Student Helpdesk

Learners must use the college IT systems in a responsible way, to ensure that there is no risk to personal safety or to the safety and security of the IT systems and other users.

1. For your own personal safety:

• Understand that the college will monitor your use of the IT systems, email and other digital communications.
• Treat your username and password as confidential – do not share it, nor try to use any other person’s username and password.
• Protect yourself from unwanted or potentially dangerous contact from people unknown to you when you are communicating online.
• Do not disclose or share personal information about yourself or others when online.
• If you arrange to meet people offline that you have communicated with online, do so in a public place and take someone with you.
• Immediately report any unpleasant or inappropriate material or messages or anything that makes you feel uncomfortable when you see it online.

2. Understand that everyone has equal rights to use technology as a resource and:

• Understand that the college IT systems are primarily intended for educational use and that you will not use the systems for personal or recreational use unless you have permission to do so.
• Do not (unless you have permission) make large downloads or uploads that might take up internet capacity and prevent other users from being able to carry out their work.
• Do not use the college IT systems for online gaming, online gambling, or file sharing, unless you have permission from a member of staff to do so.

3. Act as you expect others to act toward you:

• Respect others’ work and property and do not access, copy, remove or otherwise alter any other user’s files, without the owner’s knowledge and permission.
• Be polite and responsible when you communicate with others; do not use strong, aggressive or inappropriate language and appreciate that others may have different opinions.
• Do not take or distribute images of anyone without their permission.

4. Recognise that the college has a responsibility to maintain the security and integrity of the technology it offers you and to ensure the smooth running of the college:

• Understand the risks and do not try to upload, download or access any materials which are illegal or inappropriate or may cause harm or distress to others, nor try to use any programs or software that might allow you to bypass the filtering/security systems in place to prevent access to such materials.
• Immediately report any damage or faults involving equipment or software, however, this may have happened.
• Do not open any attachments to emails, unless you know and trust the person/ organisation that sent the email, due to the risk of the attachment containing viruses or other harmful programs.
• Do not install or attempt to install programs of any type on a machine, or store programs on a computer, nor try to alter computer settings.
• Only use chat and social networking sites with permission and at the times that are allowed.

5. When using the internet for research or recreation, recognise that:

• You should ensure that you have permission to use the original work of others in your own work.
• Where work is protected by copyright, do not try to download copies (including music and videos).
• When using the internet to find information, you should take care to check that the information that you access is accurate. Understand that the work of others may not be truthful and may be a deliberate attempt to mislead you.

6. Understand that you are responsible for your actions, both in and out of college:

• Understand that the college also has the right to take action against you if you are involved in incidents of inappropriate behaviour, that are covered in this agreement, when you are out of college and where they involve your membership of the college community. This includes the use of personal social media which breaches the code of conduct. (Examples would be cyber-bullying, use of images or personal information).
• Understand that if you fail to comply with the Acceptable Use Policy Agreement, you will be subject to disciplinary action. This may include loss of access to the college network/internet, suspensions, permanent exclusion, contact with parents and/or partner educational institutions and in the event of illegal activities involvement of the police.

Contact us

If you need help tell a member of college staff, this could be your Progress Tutor, Support staff or a member of the Welfare & Development Team

Email: learner.welfare@loucoll.ac.uk

Safeguarding Policy