Date
of Last Review 6/6/08
SME: Director of Management Information Systems
Email and Internet Usage
Policy
Through the deployment of electronic mail (e-mail) and Internet services, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHSC-H) offers tremendous opportunities for productivity enhancement and cost savings in the scholarly, service, and administrative operations. Those who use the University e-mail and Internet services are expected to do so responsibly; that is, to comply with state and federal laws, with the policies and procedures of UTHSC-H, and with normal standards of professional conduct and personal courtesy. Appropriate use of UTHSC-H's e-mail systems and Internet services is the responsibility of every student, faculty member, staff member, and anyone using UTHSC-H information resources.
The Texas public records law offers many challenges to the use of e-mail in the University setting, and exposes both UTHSC-H and the individual to potential liability from the uninformed use of e-mail. (See policy 17.07 Handling Records Requests.) This policy, therefore, seeks to: (1) educate all members of the UTHSC-H community regarding the issues and practices of effective e-mail and Internet use; and, (2) defines UTHSC-H policy on the use and retention of electronic mail and the use of the Internet.
E-mail and Internet services are provided through the UTHSC-H network. The General Administration Network Services Group (NSG) and the Office of Academic Computing (OAC) have been charged with the management of resources provided by the UTHSC-H network. (See IT Security Program.) The Information Resource Managers (IRMs) are the Owners of the Wide Area Network (WAN) infrastructure and Managers of the Network Infrastructure. (See policy 17.01 Responsibilities for the Use of Information Resources.)
Internet services include, among others, using e-mail, corresponding through discussion groups, using remote services such as telnet and ftp, browsing the World Wide Web using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and video conferencing. The use of e-mail has expanded to include the transmission of images, multi-media, voice messages and large amounts of text. (See policy 1.05 Use of the University Representation and Graphic Imagery and 1.14 Photographic, Audio, and Visual Recordings.)
University-provided e-mail addresses and other Internet designations remain the property of UTHSC-H. Such information constitutes directory information for students, faculty, and staff and may be disclosed or listed as directory information by the University. A student's e-mail address is considered directory information under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA); however, it may be withheld upon the request of the student.
This policy applies to any and all forms of use of the Internet and e-mail as well as any media produced through its use and does not supersede or limit any state or federal laws, or any other institutional policies regarding confidentiality, information dissemination, records management, or standards of conduct.
E-mail and Internet must be used only for legitimate state business; however; brief and occasional Internet browsing and e-mail messages of a personal nature may be sent and received subject to the permissible use and prohibited use sections of this policy.
As noted above, the university maintains these resources to further the conduct of university business. The university discourages the dissemination of broadcast emails to all or large groups of UT-Houston faculty, staff, or students. The intent and content of any messages that are broadcast to all faculty, staff, and students will be related to the university' s mission and to university business.
PROCEDURE
Access to the UTHSC-H network must be formally requested and approved in accordance with the individual's department security administration procedures. When an individual gains authorized access to the network, they are provided access to e-mail and the Internet.
Permissible Uses of University E-mail and Internet Services
The following are examples of appropriate use of University e-mail and Internet services to conduct official UTHSC-H business:
• Electronic dissemination of information, including the establishment of web sites, publishing web documents, and creating web applications as well as the distribution of bulletins, memoranda, newsletters, reports, and committee communications
• Instructional use, specifically to enhance communications between students and instructors
• Facilitation of distance learning
• Support of University research activities
• Service activities of faculty and staff. Such uses as are consistent with the traditional academic freedom accorded to faculty members.
E-mail and Internet usage records are considered state records and are subject to the same guidelines and regulations required for all records at the UTHSC-H, according to the Records Retention Schedule. (See policies 1.03 Handling Legal Processes, 17.07 Handling Records Requests, 2.29 Access to University Information.)
The use of e-mail and Internet services are subject to the same requirements as any other UTHSC-H resource and personnel are required to abide by policies outlined in the Information Resources Security Manual and all HOOP policies that pertain to its use.
Broadcast Emails
Individuals are prohibited from using UT-Houston resources to disseminate broadcast email messages. Only emergency information or messages approved by executive management will be emailed directly to all UT-Houston email addresses. Messages meeting either of these criteria must be sent to Public Affairs, along with contact information. If, in the judgement of Public Affairs, the content of the message is appropriate to be broadcast to the university community or to large groups within the university, Public Affairs staff will disseminate the message. If necessary, Public Affairs staff will consult with university officials in order to make this determination. Other messages related to university business may be sent to gatekeepers at each UT-Houston school or unit for distribution as the gatekeepers deem appropriate. For a list of gatekeepers, contact Public Affairs.
Examples of Prohibited Uses:
The following are a few specific examples of the inappropriate use of University e-mail and Internet services under this policy. This list is not all inclusive:
• Personal e-mail and Internet usage should not impede the conduct of state business; only incidental amounts of employee time--time periods comparable to reasonable coffee breaks during the day--should be used to attend to personal matters.
• Racist, sexist, threatening, or otherwise objectionable language and topics are strictly prohibited in e-mail and Internet usage.
• E-mail should not be used for any personal monetary interests or gain.
• Employees should not subscribe to mailing lists or mail services strictly for personal use.
• Personal e-mail should not cause the state to incur a direct cost in addition to the general overhead
of e-mail. Consequently, employees, upon receiving personal e-mail, should read it and delete it.
Cautions
Users of e-mail and Internet services should be aware of the following cautions:
• Email is a medium that conveys information. It is the information that carries a retention period and must be treated as a record in accordance with state and federal law.
• Unless an e-mail message is signed with a digital signature, there is no assurance that the message was actually sent by the sender identified in the message header.
• Unless an e-mail message is signed with a digital signature, there is no assurance of the validity of the message content.
• Only digitally signed e-mail should be used for contract and formal agreements. Unsigned e-mail may easily be forged or misrepresented.
• Individuals should have no expectation of privacy in e-mail using state information resources. The Attorney General has determined that most e-mail is a public record, therefore, the privacy of e-mail cannot be assured. Extreme caution should be exercised when using unencrypted e-mail to communicate confidential or sensitive items.
• Users should keep in mind that unencrypted e-mail messages can be easily printed, forwarded to others, or could even be delivered to the wrong recipient.
• Confidential or sensitive information sent by e-mail should be encrypted using the public key of the message recipient.
• Faculty and staff having encrypted information must decrypt information in order to satisfy statutory obligations under the provisions of the Texas Public Information Act (TPIA). Failure to comply with this requirement will result in disciplinary action and/or criminal sanctions.
• E-mail users should be aware that when sending an e-mail message of a personal nature, there is always the danger of the user's words being interpreted as official UTHSC-H policy or opinion. Therefore, when an individual sends a personal e-mail especially if the content of the e-mail could be interpreted as an official agency statement, the user should use the following disclaimer at the end of the message:
"This e-mail contains the thoughts and opinion of (user name) and does not represent official UTHSC-H policy."
• Users of state equipment need to keep in mind that all e-mail and Internet usage can be recorded and stored along with the source and destination. Management reserves the right to review user's e-mail.
• Management reserves the right to review user's Internet usage patterns and take action to assure that agency Internet resources are devoted to maintaining the highest levels of productivity.
• Although e-mail is often used in place of a phone call or voice mail message, it is closer in nature to a letter, lacking both the visual and auditory content that comprise face-to-face communication. Thus, great care should be taken in crafting the "tone" of an e-mail message, and in providing the recipient with the information needed to appropriately interpret the emotional nature of the contents.
Failure on the part of any individual to comply with institutional policies relating to email and internet usage, may result in disciplinary action and/or criminal sanctions. Please consult the HOOP policies listed below that may also apply to usage of state information resources:
• 1.05 Use of the University Representation and Graphic Imagery
• 2.01 General Standards of Conduct
• 2.04 Sexual Harassment
• 2.46B Participation in Outside Activities
• 2.48 Publication of Professional Literature or Newsletters
• 2.57 Political Activity
• 3.06 Termination (A&P employees)
• 4.02 Academic Titles
• 4.08 Termination for Good Cause (faculty)
• 4.11 Academic Freedom and Responsibility
• 4.15 Classroom and Research Use of Copyrighted Material
• 5.13 Disciplinary Action (classified employees)
• 6.03 Conduct and Discipline (student)
• 17.01 Responsibility for the Use of Information Resources
• 17.06 Records Management
• The Information Resources Security Manual
And the following state laws and regulations:
• U.T. System Ethics Policies and Guidelines;
• Section 39.02, Texas Penal Code; and
• Section 33.02, Texas Penal Code, a provision of the Texas Computer Crimes Statute
Director of MIS
UT-HCPC
Related standards
Texas Administrative Code Chapter 202
The Joint Commission : Management of Information
HIPAA
