Accepted Use Policy Analysis

Acceptable Use Policies (AUP) are designed for computer and Internet use in schools, public libraries and many workplaces. AUP’s are defined by the Institute of Education Services as, “A policy designed to limit the ways in which a computer or network can be used. Acceptable Use Policies usually include explicit statements about the required procedures, rights, and responsibilities of a technology user. Users are expected to acknowledge and agree to all AUP stipulations as a condition of system use, as should be certified on the AUP by the user's signature.” This policy protects the user (student- for the purpose of this review) from dangerous material as perceived by the school administrators. The AUP also tries to prevent students from becoming victims to predators.

There are many issues that must be addressed in an AUP, primarily how and why the Internet is used by students and teachers, and the responsibilities of the student while accessing the Internet or computer programs.[1] The AUP is a document that maps out the online student accountability while protecting them from explicit material. A well written AUP will use simple, easy to understand language so that all may have little difficulty in understanding the policy. It will also address student use, rights and privileges; it will also state computer use: appropriate use of programs, downloading/uploading and other digital equipment. Most importantly, it will discuss the way students will keep themselves safe and Internet savvy.

Many schools have an AUP in place or are currently working on them. This type of document is one that needs to constantly be kept up-to-date with the rapid changes in technology. For this review, the Chicago Public School Policy Manuel was analyzed. This is an eight page document that was written in March 2003 (it should be updated soon). The policy is well written and is broken up into clearly labeled sections: purpose, definitions, general provisions, terms and conditions for student use, and a consent form at the end. The purpose states that the Internet and computers should be used solely for the purpose of educational use and experience. The definitions clearly define many of the terms listed in the document: e-mail, Internet, distance learning, website and more. This helps the reader to unmistakably understand the document without much confusion. Under the general provisions section there is a disclaimer. The disclaimer states that there is filtering software on the computers but it cannot prevent everything. It lists that students are not allowed to look for sex, gambling, violence, racism and hate related websites. In this disclaimer it also says that “tasteless” sites are not permitted. The AUP does not specify what tasteless means; this will need to be updated in the future to be more specific. The unacceptable uses for students are clearly defined and would be understood by most students. Some unacceptable uses are: illegal activities, gambling, stalking, bullying, profanity and plagiarizing. Students must also keep all personal information to themselves, which also includes the personal information of schoolmates and school staff/faculty. Students are permitted to use chat rooms, instant messaging, and discussion boards exclusively for educational purposes. Number four of unacceptable uses states, “Non-educational uses of the CPS Network including, but not limited to games, wagering, gambling, junk mail, chain letters, jokes, private business activities, raffles, fundraisers, religious activities or political lobbying.”[2] If a world history teacher were to teach the Middle East Crisis or the presidential election and wanted the students to search related websites, this seems as though the students would be using the Internet inappropriately according to the AUP. This rule should be more closely looked at next time the document is revised. Students need to be aware of religious activities and politics even in a public school. Students should not be kept from learning more about current religious or political events in a public school. The document also addresses security and that the students’ school related websites will be monitored. It does not specifically address the issue of school email accounts, for the next review of the AUP it should state that school email accounts will also be monitored. Finally, at the end there is a consent and release waiver for parents/guardians to sign allowing student material to be published on the school’s website. They state that no personal information will be revealed. This is a wonderful idea and all schools should implements such a waiver.

The Chicago Public School (CPS) district had an excellent accepted use policy in place. It is clearly written and spelled out in a simple and easy to understand language. Other AUP policies such as St. Peters College or Hillsborough did spell out their policies as well as the CPS did. Despite a few changes that should be made in the future, this AUP is for the protection of students.