J9: Desktop Computer Deployment, Funding, and Replacement

Responsibility for Maintenance: Information Technology Services (ITS)

Date of most recent changes: June 18, 2019

I. Policy Statement 

Desktops, laptops, mobile devices and other computing devices purchased by Onondaga Community College (OCC) or through grants to the College, are the property of the College and are intended for use in conducting College business. Employees are expected to use their computing devices in an ethical and responsible manner. Full time permanent employees are generally provided with an assigned computing device with standard applications and operating system. Computer models outside of the standard require justification; related funding is the responsibility of the department. Requests for additional computers, especially those for approved new hires, must be identified and funded by the departments.

Adjunct faculty are provided access to a computer within the department. If job duties require, arrangements may be made to provide temporary employees access to a temporary computer within the department. Requests for additional computers for academic labs must be submitted by the sponsoring department and approved through the standard college budgeting process for the respective department. The College will strive to replace desktop computers for full time permanent employees and College computer labs (even if originally funded by grants; whether PC or Mac) on a cyclical basis. It is the responsibility of the Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer to develop and submit this budget.

When a permanent employee leaves the College, Information Technology Services (ITS) should be notified to schedule pick up of the computer. ITS will assist in transferring any necessary files and will reconfigure and transfer the machine to other locations as necessary. Individual departments and personnel should not relocate computers. Any requests to move or transfer computers to other areas must be approved by the department head and coordinated with ITS. The Computing Move-Add-Change Request Form must be completed to facilitate internal moves of OCC computing units. 

Regardless of funding source and resource requirements, all technology related purchases must be reviewed and approved by ITS, including but not limited to: software, hardware, internal and external services, hosting arrangements and participation in any technology related beta or pilot program.

Computing Labs:

  • Computer models outside the PC standard require justification, review and approval by ITS, in addition to the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs for academic labs, and the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for non-academic labs. Any additional costs above and beyond the respective computing standard is the fiscal responsibility of the department.
  • The physical security for mobile devices is the responsibility of the respective department including any associated repair or replacement cost.

Laptops, Tablets and Mobile Devices:

OCC provided laptops and mobile devices are intended for college business and are provided to employees based upon identifiable need and available funding. Employees should only store data on SharePoint or One Drive and not on individual devices. ITS and Campus Safety and Security must be alerted to any lost of stolen laptop or mobile device. Laptops and mobile devices are configured with campus standard software; all software requires a legal license, OCC standard software may not be duplicated, transferred or downloaded to any other system or media. Data corruption or configuration errors caused by the installation of unauthorized software or unauthorized usage of the unit, may require a complete re-imaging and may result in loss of computing privileges and possible disciplinary actions. Employees are responsible for establishing secure remote connections; use of public wireless or unsecured hotspots are discouraged due to security risk. All laptops provided to employees must connect to the physical network of OCC quarterly. This periodic connection will allow for hardware and software updates and to ensure that OCC computers are fully protected and secure. Laptops that are taken off-campus and neglect periodic updates, will be disallowed from the campus network. Laptop and mobile device users are required to review and sign a Statement of Responsibility when issued a college owned laptop or mobile computing device.

II. Reason for Policy 

This policy is intended to provide a cost-effective approach toward campus wide standards, funding and deployment of computers and provide an annual budget to maintain current technology. This policy is also designed to promote computer reliability, security, legality and fiscal sustainability for the College.

III. Applicability of the Policy 

This policy applies to all College employees and students, as well as those who are responsible for planning and budgeting for new hires and academic computer labs.

IV. Related Documents 

V. Contacts  

Subject  Office Name  Title or Position  Telephone Number  Email/URL 
Entire Policy Information Technology Services Assistant Vice President (315) 498-2686 wileyst@sunyocc.edu 

VI. Procedures 

  1. Generally, computers are provided for full-time permanent employees and are replaced as part of the strategic replacement cycle. If a position is vacant or abolished, the computer is returned to ITS for redeployment or retirement (please note that systems out of warranty will not be redeployed).
  2. Computing devices that are no longer supported or do not maintain vendor and OCC supported security, software, and operating system standards are to be decommissioned and removed from service due to security risk. 
  3. OCC computing systems must be used in a manner that is consistent with local, state and federal laws, including copyright and cybersecurity policies and procedures. Users are personally responsible for copyright infringement that occurs as a result of their use of OCC computers and computer systems.
  4. Users shall not create, install, or knowingly distribute any destructive program or computer virus on any OCC computer.
  5. Users shall not load or use unlicensed software, peer-to-peer (P2P) file, music, or video sharing software.
  6. Users may not store illegal files or content on OCC computers or network drives.
  7. Users should not store data locally on computing devises. Data should be stored appropriately to ensure proper network backup (i.e. file share). Mobile device data should be routinely backed up to ensure proper network backup (e.g. file share) and is the responsibility of the devise user to conduct. Information Technology is not responsible for data loss resulting from local hard drive failures or any other inappropriate storage methodologies or practices.
  8. Employees are prohibited from moving employee computers to different physical or network locations without the prior approval of ITS.
  9. The College is not responsible for retrieving, handling, or supporting personal data that may be stored on college systems.
  10. OCC computers are not personal or private devices. ITS staff may routinely access data for legitimate business purposes, including, but not limited to, diagnosing and resolving technical problems, and investigating possible misuse of OCC computer systems and communications networks.
  11. In the event that a user loads additional software, the user is responsible for ensuring that the software is compatible with the ongoing sets of patches and updates that ITS continually deploys. In the event of computer problems, ITS may uninstall the additional software or restore the computer to its original standard software image.
  12. Grants developed out of the Grants office are subject to these policies and procedures where applicable. ITS purchases included in any grant is subject to the approval of the Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer.
  13. Exceptions to any part of this process require approval by the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and/or Vice President of the requesting department and the Assistant Vice President from Information Technology Services. Additional approval from the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and President may be required for significant changes in financial commitments or permanent modifications to this policy.

Violations: Any user who violates this or other OCC policies, procedures, contractual obligations, or applicable state or federal laws, will be subject to appropriate disciplinary and legal action, including, but not limited to, the limitation or denial of access to OCC’s computer systems and communications networks. Violators may also be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

Approved by President June 29, 2009

Updated and approved by the President June 19, 2015

Updated and approved by the President October 16, 2017

Updated and approved by the President November 30, 2017

Updated and approved by the President June 18, 2019

Updated and approved by the President June 15, 2020