Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions at IIT

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In order to fulfill its mission of providing technology support to students, faculty, and staff, Kansas State University must grant privileged access to the university's electronic information systems to appropriate information technology (IT) employees. This access imposes upon the employee the responsibility and obligation to use systems in an ethical, professional, and legal manner that is strictly within her or his authorized job functions.

Kansas State University is committed to advancing the ethical and responsible use of all information technology resources. The goals of the K-State IT Employee Code of Ethics are to create a culture that fosters trust and a commitment to responsibility, excellence, and institutional and personal integrity, while avoiding conflicts of interest and appearances of impropriety. K-State will not tolerate illegal, dishonest, improper, or irresponsible use of privileged access.

In exchange for the privileges granted and as a condition of employment, IT employees agree to abide by all K-State IT policies at http://www.ksu.edu/policies/ppm/1020.html#3400 with the understanding that K-State administration may change, rescind or add policies with or without prior notice. I also subscribe to the following statements.

1. I will take reasonable precautions to prevent unauthorized access to passwords, user identifications, or other information that may be used to access information systems.
2. I will limit access to information contained in or obtained from the systems to only authorized people.
3. I will diligently protect all confidential information from unauthorized disclosure.
4. I will seek guidance from a supervisor or an appropriate administrator whenever I am unsure of the correct decision regarding appropriate use, confidentiality, or access, and will do so BEFORE I take any action on the support issue in question.
5. I will not share, record, copy, transmit, delete, or in any way alter information in these systems except when required to perform my duties.
6. I will abide by all licensing and copyright agreements.
7. I will transfer to another authorized IT employee any support request that might give me privileged access to my own academic records or to an electronic course in which I am enrolled, in order to avoid a conflict of interest.
8. I will immediately report any incidents of personal noncompliance or noncompliance of colleagues with the terms of this agreement to my supervisor or an appropriate administrator.
9. If I am a student, I will observe the university's policies on student conduct (http://www.ksu.edu/osas/conductcode.htm) and/or academic honesty (http://www.ksu.edu/honor).

This agreement applies to ALL electronic systems owned or operated by the university, which may include, but is not limited to, desktop computers; student information systems; financial information systems; human resource systems; e-mail systems; file servers; online course management systems (including K-State Online and Axio); and the local, wide-area, and wireless networks. This agreement also applies to accessing K-State systems with personal computers.

Kansas State University considers any violation of these standards to be a serious offense. As an employee, I understand that if I violate this agreement, I may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal from the university. Additional legal action may be taken if federal or state laws are violated.