TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

HANDBOOK

Last Updated September 23, 2008

POLICIES ON SUPPORT OF PERSONAL DEVICES AND SOFTWARE INSTALLATION

POLICIES

TNSS Software Installation Policy

Introduction:

The Technology Network Support Services (TNSS) department for the College of Education is defining the policies and procedures for software installations within the College of Education.

Purpose:

The purpose of this policy is to define proper procedures for software installation and allow the TNSS staff to maintain compliance with state and federal laws regarding software installation.

Policy:

Installation of College of Education purchased software on Personally-owned electronic equipment:

TNSS Staff will not install university owned software or data files on personally-owned electronic equipment.
TNSS Staff will not install software available to faculty and staff through the Microsoft Campus Agreement on personally-owned electronic equipment.
Individuals who have university owned software, including software provided through the Microsoft Campus Agreement on their personally-owned electronic equipment are responsible for abiding by the EULA (End User License Agreement) agreement (which may include removal of software upon termination of employment).

Installation of College of Education purchased software on electronic equipment owned by Texas Tech University:

TNSS Staff will retain the installation media of all software purchased by the University.
TNSS will install software purchased by the University, but only on University owned electronic equipment.
TNSS will perform a migration of programs and data from one piece of electronic equipment to a replacement unit owned by the University. This may occur when a unit either becomes non-repairable or through periodic replacement plans. TNSS will retain a copy of the hard drive image for no more than three weeks after a system migration has been performed.

TNSS Support Policy for non University Owned Electronic Devices.

Introduction:

The Technology Network Support Services (TNSS) department for the College of Education at Texas Tech

University is defining the level of technical and instructional support in regard to personal electronic devices. The following policy explains the limitation of support for personally-owned devices such as portable storage devices, digital media players, personal digital assistants (PDA), wireless phones, and personal portable computers (laptops/notebooks).

Purpose:

The purpose of this policy is to allow the TNSS staff to enforce security practices, maintain a high level of quality and prompt service for mission critical activities, and limit department liability in the event of improper configuration leading to device malfunction or data loss.

Policy:

Personally-owned electronic devices defined.

A device that this policy applies to is any electronic device that was purchased and/or owned by an individual user. Devices not purchased for business use by Texas Tech University, or the College of Education are covered under this policy and are held by the limitations set within.

Types of electronic devices (common) affected by this policy.

1. Portable Storage Devices

USB Thumb Drives
USB/Firewire/SCSI/eSATA External Hard Drive enclosures.
Flash memory cards and card reading hardware.
Devices that double as a storage device, such as flash memory on a wireless phone.

2. Digital Media Players

MP3, WMA, OGG, M4A, AAC digital audio players. Examples include: Apple iPod, Microsoft Vuze, Wireless phones capable of digital audio playback.
MOV, Divx, MPEG, WMV, Flash Digital Video players. Examples include: Apple iPod, Microsoft Vuze, Wireless phone capable of digital video playback.

3. Personal Digital Assistants, commonly referred to as PDA’s.

Calendar and Scheduling devices such as Palm and Apple iPod Touch
Devices that may or may not contain all these features but also combined with a wireless phone, multi-function devices.

4. Wireless Phones & Smart Phones

Cellular phones, under contract and purchased for personal use by an individual, not the University.
Devices that send and receive audio, video, data information wirelessly via commercial wireless phone carrier.

5. Personal Portable Computers, Notebook Computers, Tablet PC’s, Laptops.

Personally-owned Laptop computers, Examples Include: Apple Powerbook/Macbook, Dell Inspiron, IBM Thinkpad, etc.

Amount of support awarded to specified device types.

1. Portable Storage Devices

Portable storage devices may be used within the College of Education and on the Texas Tech University campus, unless limited by a University or department policy. The TNSS staff realizes the function and necessity of the use of portable storage devices, but will limit its support of these devices in the following ways.

a. Support for Physical Device Function

No support will be awarded to installation, function, or troubleshooting of non-functioning personal storage devices. The exception is that interface ports where the particular device will connect to on University-owned computer equipment can and will be checked to verify proper function. All support issues with a device are the responsibility of the end user, and should be directed at the Manufacturer or reseller of the device.

b. Instructional support for devices (how-to)

No training or instructional support will be awarded to users in assisting in the use of their own personal storage devices. The documentation and support offered with the device will assist the user in its use, not the TNSS staff.

c. Associated software installation.

In many cases some personal storage devices need software to be installed on the computer workstations that they are attached to in order to function. On workstations in which the user has software installation rights, the software can be installed and used. If the software in question creates a stability issue, or causes the workstation to malfunction, the TNSS staff will remove the software. Support for software associated with personal storage devices is not the responsibility of the TNSS department.

For users without the ability/permission to install software on their College of Education appointed workstations, the software can be installed at the discretion of the TNSS department. All software installation media and documentation should be present should the TNSS team need to install the software. Driver software, and application support software will not be supplied by the TNSS department. If the software does not function as designed due to a limitation in its design, or a security configuration on the workstation, the software will not be troubleshooted or supported by the TNSS department.

d. Cabling or external peripherals

Additional cables or external peripherals required for the use of the personal storage device will not be provided by the TNSS department. These items are the responsibility of the end user to acquire.

2. Digital Media Players

Digital media players may be used within the College of Education with permission of the users’ supervisor or department leaders. Many of these units interface with desktop computer workstations to maintain playlists, synchronize media between the desktop computer and the device, and other features. Support for these devices by the TNSS department is very limited in the following ways.

a. Support for Physical Device Function

No support will be awarded to installation, function, or troubleshooting of non-functioning personal digital media player devices. The exception is that interface ports where the particular device will connect to on University-owned computer equipment can and will be checked to verify proper function. All support issues with a device are the responsibility of the end user, and should be directed at the Manufacturer or reseller of the device.

b. Instructional support for devices (how-to)

No training or instructional support will be awarded to users in assisting in the use of their own personal digital media players. The documentation and support offered with the device will assist the user in its use, not the TNSS staff.

c. Associated software installation.

In many cases some digital media devices need software to be installed on the computer workstations that they are attached to in order to function. On workstations in which the user has software installation rights, the software can be installed and used. If the software in question creates a stability issue, or causes the workstation to malfunction, the TNSS staff will remove the software. Support for software associated with personal storage devices is not the responsibility of the TNSS department.

For users without the ability/permission to install software on their College of Education appointed workstations, software installation for media players will not be performed. Digital media players, like the iPod are considered luxury items and are normally not necessary to perform College of Education duties.

d. Data storage and Copyrighted material.

In the use of digital media players, data is frequently ripped from CD or transferred from the computer to the digital audio player. The TNSS teams takes no responsibility for maintaining the audio files left on workstations in replacement or in backup. Keeping and backing up audio files is the sole responsibility of the end user, whether purchased online or recorded off owned CD Media.l

Use of copyrighted material without obtaining a license or permission to use is illegal and against Texas Tech University’s policy. Refer to the University policy on copyrighted material in regard to it’s use on University equipment.

e. Cabling or external peripherals

Additional cables or external peripherals required for the use of the digital medial player devices will not be provided by the TNSS department. These items are the responsibility of the end user to acquire.

3. Personal Digital Assistants, commonly referred to as PDA’s.

PDA’s may be used with within the College of Education, and can be essential tools in maintaining schedules, appointments, and running small applications that benefit the user in some way or another. Due to the number of different brands and models of PDA’s the TNSS team cannot provide support for personally purchased PDA devices. Instead, University approved and provided devices should be used if required for business use.

a. Support for Physical Device Function

No support will be awarded to installation, function, or troubleshooting of non-functioning PDA devices. The exception is that interface ports where the particular device will connect to on University-owned computer equipment can and will be checked to verify proper function. All support issues with a device are the responsibility of the end user, and should be directed at the Manufacturer or reseller of the device.

b. Instructional support for devices (how-to)

No training or instructional support will be awarded to users in assisting in the use of their own PDA devices. The documentation and support offered with the device will assist the user in its use, not the TNSS staff.

c. Associated software installation.

In many cases some PDA devices need software to be installed on the computer workstations that they are attached to in order to function. On workstations in which the user has software installation rights, the software can be installed and used. If the software in question creates a stability issue, or causes the workstation to malfunction, the TNSS staff will remove the software. Support for software associated with personal storage devices is not the responsibility of the TNSS department.

Many times PDA devices are useful in synchronizing with the University email and calendar software, no support for personally purchased PDA devices will be granted even though the device is requested to be used with University services like email or calendar. No support for these devices with these services is available due the need to maintain security of the information that could be contained on the device and that the TNSS team has no control over personally owned PDA devices in regards to security and updates.

d. Cabling or external peripherals

Additional cables or external peripherals required for the use of the PDA device will not be provided by the TNSS department. These items are the responsibility of the end user to acquire.

4. Wireless Phones & Smart Phones

Personally owned wireless phones and smart phones are frequently used throughout the University, many of these devices are feature rich. The TNSS team only offers limited support for wireless and smart phones possessed by individuals, that are not company appointed and purchased by the University.

a. Support for Physical Device Function

No support will be awarded to installation, function, or troubleshooting of non-functioning personal wireless phones. Issues with a wireless phone are the responsibility of the end user, and should be directed at the Manufacturer or reseller of the device.

b. Instructional support for devices (how-to)

No training or instructional support will be awarded to users in assisting in the use of their own personal wireless phones. The documentation and support offered with the device will assist the user in its use, not the TNSS staff.

c. Other Personal electronic device features within the wireless phone.

Many wireless phones have features and capabilities that other devices mentioned in this policy perform. The same policy for these features applies as it would to a standalone device performing these tasks. Some examples of these features would be those of a PDA device, a digital media player, or personal data storage device.

d. Smart Phone usage and University services.

Smart phones typically are a full-feature wireless phone that has the capability of being more than a phone. These devices allow data transfer and many advanced networking features. The TNSS department does assist users in the configuration of wireless smart phones in their access to Texas Tech University email services. Only devices compatible with the University’s email system will be allowed to be configured. These devices include:

Windows Mobile Active Sync

Blackberry email service

The two services mentioned above are supported by Texas Tech University and the College of Education’s TNSS department only in wirelessly syncing via the wireless carrier’s network with University email servers.

c. Campus 802.11x wireless network connectivity and Smart Phones.

Connecting to local campus wireless networks is not supported by the TNSS department. Some devices are compatible with the security constraints set forth by the University, many are not. Testing, setup and instruction of the use of this short-range wireless connectivity while on campus with a wireless smart phone is the responsibility of the end user only.

5. Personal Portable Computers, Notebook Computers, Tablet PC’s, Laptops.

Portable computing is an increasingly popular and readily available piece of technology that many users have embraced. The TNSS team recognizes that these devices are essential in the computing world, and matches support for these devices. Most notebook computers feature wireless controllers that enable users to connect to many corporate and public networks to gain access to services and internet access. The TNSS team supports personally owned notebook computers in a limited amount to enable service to end users. Below are the restrictions.

a. Texas Tech University campus wireless connectivity.

The TNSS department will assist any TTU student, faculty, or staff user in the building with a compatible portable computer in setting up access to the campus wireless network. The computer must already meet all the software and hardware requirements to be supported for setup.

Limitations:

If a workstation does not meet the software or hardware requirements to be configured onto the wireless network, no further action will take place by the TNSS department.

b. Support for Physical Device Function

No support will be awarded to installation, function, or troubleshooting of non-functioning personal portable computers. All support issues with a device are the responsibility of the end user, and should be directed at the Manufacturer or reseller of the device.

c. Instructional support for devices (how-to)

No training or instructional support will be awarded to users in assisting in the use of their own personal portable computers. The documentation and support offered with the computer will assist the user in its use, not the TNSS staff.

d. Texas Tech University site offered software

The TNSS department offers no support for installation, instruction, or support of TTU campus software on personally owned portable computers. Updates and installation and removal of such software is the responsibility of the owner of the portable computer. The software must still be used in accordance with the EULA attached with the software obtained from Texas Tech University.

The TNSS Support Policy for non University Owned Electronic Devices affects these users:

Students, any individual currently attending and enrolled in Texas Tech University courses.
Faculty, instructors and professors with a current PAF on file.
Staff, an employee with a current PAF on file.
Guests, support limitations for mentioned devices strictly applies to these individuals, with controls on services not offered to guests.

Personally-Owned Electronic Devices: Support Options

The Technology Network Support Services (TNSS) team within the College of Education wishes to brief it’s users on the official policy regarding personally-owned electronic devices. A personally-owned electronic device is any device that is either directly or indirectly classified into the categories below that was not purchased or owned by the College or the University. In short, this policy applies to property owned by individuals only, and does not apply to items that are the property of Texas Tech University.

Portable Storage Devices

The TNSS department fully recognizes the effective use of portable storage devices like external hard drives, USB thumb drives, Zip drives, etc. Due to the personal data usually contained on these devices and the lack of control over these devices, the TNSS department has set limitations of support. The TNSS department does not troubleshoot or attempt to repair non-functioning portable storage devices, for physical device function. The end-user is responsible knowing how to use, install associated software, maintain, and keep track of the cabling for their personal storage devices. The TNSS department supports workstations that these devices are plugged into, and will troubleshoot the workstation’s physical ports to verify function, if necessary.

Digital Media Players

Digital media players have become a very popular choice and alternative to CD Players because of their flexibility and abundance of features. Many computer users will find use for these devices in the workplace, and many of them interface with existing computer equipment found in the COE. The TNSS department’s policy on personal media players simply states that these devices are not supported. The TNSS department offers no support for the device’s physical function, software installation, or instruction of the use of personal digital media players. Support for personally –owned digital media players is the sole responsibility of the end-user. A limited amount of support is granted in that a physical port of the workstation where the device plugs into can be tested for function by TNSS staff.

Personal Digital Assistants (PDA’s).

PDA devices are ever-popular in a busy work environment for the many features they offer. The primary function of these devices is for scheduling. PDA devices may be used within the TNSS department but carry a similar limitation of support like the other devices mentioned in this policy. The TNSS department offers no support for non-functioning devices, instruction of the use of these devices, or installation and support of software associated with these devices. The support for personally-owned PDA devices is the responsibility of the end user and of the reseller or manufacturer of the device. The TNSS department will only troubleshoot physical interface ports on a COE workstation if a question of the ports function comes into play. Any offending software that is user-installed that causes conflict will be removed by the TNSS department.

Wireless Phones and Smart Phones.

Wireless phones and smart phones are in just about every ones pocket now days. These handy devices offer communication everywhere, and other useful tools. Many of these wireless devices offer the same features as the devices mentioned above, and the same limitation of support applies, but to those features on the devices. The TNSS department does not support the troubleshooting or testing of non-functioning wireless devices, the instruction of use of the device, or provide any cabling usually accompanying the device. The TNSS department does offer support for personally-owned wireless Smart Phones in the form of access to TTU’s Active Sync and Blackberry wireless email access. The TNSS department will only assist in the initial

setup/configuration of the device to access mail.

Personal Portable Computers

Portable computing is now very affordable and makes working on important documents on the go a complete success, and more convenient. The TNSS department allows the use of personal portable computers in the COE. The TNSS department offers minimal support for these devices. The support offered to these devices is that the department will configure any Mac or PC laptop for the building’s internal wireless network. If the computer in question requires software to be installed, this is the responsibility of the end user and cannot be performed by the TNSS department.

Policies and Procedures for Mobile Labs

In order to request a mobile computer lab you will need to request your lab at least 48 hours in advance (No Exceptions).

We will bring the mobile lab computer cart to your class. You will be required to sign a form of responsibility. The technology staff member will set these computers up. These computers will stay with your class until the students have signed in the computer.

When your class is over you will need to have your students shut down the computer by going to the Start screen and shutting the computer off, unplug the cords to electricity, roll up the cord in an orderly fashion and place it in the large box on top of the cart. Then put the laptop in the numbered compartment in which it belongs. (Example if your laptop is number 2, it belongs in bin number 2). Shut the mobile cart door and someone from our technology department will be there to count and verify that the laptops are accounted for. This will release you from of the responsibility of these laptops.

If you need special software or downloads you must let us know 1 week ahead of time (No Exception).

If you need special software installed on these laptops it must be requested from the Technology Help Desk before semester starts. We must have time to install the software.

Nobody can check out or borrow a laptop from the mobile cart. (No Exceptions)

Laptops will not be left in a class at any time unattended. (by the technology group or faculty). If a technology staff is not present when you finish your class. Call 742-1997 ext: 319.