The internet and computers offer numerous advantages and opportunities in education. However, like all good things, they can be taken advantage of and used for harm. By drafting an acceptable use policy, or AUP, an educational institution or company can help sway these negative effects. An acceptable use policy provides a set of guidelines for users that lays out the expectations of the organization. In an article about acceptable use policies, Siau, Nah, and Teng (2002) explain that such policies should provide guidelines but should not control users. They should be comprehensive but not so restrictive that they limit productivity (p. 78). When I think of AUPs, I tend to think of these four ideas: Privacy, Productivity, Security, and Morality.
Privacy
An AUP should address the issue of privacy. Users who have access to others’ personal information for job responsibilities should take proper precautions to make sure that this information stays secure. Also, a company or educational institution may reserve the right to monitor the usage of their network resources. This should be communicated in the acceptable use policy.
Productivity
A well written AUP should include guidelines that keep resources accessible. Users should not do anything that keeps others from getting their work done. This could be something as simple as using an inappropriately large amount of bandwidth or something as serious as intentionally infected a system or the network with malicious software.
Security
An AUP should also address security issues. Precautions should be taken to keep a network clean and secure. These precautionary measures should be clearly laid out so the user knows what is expected. An example of this might be an AUP that prohibits the use of peer-to-peer file sharing software that has the potential to spread infected files.
Morality
An acceptable use policy might also include usage guidelines regarding morality. This could include restrictions against viewing sexually explicit material. It could also include the use of profane language. A final example would be an AUP that addresses copyright and infringement issues.
Examples of AUPs
http://www.presby.edu/it/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2013/03/Acceptable-Use-Policy.pdfhttp://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=20907
Reference
Siau, K., Nah, F., & Teng, L. (2002). ACCEPTABLE INTERNET USE POLICY. Communications Of The ACM, 45(1), 75-79.
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