Policy

This policy sets forth the acceptable uses regarding the access and use of Ramapo College of New Jersey’s (hereafter “RCNJ”) information and information systems, which activities are acceptable and which are not, as well as the consequences of violating this policy.

RCNJ systems and personnel process (receive, store, process, transmit, and alter) a variety of sensitive and non-sensitive (public) information that must be handled in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and best security practices. This information must be protected from unauthorized access, modification, and destruction, as well as backed up or archived as appropriate for the level of sensitivity and criticality of the information.

All users of the College’s information and technology resources, hereafter “users”, including students, employees, and guests, are expected to take responsibility for helping to maintain the security of the RCNJ computing and network infrastructure. This requires anyone who interacts with Ramapo systems or data, regardless of student or employment status, to practice basic security measures when accessing systems or receiving, storing, or transmitting information owned by RCNJ.

For the purposes of this policy, the term “employee” refers to all individuals who work for Ramapo College in exchange for financial or other compensation, including all part-time and full-time staff, faculty, adjuncts, managers, and student workers.

Reason for Policy

This policy defines acceptable use of RCNJ information systems, technology, and data. All users should be aware that all RCNJ-owned equipment, network infrastructure, and software applications are the property of RCNJ and are to be used for College purposes only. Also, all data residing on RCNJ-owned equipment is also the property of RCNJ and therefore, should be treated as such, and protected from unauthorized access.

To Whom Does the Policy Apply

This policy applies to all users, including students, employees, and guests who interact with College information systems, technology, or data.

This policy also applies to all systems and information owned, managed, or processed by RCNJ and its authorized personnel for academic, business, or support use.

This policy also applies to any external or non-RCNJ information system that interconnects with or exchanges data with RCNJ owned or managed systems.

No one is outright excluded from this policy, but faculty and students may have exemptions or special considerations when it comes to content restrictions, especially in research and instruction. However, they would still be expected to follow policies related to:

• Security (e.g., protecting sensitive data)
• Privacy laws (e.g., FERPA, HIPAA)
• Compliance with institutional regulations (e.g., no harassment, illegal activity, or misuse of resources)

Users cannot use IT resources for activities that violate laws, institutional policies, or ethical standards (e.g., hacking, discrimination, or unauthorized access). The policy is intended to balance academic freedom with responsible use to ensure security and compliance.

Supplemental Resources

This policy is intended to address the requirements of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act’s (GLBA) Standards for Safeguarding Customer Information (Safeguards Rule), which requires the establishment of a comprehensive information security program. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-171 and the security controls contained therein are used to support RCNJ’s compliance with this regulation.

Specifically, this policy addresses compliance with the following controls:

• 03.01.02 Access Enforcement
• 03.01.05 Least Privilege
• 03.05.01 User Identification and Authentication
• 03.15.03 Rules of Behavior

Note that this Policy supports all applicable information protection policies, including:

• RCNJ Policy 410: Data Protection (PII)
• RCNJ Policy 411: Cybersecurity
• RCNJ Policy 413: Software, Hardware, and Supporting Devices
• IT Handbook
• RCNJ Policy 414: Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Workplace
• RCNJ Policy 458: Code of Professional Responsibility

Contacts

Information Technology Services (ITS) 

I. Rules

The following rules have been established to ensure that Ramapo College resources are used effectively, securely, and do not subject the college to any civil or criminal liability. All users of Ramapo information systems, technology, and data agree to the following:

a. All passwords used to access RCNJ systems must be kept secure and protected from unauthorized use.
b. No Ramapo user account can be shared between individuals. Authorized users are responsible for the security of their own passwords and accounts.
c. Transferring personally identifiable information or any information regarding College operations to portable equipment, personal cloud, other personal storage devices, or personal email accounts is prohibited.
d. All computers residing on or connecting to the internal RCNJ network, whether owned by the employee or RCNJ, shall continually execute approved anti-malware software with a current, up-to-date anti-malware signature. These computers must also run approved
anti-virus software with the latest virus definitions and real-time protection enabled at all times.
e. Employees must use extreme caution when opening e-mail attachments or clicking links received from unknown senders.
f. Personally identifiable information cannot be sent to external recipients unless there is an explicit business need, approved by the General Counsel, to do so (such as emailing the State), and should be transferred within the internal network or through secure VPN connections.
g. Off-campus work must be completed via a secure VPN connection so that no data is transferred off-network.
h. All workstations should be kept secure. Users should lock the workstation when not attended to protect unauthorized users from accessing secure files. This also applies to employees working remotely.
i. Users are prohibited from storing sensitive or regulated data (e.g., FERPA-, HIPAA-, or GLBA-protected information) on local computer drives, whether on personal or college-owned devices. Instead, approved secure storage solutions, such as specifically assigned locations on the College’s P and U drives, must be used to ensure compliance with institutional policies and regulatory requirements.
All student information, apart from directory information, on college systems is protected by FERPA and is accessible only to school officials with a legitimate educational interest.
j. All users must respect intellectual property, creativity, and privacy. This includes strict compliance with copyright laws like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and avoiding plagiarism or unauthorized access to information systems, technology, or data. College systems may not be used to harass, threaten, or impede others, nor to transport illegal or otherwise harmful material.
k. Users are responsible for all activity on their accounts and must secure them with strong, private passwords. Any unauthorized use must be reported immediately to the CIO or system manager.
l. It is the user’s responsibility to back up their personal data, as college system backups are for institutional disaster recovery and are not intended for individual file restoration.
m. Users must comply immediately with any directive from IT staff to cease an activity, which is subject to timely review by the CIO.

II. Prohibited Activities

Under no circumstance is an employee or student of RCNJ authorized to engage in any activity that is illegal under local, State, Federal or international law while utilizing RCNJ-owned resources.
The following activities are prohibited, with no exceptions (the list below is by no means exhaustive, it attempts to provide a framework for activities which fall into the category of unacceptable use):

a. Violations of the rights of any person or company protected by copyright, trade secret, patent, or other intellectual property, or similar laws or regulations, including, but not limited to, the installation or distribution of “pirated” or other software products that are not appropriately licensed for use by RCNJ.
b. Unauthorized copying of copyrighted material including, but not limited to, digitization and distribution of photographs from magazines, books or other copyrighted sources, copyrighted music, and the installation of any copyrighted software for which RCNJ or the end user does not have an active license.
c. Exporting software, technical information, encryption software or technology, in violation of international or regional export control laws. The CIO should be consulted prior to the export of any material that is in question.
d. Introduction of malicious programs into the network or server environments (e.g., viruses, worms, Trojan horses, rootkits, etc.).
e. Revealing your account password to others or allowing use of your account by others. This includes family and other household members when work is being done at home.
f. Using a RCNJ computing asset to actively engage in procuring or transmitting material that is in violation of sexual harassment or hostile workplace laws in the user’s local jurisdiction.
g. Making fraudulent offers of products, items, or services originating from any RCNJ account.
h. Effecting security breaches or disruptions of network communication. Security breaches include, but are not limited to accessing data of which the employee is not an intended recipient or logging into a server or account that the employee is not expressly authorized to access, unless these duties are within the scope of the employee’s assigned duties. For purposes of this section, “disruption” includes, but is not limited to: Network sniffing, Pinged floods, Packet spoofing, Denial of service, Forged routing information for malicious purposes
i. Port scanning or security scanning is expressly prohibited unless prior notification to the RCNJ ITS Department is made.
j. Executing any form of network monitoring which will intercept data not intended for the employee’s host unless this activity is a part of the employee’s normal duties.
k. Circumventing user authentication or security of any host, network, or account, including but not limited to the use of keyloggers, credential harvesting, or other methods to capture or bypass authentication credentials.
l. Interfering with or denying service to any user other than the employee’s host (for example, denial of service attack).
m. Using any program, script, or command, or sending messages of any kind, with the intent to interfere with, or disable, a user’s terminal session, via any means, locally or via the Internet or Intranet.

III. Email Use and Expectations

Ramapo College faculty and staff are provided with email accounts for the purpose of conducting official college business related to instructional, academic and/or administrative activities to accomplish tasks consistent with the college’s mission. Retired tenured faculty and retired staff with at least ten years of service may be permitted to retain a Ramapo email account upon request. For more information, visit www.ramapo.edu/its/it-info-retirees/.

Because email is an effective means to share important, relevant, and timely information, and a vital tool for supporting the academic and administrative needs of the college community, the college policy designates email as the official communication channel with faculty, staff, and students. Only @ramapo.edu email addresses will be used for official communication regarding all academic and administrative matters. For this reason, all faculty, staff, and students are required to maintain an “@ramapo.edu” address. However, although email is the official channel, other methods are used when appropriate.

The following guidelines govern email-related activities:

a. The college reserves the right to monitor all activities on college-owned email accounts to ensure compliance with institutional policies. Users should have no expectation of privacy when using college email, as all communications and activities may be subject to review.
b. As a State institution, the college must comply with Open Public Records Act requirements as it relates to college owned emails.
c. Faculty have the flexibility to determine how electronic communication tools—such as Canvas, Slack, or email—are used within their courses and will specify these requirements in the course syllabus. However, email remains the official channel for all college-wide and administrative communications. Therefore, faculty can assume that students regularly access their official college email accounts and can rely on email for essential course communications. This policy ensures that all students are able to meet email-based requirements set by faculty, while still allowing the use of other platforms to support learning and interaction.
d. Email senders should identify themselves with their title or role at the end of each message. Messages should focus solely on administrative or academic purposes, avoiding unrelated statements or quotes. Language must be respectful. Content and signatures should relate to official college business. Faculty, staff, and students are expected to check their email regularly and promptly, as some communications may be
time-sensitive. Excuses such as not checking email, forwarding errors, or delivery failures (e.g., “Mailbox Full” or “User Unknown”) will not excuse missing official communications.
e. The college reserves the right to set email quotas for faculty, staff, and students. Email destined for users who are over quota is queued for seven days and redelivery is attempted every hour. Quotas can be checked by logging into your personal webmail account. Student accounts that are over quota and have not been checked for 120 days are subject to deactivation.
f. Unit heads and supervisors must provide computer access to employees whose positions do not provide them with regular access to a computer, as well as a reasonable amount of time to use the computer provided for the purpose of checking their email for college business.
g. Users are responsible for safeguarding their data when using College email. Additionally, all employees lose access to their email accounts upon leaving the College and should ensure they save any important personal information beforehand—excluding proprietary, confidential, or personally identifiable information (PII) belonging to the College.

The following email-related activities are forbidden:

a. Sending unsolicited email messages, including the sending of “junk mail” or other advertising material to individuals who did not specifically request such material (e.g., email spam).
b. Any form of harassment via email, telephone, or paging, whether through language, frequency, or size of messages.
c. Unauthorized use, or forging, of email header information.
d. Solicitation of email for any other email address, other than that of the poster’s account, with the intent to harass or to collect replies.
e. Creating or forwarding “chain letters,” “Ponzi,” or other “pyramid” schemes of any type.
f. Use of unsolicited email originating from within RCNJ’s networks or other Internet or Intranet service providers on behalf of, or to advertise, any service hosted by RCNJ or connected via RCNJ’s network.

Users of College email services agree to the following conditions:

a. Public postings by employees from an RCNJ email address should contain the following disclaimer stating that the opinions expressed are strictly their own and not necessarily those of RCNJ, unless the posting is part of their official business duties:

“Any views or opinions presented in this message are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Ramapo College of New Jersey (RCNJ). Employees of RCNJ are expressly required not to make defamatory statements and not to infringe or authorize any infringement of copyright or any other legal right by electronic communications. Any such communication is contrary to RCNJ policy and outside the scope of the employment of the individual concerned. RCNJ will not accept any liability in respect of such communication, and the employee responsible will be personally liable for any damages or other liability arising.”

IV. College Rights and Responsibilities

The college reserves the right to limit access, remove material, or inspect files if it believes college policies, laws, or contracts are being violated. To prevent serious harm or legal liability, IT staff may take immediate restrictive action. Content inspections may require notification to the President and may be reported to the Board of Trustees.

V. Non-Compliance and Sanctions

Violation of this policy and procedure may subject the violator to disciplinary actions, up to or including termination of employment, and may subject the violator to penalties stipulated in applicable State and Federal statutes. Until a determination is made regarding their continued participation in the campus community—whether as an employee, student, guest, or in any other capacity—violators will have their network or system access suspended.

VI. Roles and Responsibilities

The Chief Information Officer is responsible for ensuring implementation and compliance with this policy. The responsibility for implementing and maintaining procedures supporting this policy falls under the RCNJ Information Technology Services.

VII. Exceptions to Policy

Any exceptions to this policy must be documented by RCNJ ITS with the reason for the exception along with mitigations to reduce risk associated with not fully implementing this policy on excepted systems. The RCNJ CIO is the approval authority for exceptions to this policy.

VIII. Version History

Reviews of this policy should be conducted at least annually. This table will be updated whenever this Acceptable Use policy is reviewed or revised.

Version / Revision/Review Date / Authored By / Reviewed/Approved By / Reason

• 1.0 / 2/13/25 / Bobby Rogers (NJ Edge) / – / Initial Procedure Creation
• 1.0 / 2/14/25 / – / Alexia Mavros / – / Reviewed,Revisions Made
• 1.0 / Nov. 2025 / Policy Committee / Brittany Williams-Goldstein /  Reviewed,Revisions Made Following Public Comment

Policy

Ramapo College of New Jersey establishes and maintains official institutional social media accounts to promote the College and approves official College-Affiliated social media accounts for College units, clubs, and organizations. All members of the Ramapo community must utilize social media in accordance with the Social Media Guidelines, Student Code of Conduct and/or the Code of Professional Responsibility depending on their role, and other relevant institutional policies.

Reason for Policy

The Social Media Policy sets forth policy and procedures regarding the management, coordination, discontinuation, suspension, and approval of official social media accounts, affiliated social media accounts, and, where applicable, personal use social media accounts.

To Whom Does The Policy Apply

All Ramapo College faculty, staff and students.

Resources

• Procedure 609: Social Media
• Social Media Guidelines
• Social Media Directory
• Student Handbook: Student Code of Conduct
• Design Standards
• RCNJ Policy 604: Acceptable Use of Information and Technological Resources
• RCNJ Policy 612: Media Relations

Contacts

Office of Communications & Public Relations

Procedure 609: Social Media

December 2, 2014; Revised October 11, 2023

I. Ramapo College Social Media Accounts
The College’s Social Media Directory maintains a listing of the College’s official social media accounts and its affiliated social media accounts.

Account Types
1. Official College Social Media Accounts
Official College social media accounts are managed by the Office of Communications and Public Relations (hereafter “OCPR”) and, as such, OCPR handles all communications for these official social media accounts in accordance with the College’s Social Media Guidelines, policies, and procedures.

2. Affiliated College Social Media Accounts
Affiliated college social media accounts are approved by OCPR but are managed by designated account administrators in accordance with the College’s Social Media Guidelines, policies and procedures, and, as such, OCPR may assist the affiliated account administrator(s) as needed to provide responses to inquiries, requests, comments, or other forms of communication directed towards such accounts.

3. Individual Personal User Social Media Accounts
All community members who maintain a personal social media presence that are not official or affiliated College social media accounts are encouraged to share content from the College’s official and affiliated accounts, to follow the College’s Social Media Guidelines, the Code of Conduct outlined in the Student Handbook and/or the Code of Professional Responsibility, and other relevant institutional policies and procedures.

Community members are not permitted to utilize the official Ramapo College logo(s) for their personal account(s). Community members deemed to have inappropriate uses of an official logo of the College will be required to remove the logo.

II. Official Statements/Press & Media Relations
The College Spokesperson and/or their designee and OCPR handle all public and press communications and are also responsible for the dissemination of official statements from the College. OCPR is responsible for stewarding media relations on behalf of the College; all outreach to the media and inquiries received from the media must be managed in collaboration with OCPR.

When directed, affiliated social media account administrators shall refer to the College’s official statements to address inquiries of a substantive or sensitive nature.

Community members shall not represent themselves as official College spokespeople or as representing the College on their personal social media accounts.

Please refer to the Broadcast Email and Voicemail Policy, Responsible Use of Electronic Communications Policy, and the Social Media Guidelines for further related details (see links above).

III. Recognizing Affiliated Ramapo College Social Media Accounts
In addition to the official Ramapo College social media accounts, College offices/units/clubs and organizations may choose to have their own social media accounts. These affiliated accounts must be managed or supervised by Ramapo College employees (faculty, staff, administration). Employees who serve as account administrators and manage approved affiliated accounts are required to receive initial training followed by annual training from OCPR.

To be recognized as an affiliated social media account, the user must submit an application via ramapo.edu/social-media. This includes the establishment of new accounts related to the College in an official or affiliated manner. Approved accounts will be listed on the College’s Social Media Directory on either the Official tab or the Affiliated tab. Approved users must abide by the Social Media Guidelines as outlined by OCPR.

Use of the official Ramapo College logo on a College-affiliated account is governed by the Logos and Identity Basics as outlined in the College’s Official Design Standards rules. Users deemed to have inappropriate uses of an official logo of the College will be required to immediately remove the logo. Questions about logo standards should be directed to the Office of Marketing & Branding.

IV. Requirements for Affiliated Social Media Accounts
As representatives of Ramapo College and stewards of the College’s reputation, all affiliated social media accounts must abide by the Social Media Guidelines and the following requirements in order to be recognized as compliant accounts:

1. Generic email accounts. Affiliated accounts (such as Instagram and Twitter) must be set up using a generic Ramapo College email address that belongs to the department, unit, club, or organization (i.e. clubname@ramapo.edu). This generic email requirement means that a personal ramapo.edu email or non-Ramapo email address cannot be used. Accounts that use personal profiles to switch into managing the account (such as Facebook) do not fall under this email requirement.

Access to the generic @Ramapo email account can be authorized to a “delegate” by the account administrator(s). Delegates are granted access to review, read and send emails from the generic @Ramapo.edu email account but they cannot change the email account password or other settings. This can assist in mitigating potential “lost password” situations.

2. Account login information. Affiliated account login information (account administrators and their email addresses, account profile name, account password) must be shared with OCPR.

If the affiliated account administrator on file changes, that department, club, organization, or academic program must inform the OCPR through email (socialmedia@ramapo.edu) or by resubmitting the Social Media Application form. Whenever the login information is updated, OCPR must be apprised and the new login information must be shared.
Account login information must be available to pass along within the unit when account administrators leave or change job roles.

3. Affiliated account review and approval. Any account that is requested on behalf of a department, club, organization, or academic program must be submitted for review and approval as a College-affiliated account and, upon approval, may then be listed on the College’s Social Media Directory.

4. Non-compliant accounts. If accounts go inactive or do not follow these requirements, the College’s Social Media Guidelines, training, or related policies and procedures, OCPR reserves the right to request that the accounts in question be shut down, suspended, or that they change administrators. These accounts will be deemed non-compliant, may be removed from the College’s Social Media Directory, and may lose their status as recognized college-affiliated accounts. In addition, the administrator(s) of the account may be referred to their supervisor, People Operations and Employee Resources Department; Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Compliance; or the Office of Legal Counsel depending on the conduct and/or content in question. Referral to one of these parties may result in further investigation and disciplinary action.

5. Affiliated accounts return to compliance. Pursuant to section IV.4, if any of these above referenced requirements are not followed, an account will be deemed non-compliant and a recommendation to suspend, change administrators, or shut down the account may be made by OCPR. Supervisors of non-compliant accounts who wish to regain their account’s affiliated status may appeal to OCPR. When applicable, OCPR may require the supervisor and administrator(s) of non-compliant accounts to undergo training and take other actions towards compliance prior to making a final determination on the account’s return to affiliated status.

6. Training and development. Account administrators are required to receive training and information related to industry social media standards, best practices, policy or procedural changes, and brand/design standards as needed or determined by OCPR.

Policy

Ramapo College rents college facilities and grounds to individuals and organizations on a space available basis. Facilities and grounds may be made available for educational, cultural, and recreational purposes. Ramapo College reserves the right to refuse rental to any individual or organization whose activity or event interferes with or is outside of the scope of the mission of the College and its instructional programs, and/or whose intended use of the facilities and grounds is for the purpose of fundraising.

Reason for Policy

To set forth policy and procedure on the rental of college facilities and grounds

To Whom Does the Policy Apply

Individuals, and organizations

Related Documents

Events & Conferences Website

Contacts

Events & Conferences
(201) 684-7082

When making copies of a work or displaying a work publicly, one shall obtain permission of the owner unless the copyright has expired, the work has no copyright protection, one has a license for the use of the work, or the copy or display falls within the guidelines for “fair use.”

Procedures

This policy governs the copying and use of print and non-print materials. Such materials can include print, computer print-out, computer software, and broadcast programming, for example. The purpose of this policy is to inform the Ramapo College Community of their obligations under the copyright law and the procedures employed to assure compliance with the law. All faculty, staff, students, visitors and guests shall adhere to this policy.

I. Copyright Defined

A copyright is a statutory property right to original works of authorship, including works of literature, art, dance, computer programs and certain other intellectual works (17 U.S.C. 101 et seq.) The statutory created right gives the owner of the copyright the exclusive right (and the right to authorize others) to reproduce the work, distribute copies or phone records of the work, perform the work publicly, display the work publicly, lend a work, prepare a derivative work based upon the original, transfer, rent or lease such work.

II. Works That Are Protected

A copyright protects original works of authorship that are fixed in a tangible form of expression. The fixation need not be directly perceptible so long as it may be communicated with the aid of a machine or device. Copyrighted works include the following categories.

• literary works
• musical works, including any accompanying words
• dramatic works, including any accompanying music
• pantomimes and choreographic works
• pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
• motion pictures and other audiovisual works
• sound recordings
• architectural works
• computer programs
• compilations

A copyright is automatically secured upon creation when it is fixed in copy or phone record for the first time. For works published after March 1, 1989, copyright notice is optional. For works created prior to March 1, 1989, other notice provisions apply; specifically, the owners cannot enforce their legal rights until the copyright is registered with the Copyright Office in Washington D.C. In all cases, however, registration provides certain advantages, including the ability to qualify for an award of attorney’s fees and substantial statutory damages. Copyright protection cannot be determined merely by looking at a work.

III. Permission to Use And/Or Copy a Copyrighted Work

When making copies of a work or displaying a work publicly, one shall obtain permission of the owner unless the copyright has expired, the work has no copyright protection, one has a license for the use of the work, or the copy or display falls within the guidelines for “fair use.”

The term “fair use” is in flux at the time of the College’s adoption of this policy; however, the College adopts the following guidelines to assure compliance with the law.

There is a limitation on an owner’s exclusive right to use a work. If the use of copyrighted material meets the statutory definition of “fair use” (17 U.S.C. Section 107), a protected work may be used without permission.

In determining whether the use made of a work falls within the definition of fair use one needs to consider:

• The purpose and character of the use-commercial versus educational.
• The nature of the copyrighted work.
• The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole.
• The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

IV. Guidelines for “Fair Use” [1]

1. Print Media
   1. Single Copying For Faculty Members
      1. A chapter from a book;
      2. An article from a periodical or newspaper;
      3. A short story, short essay or short poem, whether or not from a collective work;
      4. A chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon or picture from a book, periodical, or newspaper
   2. Multiple Copies For Classroom Use
      1. Multiple copies (should not exceed in any event more than one copy per student in a course) may be made by or for the faculty member Teaching the course for classroom use or discussion provided that:
      2. The copying meets the tests of brevity and spontaneity as defined below; and
      3. Meets the cumulative effect test as defined below; and
      4. Each copy includes a notice of copyright

V. The following definitions apply to the above guidelines

1. Brevity
   1. Poetry
      1. a complete poem if less than 250 words and if printed on not more than two pages or;
      2. From a larger poem, an excerpt of not more than 250 words.
   2. Prose
      1. either a complete article, story, or essay of less than 2,500 words, or
      2. an excerpt from any prose work of not more than 1000 words or 10% of the work, whichever is less, but in an event a minimum of 500 words.Each of the numerical limits stated in “i” and “ii” above may be expanded to permit the completion of an unfinished line of a poem or of an unfinished prose paragraph.
   3. Illustration
      One chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon, or picture per book or per issue.
   4. “Special” works
      Certain works in poetry, prose or in “Poetic prose” which often combine language with illustrations and which are intended sometimes for children and at other times for a more general audience fall short of 2,500 words in their entirety. Paragraph “ii” above notwithstanding, such “special works” may not be reproduced in their entirety; however, an excerpt comprising not more than two of the published pages of such special work and containing not more than 10% of the words found in the text therefore, may be reproduced.
2. Spontaneity
   1. The copying is at the instanced and inspiration of the individual faculty member, and
   2. the inspiration and decision to use the work and the moment of its use for maximum teaching effectiveness are so close in time that it would be unreasonable to expect a timely reply to a permission request.
3. Cumulative Effect
   1. The copying of the material is for use in only one course in the institution for which the copies are made.
   2. Not more than one short poem, article, story, essay or two excerpts may be copied from the same author, nor more than three from the same collective work or periodical volume during one class term.
   3. There shall not be more than nine instances of such multiple copying for one course during one class term. (The limitations stated in “ii” above shall not apply to current news periodicals and newspapers and current news section of other periodicals.)
4. Prohibitions
   1. Copying shall not be used to create, replace, or substitute for anthologies, compilations, or collective works. Such Replacement or substitution may occur whether copies of various works or excerpts there from are accumulated or are reproduced and used separately.
   2. There shall be no copying of or from works intended to be “consumable” in the course of study or of teaching. These include workbooks, exercises, standardized tests and test booklets and answer sheets and like consumable material.
   3. Copying shall not
      • Substitute for the purchase of books, publisher’s reprints, or periodicals;
      • be directed by higher authority;
      • be repeated with respect to the same item by the same faculty member from term to term.
   4. No charge will be made to the student beyond the actual cost of the photocopying.
   5. The Copy shall include the copyright notice which appears on the printed copy.
5. Non-print Media
   1. Broadcast Programming
      1. Permissible Uses
         1. The guidelines set forth below were developed to apply only to off-air recording for educational purposes.
         2. A broadcast program may be recorded off-air spontaneously with broadcast transmission (including simultaneous cable transmission) and retained by a nonprofit educational institution for a period not to exceed the first forty-five (45) consecutive calendar days after a date of recording. Upon conclusion of such retention period, all off-air recordings must be erased or destroyed immediately. “Broadcast programs” are television programs transmitted by television stations for reception by the general public without charge.
         3. Off-air recordings may be used once by individual faculty members in the course of relevant teaching activities, and repeated once only when instructional reinforcement is necessary. In classrooms and similar places devoted to instruction within a single building, cluster, or campus, as well as in the homes of students receiving formalized home instruction, during the first ten (10) consecutive-school days in the forty-five (45) day calendar day retention period. “School days” are school session days not counting weekends, holidays, vacations, examination periods, or other scheduled interruptions within the forty five (45) calendar day retention period.
         4. Off-air recordings may be made only at the request of, and by, individual faculty members, and may not be regularly recorded in anticipation of requests. No broadcast program may be recorded off-air more than once at the request of the same faculty member, regardless of the number of times the program may be broadcast.
         5. A limited number of copies may be reproduced from each off-air recording to meet the legitimate needs of faculty members under these guidelines. Each such additional copy will be subject to all provisions governing the original recordings.
         6. After the first ten (10) consecutive school days, off-air recording may be used up to the end of the forty-five (45) calendar day retention period only for faculty member evaluation purposes, i.e., to determine whether or not to include the broadcast program in the teaching curriculum, and may not be used in the recording institution for student exhibition or any other non-evaluation purpose without authorization. Off-air recordings need not be used in their entirety, but the recorded program may not be altered from their original content. Off-air recordings may not be physically or electronically combined or merged to constitute teaching anthologies or compilations.
         7. All copies of off-air recordings must include the copyright notice on the broadcast program as recorded.

[1] These Guidelines are taken from, Agreement on Guidelines for Classroom Copying in Not-For-Profit Educational Institutions With Respect to Books and Periodicals. H.R. Rep No. 1476, 94th Cong., 2d Sess. 68 (1976).

Policy Statement

Ramapo College provides mass communications and distribution list services to academic and administrative units as needed in order to facilitate communications. Mass communications are electronic communications intended for and addressed to large set(s) of recipients (hereafter “audience groups”) within the Ramapo College community. Mass communications systems generally include: email, text message, Web message, official social media accounts, and voicemail.

Thoughtful coordination of and limited authorization to distribute unsolicited mass communications to large and specific audience groups is required in order to foster the integration of communication efforts and increase the effectiveness of mass communications that are sent to the following audience groups:

1) all undergraduate students,
2) all graduate students,
3) all faculty,
4) all staff,
5) all managers,
6) all members of the Board of Trustees,
7) all RCNJ Retirees, and
8) all RCNJ alumni.

This policy does not apply to emergency situations, communications by first responders, Timely Warnings, and regulatory notices when timely notice to avoid danger and/or ensure compliance or understanding outweighs the benefits of wider review and approval of messages.

Reason for Policy

The purpose of this policy is to instruct users on the appropriate use of mass communications to include their purpose, coordination, and controls. It also serves to provide recommendations on how to effectively send mass communications to reduce recipient fatigue and confusion, and effectively utilize campus communication resources. To set forth policy and procedure relative to the purpose, coordination, controls, and approvals for the development and distribution of unsolicited mass communications via various systems to specific Ramapo College audience groups.

To Whom Does the Policy Apply

The policy applies to all members of the college community.

Related Resources

• Appendix 640A: Authorizations
• Procedure 640: Mass Communications
• Policy 228: Emergency Notification
• Policy 604: Responsible Use of Electronic Communications Procedure
• Policy 609: Social Media
• Emergency Preparedness Plan
• CAN-SPAM Act
• Ramapo College Brand Guidelines

Contacts

Office of Communications and Public Relations

I. Mass Communications Guidelines

II. Mass Communications Systems

Ramapo College recognizes the following mass communications systems:

• Mass Email: Mass email, for the purposes of this policy, is the electronic mail distribution of information to the College’s mass communications audience groups.
  • In furtherance of Policy 604: Responsible Use of Electronic Communications:
    • Email is the official communication mechanism with Ramapo College students and employees. All Ramapo College students and employees are provided with email accounts for the purpose of conducting official college business and are required to maintain an “@ramapo.edu” account.
  • Mass email communications must comply with the following content standards:
    • Reply To: All mass email messages include a “reply to” account as part of the message so that recipients will know to whom to direct responses to the message.
    • Recipient List: All mass email messages will mask the recipient list via the use of blind carbon copy when not utilizing an ITS-created distribution group. This practice will mitigate unintended use of the “reply to all” feature within most email programs.
    • Subject Line: All mass email messages deploy Subject Lines that address the primary purpose of the message content. Subject Lines should avoid using symbols.
    • Greeting Line: All mass email messages include a Greeting Line at the top of the body of the message clearly identifying the audience group(s).
    • Mass email messages do not include attachments or embedded images larger than 2 MB.
    • Mass emails shall adhere to the College’s brand guidelines. All authorized digital mastheads for mass emails are designed by the Office of Marketing adn Branding.

All senders of mass email messages are responsible for compliance with the Federal CAN-SPAM Act and all related College policies.

Only emergency/major disruption notifications and Timely Warnings may be broadcast simultaneously over both the mass email and mass voicemail systems.

• Text Message: Text Messaging, for the purposes of this policy, is the distribution of information to the mobile devices of registered audience group members. The use of text messaging for mass communications is generally limited to emergencies and major disruptions and is in accordance with the College’s Emergency Preparedness Plan and Policy 228: Emergency Notification & Timely Warnings.
  • Note: Limited offices also issue Push Notifications/Chat Messaging to select audiences for the purposes of timely non-emergency information sharing. Authorization to distribute these messages is described in Section IV and Appendix 640A: Authorizations.

• Web Message: Web messaging, for the purposes of this policy, is the posting of information to the College’s Internet Home Page and Intranet Home Page, and the College’s Emergency Preparedness Site. The use of Web Messaging for mass communications is generally limited to emergencies and major disruptions and is in accordance with the College’s Emergency Preparedness Plan and Policy 228: Emergency Notification & Timely Warnings.

• Official Social Media Accounts: The College’s official social media accounts, for the purposes of this policy, are stewarded in accordance with Policy 609: Social Media, the Emergency Preparedness Plan, and Policy 228: Emergency Notification & Timely Warnings.

• Mass Voicemail: Mass voicemail, for the purposes of this policy, is the distribution of pre-recorded information to the College’s registered voicemail users. The use of mass voicemail for communications is generally limited to emergencies and major disruptions and is in accordance with the College’s Emergency Preparedness Plan and Policy 228: Emergency Notification & Timely Warning. Only emergency/major disruption notifications and Timely Warnings may be broadcast simultaneously over both the mass email and mass voicemail systems.

III. Mass Communications Audience Groups & Governance

Ramapo College recognizes the following mass communications audience groups and associated governance:

• Undergraduate Students: All campus members with active undergraduate student enrollment status (full-time and part-time students, matriculated and non-matriculated students, and employees who are enrolled in courses). Information Technology Services (ITS) is responsible for the currency and access controls of the undergraduate students audience group.
• Graduate Students: All campus members with active graduate student enrollment status (full-time and part-time students, matriculated and non-matriculated students, and employees who are enrolled in courses). Information Technology Services (ITS) is responsible for the currency and access controls of the graduate students audience group.
• Faculty: All campus members who teach a course (full-time or part-time faculty, adjuncts, staff who teach). Also included in this designation are librarians, advisors, staff in the Office of the Provost, academic deans, and unit secretaries from the schools. People Operations and Employee Resources is responsible for the integrity of the membership of the faculty audience group. Information Technology Services (ITS) is responsible for the currency of the group and maintaining access controls.
• Staff: All non-faculty campus members who receive a paycheck (full-time and part-time). Also included are auxiliary services employees. Student employees are not included. People Operations and Employee Resources is responsible for the integrity of the membership of the staff audience group. Information Technology Services (ITS) is responsible for the currency of the group and maintaining access controls.
• Managers: All employees who receive a paycheck (full-time and part-time) who are not represented by a collective bargaining agreement. People Operations and Employee Resources is responsible for the integrity of the membership of the managers audience group. Information Technology Services (ITS) is responsible for the currency of the
  group and maintaining access controls.
• Board of Trustees: All current publicly appointed members of the Ramapo College Board of Trustees. The Office of the President is responsible for the integrity of the membership of the Board of Trustees audience group, its currency, and maintaining access controls.
• Retirees: All active retired faculty and staff of Ramapo College. People Operations and Employee Resources is responsible for the integrity of the membership of the retirees audience group. Information Technology Services (ITS) is responsible for the currency of the group and maintaining access controls.
• Alumni: All active graduates of Ramapo College. Institutional Advancement is responsible for the integrity of the membership of the alumni audience group, its currency, and maintaining access controls.

IV. Authorization for Mass Communications Systems and Audience Groups

Authorization to use the College’s mass communications systems and to access the mass communications audience groups is limited and is outlined in Appendix 640A: Authorizations (pdf).

Authorized Primary Senders may craft, endorse, and distribute mass communications.

Authorized Secondary Senders may craft, endorse, and distribute mass communications in the absence of an Authorized Primary Sender or at the direction of an Authorized Primary Sender.

Unless noted in this procedure, Authorized Primary and Secondary Senders are not permitted to distribute mass communications on behalf of other parties.

Unauthorized use of the College’s mass communications systems and/or audience groups may be subject to investigation and discipline.