Purchasing Computer Equipment

1. Check Sheet 
2. Requisition

*Requisitions should be generated from Ingres. If Ingres is not available you may download a form here. 

When both forms are completed and signed, they must be delivered to the ITS department. The Director of User Services and the Director of Facilities sign all requisitions and check sheets involving computer or computer related equipment. After they are approved and signed they will be forwarded to the Purchasing Department and ordered from one of our vendors. 

The amount of time it will take for the equipment or software to arrive on campus will depend on the shipping method and the availability of the product. The Facilities Department will notify the Faculty/Staff Helpdesk once the order is received. At that time a work request is created using the HEAT ticketing system. 

If the equipment or software was purchased for home use the Faculty/Staff Helpdesk will instruct the Facilities Department to deliver the order directly to the user, otherwise it will be received by one of our technicians who will prepare for the scheduled installation.

Campus Standards - A complete list of Campus Standards is available at http://its.frc.mass.edu/itn/fpurchasing.htm.

Purchasing Software

Framingham State College has an Agreement with Microsoft for Microsoft Campus Agreement and Site License with Microsoft for the following products:

Microsoft Office Standard and Professional Editions
Microsoft Office Mac Edition
Microsoft Windows Upgrades
Microsoft FrontPage
Microsoft Publisher
Microsoft Visual Studio Professional Edition

Through Microsoft's Academic Volume Licensing Program, we may grant our faculty and staff the right to install a selection of products on either a home or portable computer for work-related purposes. If members of the faculty or staff wish to borrow software for home use they can do so by signing the Home Use Agreement and stopping by the Faculty/Staff Helpdesk to pick up the software. Full lists of the products that are available are listed on the Home Use Agreement. THIS MEDIA IS FOR USE ON COLLEGE OWNED MACHINES ONLY!

For other software titles departments or individuals must buy a specified number of licenses. Information on the Software Installation Policy is available at http://its.frc.mass.edu/itn/fpurchasing.htm.

The campus standard computer systems have been configured with software that has been tested and is licensed to the College. No additional software may be installed on these systems without the approval and/or knowledge of the ITS department. Installation of unauthorized software could result in either making the computer system unstable, unsecured or subjecting the College to additional licensing liabilities.

A request to install software should be accompanied by the Software Installation Request Form. If the software has been tested and validated for installation on College computer systems, and if the Software Installation Request Form is completely filled out, including licensing information, then the ITS department will install the software within 48 hours.

For software that has not been tested there will be a delay of up to one week from the time the ITS department receives the software until it can be installed. During this week period, the ITS department will install the software on a test machine and test the software to ensure that it is compatible with the computer system and other College applications. In addition, the department requesting the software must make available a user who can test the functionality of the software to ensure that the software does in fact perform the required tasks in the Framingham State College system and network environment as needed.

The Framingham State College ITS Department cannot stress enough the expense associated with the installation of unauthorized software. The College can be held liable for pirating software if licensing information is not centralized and documented. There are problems with software applications that contain "backdoors" which represent a threat to the security of the College. Other types of software may conflict with programs running on College servers and could cause interference with or even crash those programs or impede staff trying to access those server based programs. 

Users who install unauthorized software will be reported to the CITO. The unauthorized software program will be removed from the computer system. A computer system with unauthorized software installed is considered to be out of compliance. A computer that is found to be out of compliance is subject to removal from the network and a complete rebuilding, which means the user may be without a workstation for up to 7 days.

The ITS Department supports computing, networking and information resources for the students, faculty, and staff of Framingham State College. Computer facilities and services are offered in support of teaching and learning, research and public service. Access to the computer systems and networks owned and operated by FSC imposes certain responsibilities upon users, in accordance with existing FSC policies and local, state and federal law. Users accept the responsibility for utilizing services in ways that are ethical and that demonstrate academic integrity and respect for others who share this resource. This policy is established in an effort to help users understand what is expected of them. It sets guidelines regarding the issues of privacy and respect for property, ownership of data, system security, and misuse of the system.

Just as in any other aspect of a student's academic work, FSC expects that students will use computing and network resources in ways that are honest and ethical. Actions that constitute academic dishonesty include:

*Turning in someone else's work as your own. 
* Allowing someone to represent your work as his or her own. 
* Several people working on one paper and submitting it individually, as if each had done the paper alone. 
* Using another's work without proper acknowledgment.

FSC's computer and network services are available to all faculty, staff and students. Because there are so many individuals who utilize this shared resource, respect for the rights and needs of others is central to this policy. To ensure access and service for all users, users must refrain from any of the following SPECIFICALLY UNACCEPTABLE USES:

* Use for profit activities (sales, consulting for pay, and so on) or use by for-profit institutions unless covered by the General Principle, or as one of the Specifically Acceptable Uses. 
* Use for private or personal business in violation of College policies. 
* Chain letters, or any illegal schemes or activities. 
* Mailings to large numbers of people that contain unwanted solicitations or information. These mailings are often referred to as "spams". 
* Communication that constitutes illegal harassment. 
* Anonymous mailings, or mailings which impersonate another individual. 
* Allowing anyone else to use your account. 
* Any communication, which adversely impacts the communications of the College by overloading the network. 
* Knowingly acting in a manner that will disrupt normal operations of computers or the network. 

Technology should not be used in a manner that infringes upon an individual's right to privacy. The following restrictions are imposed to protect that right for everyone. Users are prohibited from:

* Using computer or network services in a way that violates copyrights, patent protections or license agreements.
* Gaining unauthorized access to information that is private or protected, or attempting to do so. 
* Running programs that attempt to identify passwords or codes. 
* Interrupting programs that protect data or secure systems, or attempting to do so. 
* Monitoring or tampering with another person's e-mail. 
* Reading, copying, changing or deleting another person's work. 
* Using another person's password, or allowing others to use yours. 
* Attempting to gain network privileges to which you are not entitled.

Computer systems and networks allow for a free exchange of ideas and information. This exchange serves to enhance learning, teaching, critical thinking and research. While the constitutional right of free speech applies to communication in all forms, we encourage civil and respectful discourse. College policy and local, state and federal law do prohibit some forms of communication, and include:

* Obscenity. 
* Defamation. 
* Advocacy directed to incite or produce lawless action. 
* Threats of violence. 
* Disruption of the academic environment. 
* Harassment based on sex, race, disability or other protected status. 
* Anonymous or repeated messages designed to annoy, abuse or torment.

Each individual who obtains a computer/e-mail account, or uses the computers and network resources made available by FSC must understand that he or she is accountable for the policies set forth in this document. In addition, a user assumes responsibility for:

* Protection of his or her password. 
* Reporting any breech of system security. 
* Reporting unauthorized use of his or her account. 
* Changing his or her password on a regular basis. 
* Frequently making back-up copies of work to ensure against loss. 
* Clearly labeling works and opinions as his or her own before being widely distributed.

The ITS Department may access others' files for the maintenance of networks, computers and storage systems. In all cases, individuals' rights to privacy will be respected to the greatest degree possible. Office staff may also routinely monitor and log usage data, such as network connection times, CPU and disk utilization for each user, security audit trails, and network loading. Data collected may be reviewed and further investigated should evidence of violation of policy or law occur. If necessary, staff may monitor the activities and files of specific users on their computers and networks. Any staff member who believes such monitoring is necessary should discuss the problem and strategy for investigation with the appropriate ITS staff member.

The ITS Department will review alleged violations of this Acceptable Use Policy on a case-by-case basis. Violations of policy will result in appropriate action, such as loss of electronic mail privilege, loss of computer privilege, loss of network privilege, or referral to appropriate authorities.

All parties submitting materials to the Information Technology Services Department Network represent and warrant that the submission, installation, copying, distribution, and use of such materials in connection with the ITS Network will not violate any other party's proprietary rights. The user understands and agrees that FSC is not responsible for any errors created in or damage to materials as a result of the installation or maintenance on the ITS Network servers or their use by anyone accessing FSC servers. All use of the Information Technology Services Network must be in accordance with existing FSC regulations for computer use. Official ITS Network pages may contain links to other pages not sanctioned by the College.

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