Policy on Room 403 Agriculture Hall--
The Agricultural Economics Computing Facility

The department provides a room with a variety of microcomputer hardware and software for the use of graduate students, faculty, and staff. The purpose of the facility is to provide routine, centralized support for the department's graduate and research programs. It will also be used for: occasional instruction and demonstration of software used in the department's graduate courses; instruction and demonstration of software in support of other projects or activities in the department; graduate student thesis and dissertation research; and graduate student assignments in support of course work.

Funding

Funds for the maintenance and upgrading of furnishings, hardware and software are expended at the discretion of the department chairperson. The Computer Service manager and the department Computer Services Committee will make recommendations to the chair about desirable expenditures.

Priorities for Use

The facility is primarily for the support of the Department's research and graduate training programs. Use will be restricted to members of the Department, except that when the facility is used for approved instruction, non-department members may use the facility to complete work assigned to them as part of that instruction. Undergraduates may use the facility only when they are employed by and are carrying out work for a Departmental project. Undergraduate classes may not make use of the facility.

A sign-up list will be kept in the room so that individual users can reserve a specific computer for a specific time period. The sign-up list will also ensure that other users are informed of reserved blocks of time. No individual may reserve more than four hours of use per day; this limit shall not apply to classroom use.

Five use categories are identified and are listed below in terms of priority. Categories listed first take precedence over subsequent categories in reserving time on the sign-up list. Lower priority users may be "bumped" from a reserved time period until twenty-four hours before the time of use. When it is necessary to exert one's priority, an effort should be made to advise the bumped user as early as possible.

From first until last priority, the use categories are:

1. Group instruction or demonstration of software or analytical techniques on an occasional or intermittent basis. Scheduled courses may not meet regularly in the facility. If the scheduled group does not need all the computers, individuals should be permitted to quietly use the remaining systems. Group instruction will be restricted as follows:
• The instructor must request the use of the room at least two weekdays prior to the date of use.
• Instructional use must be scheduled from 8 A.M. to 11 P.M. on non-holiday weekdays.
• In a week, no more than 25% of the hours between 8 am and 5pm may be used for group instruction.
• The same restriction shall apply separately to the 5:00 P.M. to 11:00 P.M. hours.
• The group must be under the supervision of department faculty, staff, or teaching assistants, especially after 5:00 pm when provisions for unlocking the facilities will need to be made.
2. Individual computing in support of faculty research and extension projects. Actual computing may be conducted by a faculty member, staff member, or student.
3. Computing in support of a graduate student's own dissertation or thesis research.
4. Individual computing to complete projects assigned in AEC graduate courses or in courses taken by Agr. Econ. graduate students.
5. Any other uses by Departmental faculty, staff, and graduate students.

Software Policies

A. Storage of Personal Files

Individuals are encouraged to store personal "data" files (documents, spreadsheets, graphics, etc.) on the hard disks. Instructions will be posted in the room regarding proper storage procedures (use of personal subdirectories, etc.) The use of disk space for this purpose must not significantly interfere with the use of software in B.1. below. Individuals will be responsible for making backup copies of their files, to guard against any damage to or loss of their files, either accidental or otherwise.

B. Software Installation

No one may install software (executable programs) on the hard disks of the computers, for either permanent or temporary use as defined below, without authorization from the Computer Service manager. When giving authorization, the Computer Service manager will designate someone, usually from the Computer Service staff, to perform or supervise the installation.

There will be two types of software installations, "permanent" and "temporary", with different rules for each type.

Permanent software

• Software to enhance general department teaching or research, upon recommendation of the Computer Services Committee, will be installed for permanent use.
• Software to further a specific activity in department teaching, research or extension, at the request of an individual faculty member, may also be installed for permanent use, with the following conditions:
• Such software will usually be purchased from grant or other funds provided for the specific activity.
• The installation of such software must not significantly interfere (in computer configuration, disk space availability, etc.) with the use of software in category a. above.
• Such software will be assigned for exclusive use in the computer room for a minimum of six months. At any time after six months, the software may be returned to the original purchaser, if the faculty member who made the request and the Computer Service manager agree there is no continued demand for the software in the computer room.
• The installation of such software on a limited number of computers will not give priority to any individual for the use of those computers.
• For permanent software, the full, original software package (including disks, templates, registration cards and all documentation) must be provided for exclusive use in the computer room. If the software is to be installed on more than one computer, there must be sufficient copies of the software, or documentation of a multiple-installation license, to cover the number of installations requested. Other requirements may be imposed so that the facilities remain in compliance with copyright laws.

Temporary software

• Individuals may use other software on the computers, either by running it from floppies or by installing it on the hard disk, provided that the individual using the software is the owner of the software, or has a proper license to use the software on the computer.
• Temporary software may remain on the hard disk only during each operating session. The software must be deleted when the user leaves the computer. After an initial installation under the supervision of Computer Service staff, the staff member will assist the user in copying the software to floppies so the software can be restored for later sessions without repeating the installation process.
• Neither the user, the software package, nor the installation program may make changes to the computer configuration (CMOS setup, AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS, hidden files, etc.) The Computer Service staff will assist the user in determining the best way to handle any special configuration needed for the software.
• Before each session, the user must verify that the software is virus-free, using the virus-scanning software installed on the computers.

Responsibility

The Computer Service manager will schedule the use of the facility and monitor compliance with the guidelines in this document. The manager will have responsibility for maintenance of the computer systems. The manager will decide which priority to assign to any and all requests for use, and decide who will receive access to the facility after 5:00 pm. when the Computer Service staff is not available.

Computer Service staff will periodically inspect the computers and delete any unauthorized software and improperly stored personal files. They may also delete personal files on any computer where there is insufficient free disk space for normal operation. When carrying out these duties, they will not be held responsible for losses suffered by anyone through the deletion of such files.