Digital Rights and Responsibilities

Digital Rights and Responsibility: those freedoms extended to everyone in a digital world.
Just as in the American Constitution where there is a Bill of Rights, there is a basic set of rights extended to every digital citizen. Digital citizens have the right to privacy, free speech, etc. Basic digital rights must be addressed, discussed, and understood in the digital world. 

Acceptable Use Policy

Please see below for the Capital Area Advanced Research and Education Network's (CAAREN's) acceptable use policy.

• Use of CAAREN services shall be in support of the network's and member institutions' core missions of research and education
• CAAREN services may be used for all legal purposes, provided such use does not adversely affect CAAREN or other members' operations, as determined by CAAREN
• The network may not be used for:
  • Any illegal activity
  • Gaining access to systems for which one does not have authorization
• Institutions eligible for CAAREN membership may not share an individual connection and must connect to CAAREN separately
• Member traffic may be subject to other acceptable use policies when such traffic transits other networks (e.g., Internet2)

A list of basic rights and responsibilities of students for Acceptable Use Policy

Student Rights and Responsibilities

Preamble

Academic institutions exist for the transmission of knowledge, the pursuit of truth, the development of students, and the promotion of the general well being of society. Free inquiry and free expression are indispensable to the attainment of these goals. As members of this academic community, students are encouraged to develop the capacity for critical judgment and to engage in a sustained and independent search for truth.

I. Access

Montclair State is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action institution and does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, creed, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, handicap, or Vietnam-era veteran status in providing access to the University's benefits, services, and employment opportunities in compliance with relevant federal and state legislation.
The University is open to all students who are qualified according to its admission standards, within the limits of its funding and facilities.

II. Classroom

The professor in the classroom and in conference should encourage free discussion, inquiry, and expression. Student performance will be evaluated solely on an appropriate basis, not on opinions or conduct in matters unrelated to academic standards. Students shall be made aware of the standards by which they are to be evaluated and that procedures exist by which the standards are reviewed and evaluated. Faculty bear responsibility to inform students of their grading standards and procedures.

A. Protection of Freedom of Expression

Students are free to take exception, in a reasonable manner, to the data or views offered in any course of study and to reserve judgment about matters of opinion. They are, nonetheless, responsible for learning the content of any course of study for which they are enrolled. The instructor will judge the extent to which the student has met this requirement.
Discussion and expression of all views relevant to the subject matter are recognized as necessary to the educational process, but students have no right to restrict the freedom of professors to teach or of the right of other students to learn. If a student persists in disruptive behavior in class after the professor has explained the unacceptability of such conduct, the professor may dismiss the student from the class and may refer the matter to appropriate personnel for disciplinary proceedings.

B. Protection Against Improper Disclosure

Information about student views, beliefs, life styles, and political associations, which professors acquire in the course of their work as teachers, advisors, and counselors, is considered confidential. Protection of students against improper disclosure is a serious professional obligation and is mandated by the Federal Family Rights and Privacy Act of 1974.

III. Student Records

A. Permanent Educational Records

Montclair State has a carefully considered policy as to the information which should be a part of a student's permanent educational records and the conditions of access to each are set forth in an explicit policy statement.
Transcripts of academic records contain only information about academic status. Information from disciplinary or counseling files is not available to unauthorized persons on campus, or to any persons off campus without the express consent of the student involved except by court order or in cases where the safety of persons or property is involved. Provisions are also made for periodic routine destruction of non-current disciplinary records and counseling files. Administrative staff and faculty member should respect confidential information about students, which they acquire in the course of their work. A policy statement pertaining to this matter may be obtained from the Office of the Vice President for Student Development and Campus Life.

B. Directory Information

http://www.montclair.edu/sdcl/ferpa/
Under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), Montclair State may provide information of a directory nature to those who request it without the consent of the student. However, students are entitled to know what is classified as directory information and have the right to request that it not be disclosed by contacting the Office of the Dean of Students within the first two weeks of each semester.

IV. Student Development & Campus Life

In Student Development and Campus Life, certain standards are maintained to preserve the freedom of students.

A. Freedom of Association

Students bring to the campus a variety of interests previously acquired and develop many new interests as members of the college community. They should be free to organize and join associations to promote their common interests.

1. Membership, policies, and actions of student organizations will be determined by vote of only those persons who hold bona fide student membership in the college.
2. Affiliation with an extramural organization will not itself disqualify a student organization from institutional recognition.
3. Campus advisors are required, but each organization is free to choose its own advisor. Campus advisors advise organizations according to each individual constitution. They do not have the authority to control the policies of such organizations.
4. Student organizations are required by the Student Government Association (SGA) to submit a statement of purpose, criteria for membership, rules of procedure, and a current list of officers to the President of the Student Government Association.
5. Campus organizations, including those affiliated with an extramural organization, shall have no policies or procedures, which violate university policy or applicable rules.

B. Demonstration Regulation

General Policy
Montclair State University’s policy and procedures concerning demonstrations and assemblies is based on a balance between two principles.  The first principle is the right of members of the University community to freedom of assembly and speech and the benefits to be derived in a free society and in a free and open University from fostering discourse and permitting the exchange of ideas.  No member of the University community shall be subject to any limitation or penalty for demonstrating or assembling with others for the expression of his/her viewpoint.  The second principle is the right of all members of the University community to be able to engage without disruption in all University organized activities, including, but not limited to, educational, scholarly, research, business, cultural, informational, recreational, or public outreach activities.

C. Freedom of Inquiry and Expression

1. Students and student organizations are free to examine and to discuss all questions of interest to them, and to express opinions publicly and privately. They are also free to support causes by orderly means, which do not disrupt the regular and essential operations of Montclair State. It should be made clear to the academic and the larger community that in their public expressions or demonstrations, students or student organizations speak only for themselves.
2. Duly organized student groups are encouraged to invite and to hear any person of their own choosing. Routine procedures required by MSU before a guest speaker is invited to appear on campus are designed only to insure that there is orderly scheduling of facilities and adequate preparation for the event, that the occasion is conducted in a manner appropriate to an academic community, and does not infringe on the rights of others. Institutional control of campus facilities is not used as a device of censorship. It should be made clear to the academic and larger community that sponsorship of guest speakers does not necessarily imply approval or endorsement of the views expressed, either by the sponsoring group or the university.

D. Student Participation in Institutional Government

As constituents of the university community, students should be free, individually and collectively, to express their views on issues of institutional policy and on matters of general interest to the student body. The student body should have clearly defined processes to participate with the Administration in the formation and application of institutional policy affecting academic and student affairs. The role of the Student Government and both its general and specific responsibilities should be made explicit, and the actions of the Student Government within the areas of its jurisdiction should be reviewed only through orderly and prescribed procedures as delineated by the Board of Trustees of Montclair State University through the constitution of the Student Government Association. The role of the Student Government Association is to serve as the official student voice for students on matters of all university policy and concern.

E. Student Publications

Student publications and the student press are a valuable aid in establishing and maintaining an atmosphere of free and responsible discussion and of intellectual exploration on the campus. They are a means of bringing student concerns to the attention of the faculty and institutional authorities, and of formulating student opinions on various issues on the campus and in the world at large.
Montclair State provides editorial freedom and financial autonomy for the student publications to maintain their integrity of purpose as vehicles for free inquiry and free expression in an academic community.
Institutional authorities, in consultation with students and faculty, have a responsibility to provide written clarification of the role of the student publications, the standards to be used in their evaluation, and the limitations on external control of the operation. At the same time, the editorial freedom of student editors and student managers entails corollary responsibilities to be governed by the canons of responsible journalism, such as the avoidance of libel, indecency, undocumented allegations, attacks on personal integrity, and the techniques of harassment and innuendo. The following provisions protect the editorial freedom of student publications.

1. The student press should be free of censorship and advance approval of copy, and its editors and managers should be free to develop their own editorial policies and news coverage.
2. Editors and managers of student publications should be protected from arbitrary suspension and removal because of student, faculty, administrative, or public disapproval of editorial policy or content. Only for proper and stated causes should editors and managers be subject to removal and then by orderly and prescribed procedures. The agency responsible for the appointment of editors and managers should be the agency responsible for their removal.
3. All student publications should explicitly state on the editorial page that the opinions therein expressed are not necessarily those of the university or student body.

V. Off-Campus Freedom of Students

A. Exercise of Rights of Citizenship

Students are both citizens and members of the university community. As citizens students enjoy the same freedoms of speech, peaceful assembly, and right of petition that other citizens enjoy and, as members of the university community, they are subject to the obligations, which accrue to them by virtue of this voluntary membership. Institutional powers shall not be employed to inhibit such intellectual and personal development of students as is often promoted by their exercise of the rights of citizenship off campus.

B. University's Interest

Students who violate the law may incur penalties prescribed by statutes and civil authorities. Montclair State's interest as an academic community may be involved by violation of law and may provide a basis for disciplinary action.
Students who violate the law may incur penalties prescribed by civil authorities, but institutional authority will not be used to merely duplicate the function of general laws. Only where the institution's interest as an academic community is distinct and clearly involved shall the special authority of the university be asserted.

VI. Student Rights Within the Instructional Context

In the interest of enhancing the quality of student life and of maintaining and improving excellent relationships between students and faculty, the Student Affairs Council of the Faculty Senate has adopted the following list of student rights within the instructional context:

VII. Student Right to Know

1. Student Right-to-Know - December 1, 1995 - Part V pp. 61775-88 (34 CFR Part 668.46). These regulations implement remaining provisions of the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. Text of the Jeanne M. Cleary Disclosure of Campus Security is available on the web at www.montclair.edu/universitypolice/clery/
2. Equity in Athletics - November 29, 1995 - Part V pp. 61423-42 (34 CFR Part 668). These regulations implement the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act, which requires the disclosure information on men and women's intercollegiate athletic programs

http://www.montclair.edu/dean-of-students/handbook/

F. HUMAN RELATIONS STATEMENT ON CAMPUS CLIMATE FOR CIVILITY AND HUMAN DIGNITY

Montclair State University recognizes its responsibility to foster an atmosphere of respect, understanding and good will among individuals and groups, with special sensitivity to those most likely to be subjected to disrespect, abuse and misunderstanding because of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, and sexual orientation. The goal is to create an unbiased community where all individuals feel free to express themselves in ways that are appropriate in a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society and to pursue their work and study in an atmosphere which values individuality and diversity.