EQUIPMENT AND PROPERTY

Employees should use the resources and equipment of HEC with scrupulous regard and only for the purposes for which they were intended. All such property and equipment is owned by HEC and is provided for the express purpose of fulfilling the agency’s operational mission. Employees should have no reasonable expectation of privacy concerning their use of HEC- owned property or equipment. The worker should not engage in activities that willfully misuse, damage or destroy agency property. HEC property includes, but is not limited to, company issued cell phones, computers, keys, beepers, walkie-talkies, radios and other property assigned to, or used by staff, in the course of business. Failure to return HEC property upon termination will result in a deduction from the final paycheck for the value of the property.

Stealing or attempting to steal property belonging to HEC, its students, or its employees is prohibited, and may result in disciplinary as well as legal action.

I.D. CARDS

HEC Staff identification cards are provided to all staff during orientation. They are the property of HEC and must be kept in the employee’s possession during working hours. Upon termination of employment, I.D. cards must be returned to HEC.

COMPUTER AND OTHER ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT USE

This is a list of general computer, camera, video and other electronic equipment use policies and security rules that apply to all users of HEC computers or networks.

Computer Use
It is the policy of HEC to monitor and block attempts to access sites on the World Wide Web that contain the following content:
– Violence – Drug Culture
– Profanity – Militant/Extremist
– Nudity – Sex Education
– Sexual Acts – Gambling
– Gross Depictions – Illegal Activities
– Intolerance – Alcohol
– Satanic/Cult – Tobacco
– Drug Culture

In addition to the WWW, staff are prohibited from accessing these themes in any way via any type of electronic equipment or bringing printed copies of such materials (downloaded from WWW or otherwise) onto HEC property or to HEC sponsored events.

Intentional attempts to access any such prohibited sites either directly or by proxy server will be considered grounds for disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

All HEC computer users have the responsibility to use HEC computer systems in an effective, efficient, ethical and lawful manner and to conform to HEC’s Harassment Policy in all computer use. Computers, software, and communications systems provided by HEC are provided to employees primarily for HEC related work. Use of HEC resources for personal or non-work- related activity must not interfere with work production. All personal use of HEC communication resources must be via an employee’s HECnet account. Personal Internet and Email accounts are not allowed to be accessed or used on HEC computers. All information stored on all HEC computers is and shall be the property of HEC. HEC reserves the right to review all information stored on any HEC computer, laptop, cell phone or server. HEC employees have no expectation of privacy in connection with use of any HEC computer and
consent to the monitoring, at the discretion of HEC, of their use of the system. This includes, but is not limited to printing, reading or otherwise viewing all files, including email messages, entering, leaving or stored in the HEC system.

Email User Accountability
HEC computer users understand that the use of the HEC Email system positions the user as a
representative of Hillcrest Educational Centers within the international online community. All communication via Email is expected to remain professionally oriented and in the best interest of HEC. Users are accountable for their actions and may be held accountable for applicable administrative or legal sanctions.

Unauthorized Access
Users are not to attempt to receive unintended messages or access information by some unauthorized means, such as imitating another, impersonating another user or other person, misuse of user credentials (user names, passwords, etc.), or by causing some system component to function incorrectly.

Software Use of any equipment.
All software used on HEC computers, cameras, videos, etc. must be appropriately acquired and used according to the appropriate licensing. Possession or use of illegally copied software is prohibited. Likewise, users shall not copy copyrighted software, except as permitted by the owner of the copyright and at the express direction of the Director of Information Services.

Data Modification or Destruction
Users are prohibited from taking unauthorized actions to intentionally modify or delete information or programs on any of our electronic equipment including changing any assigned usernames and/or passwords.

Malicious Software
Users must not introduce or use malicious software such as computer viruses, Trojan horses, or
worms.

Denial of Service Actions
Users may not deliberately interfere with other users accessing system resources.

HEC personnel and users are required to address, safeguard against, and report misuse, abuse, and criminal activities. Misuse of HEC resources can lead to temporary or permanent disabling of accounts and administrative or legal actions up to and including immediate discharge.

PHONE AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE

Phone
All HEC phone system users have the responsibility to use HEC communications systems in an
effective, efficient, ethical and lawful manner. Communications systems provided by HEC are to be used only for HEC related work. All information stored on all HEC telephone or voice mail systems is and shall be the property of HEC. HEC reserves the right to review all information on any HEC communication or voice mail system. HEC employees have no expectation of privacy in connection with use of any HEC communication tool and consent to the monitoring, at the discretion of HEC, of their use of the communications system. This includes but is not limited to printing, reading, reviewing vendor communications records, or otherwise viewing all data, entering, leaving or stored in an HEC system.

HEC has a limited number of phones available and the primary use must be for client and HEC business communications. It is recognized that staff, on occasion, need to make and receive important personal and other than HEC business related calls for a variety of reasons. We ask that these calls be generally restricted, kept to a minimum, and used for communications of less than a few minutes. Longer conversations should be handled at other locations and off campus.

Any personal-emergency, long-distance calls should be charged to your home phone. If this is
not feasible, you should contact your Program Director or designee to determine how to place the call.

Cameras and Recording Devices
Staff may not use cameras or recording devices at any Hillcrest Educational Centers property without prior approval from a Program Director or designee including camera application on cell phones and PDA’s. Camera phones may never be used to take pictures of students at HEC.

Cell Phones

The nature of our work requires staff to be attentive to the needs and activities of the students. To minimize any distractions and ensure the safety of students and staff, personal cell phones or other electronic communication devices may not be used while on shift unless approved by an administrator. If not approved, such devices must remain in an employee’s vehicle or in an area designated by a supervisor and cannot be kept on their person. These devices may be used while on break. However staff are prohibited from using these devices in the presence of a student and can never be used to take photos or videos of students or work related activities.

Use of such devices is defined as receiving or placing phone calls, checking voicemail, sending or receiving text messages, accessing the internet, playing games, taking photographs, videotaping or any other purpose.

This policy also applies to staff’s family or friends who may be on campus. HEC is not liable for any lost, stolen or broken electronic communication devices.