthy or become loud or disruptive, they should be taken outside of
the Labs.
Children and Babies:
It is not permissible to bring children or babies to the CIS Computer
Labs.
Use of Resources
Hardware and Software:
Users are only permitted to use the computer systems in the CIS labs as
they are configured and maintained. With the exception of headphones and
portable media, (zip, CD, CD-R, floppy disks and USB "keys"),
additional equipment may not be added to any computer system. The installation,
removal, or the addition of any other hardware item is not permitted.
If a computer peripheral or component is malfunctioning please contact
a Lab Assistant. Swapping components or peripherals, including cables,
is not permitted. All software available on each computer has been tested
and licensed for use in the labs. Restrictions are imposed which prohibit
the installation of software.
If your coursework or research requires a piece of hardware or an application that is not available, you should consult with your instructor. Your instructor can help you assess whether there is an available alternative and they can work with Lab Support staff to assess whether and how to meet your hardware or application need.
Printing:
Printer services are provided in the CIS computer labs in support of academic
research or coursework. At this time there is no print quota being enforced,
however, students who abuse lab printing services will be contacted and
may loose the right to print in the CIS computer labs. If the material
you are printing is not academically related, you are asked to refrain
from printing.
Lab printers support all users of the lab, so we ask that you limit your print jobs to 30 or less pages. If you need to send large print jobs please consult the Lab Assistant and they can help you print the job efficiently. You are urged to be conservative and print only what you need and do not abandon your print jobs.
Some materials are not permitted to be printed:
- Material that contains adult content
- Copyrighted material
- Material for business related purposes or financial gain
- Excessive amounts of flyers or handouts
- Manuals, guides or books
Users are not permitted to interfere with the operation
of any lab printer including loading paper, repairing jams or changing
toner. If a printer needs servicing, please contact a Lab Assistant or
email to request@cis.fiu.edu.
To help users know the status of the print queue, a "Print Monitor"
console has been placed beside each lab printer in the department.
Server and Workstation Connections and Storage:
Upon login, all Windows accounts are connected to a U:\ drive. This is
the Windows "home" directory and is the only location for storing
work from CIS lab accounts. Each student has a 100mb quota on the server.
If you exceed your quota, you will not be able to save any additional
work. Please work to keep a "clean house" and delete unneeded
documents or files. All labs are configured with CD burners so that you
may back up your work at regular intervals.
The C:\temp directory is open for write; however, all files in that directory are DELETED AT EACH LOGOUT. Please use your U:\ as the directory is backed up daily. Backups are kept for two weeks and are created primarily for the purpose of catastrophic recovery, however we can restore files that are stored on the network share within the last two weeks, and that were on the disk for at least 24 hours. You are urged to keep backups of your own work.
There are various unix compute severs available to graduates
and undergraduates and access is provided to students enrolled in courses
which require the use of services on these servers. A complete listing
of all servers that are open to student connections can be found at: http://www.cis.fiu.edu/support.
Homework:
Lab Assistants are not permitted to help students with homework assignments. Students must direct all homework questions to their professor.
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