Telephone Policy

Purpose

The Information Technology Division is responsible for all telecommunications services required on the campus by the University and by associated research institutions.

The intention of this policy is to ensure that:

• there is an awareness that the intended use of all information technology resources is for learning, teaching, research and university business purposes;
• the overall costs to the University are defined and managed;
• there is consistency of implementation;
• standards are maintained;
• the available equipment and services are defined;
• well documented procedures are available for requesting or terminating such services.

 Application For Campus Voicemail Service

Acceptable use

Telephone and voice services are subject to principles similar to those documented in the Acceptable Use Policy .

Persons may not use institutional resources for personal benefit or gain or for the benefit or gain of other individuals or outside organizations. Personal benefit or gain may include a use solely for personal convenience, or a use to avoid personal expense.

Very limited personal use of institutional resources that supports organizational effectiveness is acceptable, provided that:

• Any use is brief in duration, occurs infrequently, and is the most effective use of time or resources;
• The use does not interfere with the performance of the persons official duties;
• The use does not disrupt or distract from the conduct of institutional business due to volume or frequency.

Prohibited uses of the telephone systems include:

• Any use for the purpose of conducting an unauthorized outside business or private employment;
• Accepting or soliciting reverse charge calls;
• Harassing or threatening others telephonically;
• Spending excessive time on private calls.

Liability

Rhodes University is not liable for damages caused by the failure or malfunction of telecommunications equipment installed on the campus.

Expectation of privacy

It should be noted that a "communication", by definition, involves a sender and a recipient. Furthermore it should be noted that while good assumptions may be made about the technology employed on the Rhodes campus, these assumptions may not be valid at a remote site.

Facsimile transmissions and voice mail are technologies that may create an electronic record. An electronic record is reproducible and is therefore not private. This is what separates these from other forms of communication such as a telephone conversation. Such records may be subject to disclosure under public disclosure laws, or may be disclosed for audit or legitimate operational or management purposes.

While the University does not routinely monitor individual usage of its telecommunications resources, the normal operation and maintenance of the University's telecommunications resources require the backup and caching of data and communications, the logging of activity, the monitoring of general usage patterns and other such activities that are necessary for the rendition of service.