Campus officials warn against commercial use of university resources

Students, faculty and staff who use campus resources, including USU computers or the BlueZone Internet connection, for profit are breaking state and university policy, said Craig Simper, USU general counsel. Those using the Internet in campus housing are not exempt from this rule. Information Technology Policy and Procedure Coordinator Bob Bayn said a consequence of living in campus housing is abiding by the commercial Internet use policy. If students wants to use the Internet for commercial purposes it is “too bad,” Simper said. They must do it through an Internet connection that is not supplied by USU, Simper said. IT Senior Security Analyst Miles Johnson said, “We treat on-campus housing as extensions of the university.” Students may be using campus resources for commercial purposes, and the policy is not fully enforced. Bayn said, “We don’t hunt around trying to see if that (commercial Internet use) is going on.” He said there is not an established list of what students can and cannot do concerning this policy. The policy on the IT Web site states commercial, entrepreneurial and profit-making activities are prohibited and can be found on IT Web site’s under “Appropriate Use of Computing, Networking and Information Resources,” policy number 550. Bayn said the policy is required because USU is a nonprofit institution. He said it is impossible for the policy to be changed without disestablishing USU’s title as a nonprofit institution.

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