Revised: October 1, 2012; October 1, 2016

Sandhills Community College respects all computer software copyrights and will adhere to the terms of all software licenses to which Sandhills Community College is a party. The Director of Technology Support functions as Sandhills Community College’s Software Manager and is charged with the responsibility for enforcing these guidelines.

Sandhills Community College users may not duplicate any licensed software or related documentation for use either on Sandhills Community College premises or elsewhere unless Sandhills Community College is expressly authorized to do so by agreement with the licenser. Unauthorized duplication of software may subject users and/or Sandhills Community College to both civil and criminal penalties under the United States Copyright Act.

If Sandhills Community College personnel install software, licensing information should be provided to the software manager or the appropriate designated technical representative. Sandhills Community College users may use software on local area networks or on multiple machines only in accordance with applicable license agreements.

Each Sandhills Community College faculty/staff user will be required to read and comply fully with the software policy statement. Information Technology Services will assist with any questions or concerns regarding the software policy. Users will seek guidance from Information Technology Services department prior to any purchase of software to ensure that software is compatible with the College computing environment.

Users must purchase all software through normal Business Office (accounting) procedures (e.g., using purchase orders—POs). Software acquisition channels are restricted to ensure that Sandhills Community College has a complete record of all software purchases and ensures that the College can register, support, and upgrade such software accordingly. Users should identify all software purchases by displaying “Computer Software” on the PO. This allows the purchasing agent to properly code the purchase request.

When purchasing software for existing computers, the purchasing agent will code each PO with the appropriate commodity code and designate the software manager as the recipient. This allows the Director of Technology Support /Software Manager to complete registration and inventory requirements upon delivery of the software. The Director of Technology Support is responsible for completing the registration card and returning it to the software publisher. This software will be registered in the name of Sandhills Community College and the job title of the user or department in which it will be used. Because of personnel and computer turnover, Sandhills Community College will never register software in the name of the individual user. The Director of Technology Support manager will maintain a register of all the College’s software and will keep a library of software licenses.

As new computers arrive on campus, maintenance personnel will deliver them and notify the Director of Technology Support. The Director of Technology Support or designated technical representative will inventory each software item, properly install it, and place it in storage with the corresponding Sandhills Community College Inventory Control Number and forward applicable licensing information to the software manager. The Director of Technology Support will provide manuals, tutorials, and other user materials upon request. Media that is required to run the software application will be maintained by the applicable user.

The Sandhills Community College Technology Committee will identify technical representatives. Designated technical representatives are technical users recommended by the Sandhills Community College Technology Committee and approved by the Chief Operating Officer or appropriate Vice President. These users are charged with maintaining the software requirements for their respective departments. Designated technical representatives’ responsibilities are as follows but not limited to: 

• Maintain software media for all users in their respective departments
• Account for all installed software in their respective departments
• Install software updates when necessary

Department chairs or appropriate department heads can request additional technical representatives by submitting a written request to the Chairperson of the Integrated Technology Committee (ITC). The ITC will review the request and make a recommendation to the VPs. Designated technical representatives will store a copy of necessary media at their location to facilitate proper system maintenance for the systems for which they are responsible. Technical representatives will ensure said media is stored in a controlled environment. The Director of Technology Support will annotate the software log to identify the media storage location and responsible technical representative.

Sandhills Community College computers are organization-owned assets and must be kept both software legal and virus free. Software not purchased through the procedures outlined above may be installed on Sandhills Community College machines using the following guidelines.

If users require software purchased from other sources, the users will be required to store the original license information with the Director of Technology Support. This also includes software that users would like to donate to Sandhills Community College. If software is donated, Sandhills Community College will become the sole owner of said software and must have all original documentation and original media. The software license transfer (if possible) will be a coordinated effort between the software manager and the original software owner. If a user wishes not to donate or store software license and media with the software manager, the user will be required to create a Sandhills Community College PO to purchase a copy to be stored on campus with the Director of Technology Support before the software can be installed on a Sandhills Community College computer.

Generally, organization-owned software cannot be taken home and loaded on a user’s home computer if it also resides on a Sandhills Community College computer. If an employee is to use software at home, Sandhills Community College will purchase a separate package and record it as an organization-owned asset in the software register. However, some software companies permit home use in their license agreements under certain circumstances. If a user needs to use software at home, he/she should consult with the Director of Technology Support to determine if appropriate licenses allow for home use.

Shareware software is copyrighted software that is distributed freely through the Internet and online services. It is Sandhills Community College policy to pay shareware authors the fee they specify for use of their products. Registration of shareware products will be handled the same way as for commercial software products. For faculty members requiring the use of shareware for instructional purposes, faculty are required to un-install said shareware before the evaluation period ends. Each faculty member responsible for a computer lab will also be responsible to ensure all un-registered shareware applications are removed in a timely manner. At the request of the computer lab manager, Information Technology Services personnel will provide a clean hard disk for lab computers before the start of each semester.

It will be necessary for computer lab monitors to obtain prior approval from the publisher before installing software that accompanies student texts (if not clearly evident in the software license that accompanies the text). In addition, the Learning Resource Center (LRC) technical representative will attempt to obtain written permission for installation of said software for LRC computer systems. Publisher’s approval and media will be stored with the software manager. This portion of the Sandhills Community College software policy does not attempt to override the publisher’s original license agreement that accompanies the text.

Information Services personnel will conduct audits of all Sandhills Community College PCs, including portables. This will ensure that Sandhills Community College complies with all software licenses. Information Services personnel will conduct audits using Microsoft’s System Center Configuration Manager Software (SCCM). The Director of Information Services will notify appropriate Vice-Presidents identifying users that do not comply with the Sandhills Community College software policy procedures. Information Technology Services personnel appreciate the full cooperation of all users during these audits.

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