HEOA
Background and Summary
The Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) was signed into law on August 14, 2008. Enforcement of the HEOA provisions formally began July 1, 2010. All colleges and universities are required to make a good-faith effort at compliance.
Several sections of the HEOA deal with unauthorized file sharing on campus networks, imposing three general requirements on all U.S. colleges and universities:
- An annual disclosure to students describing copyright law and campus policies related to violating copyright law.
- A plan to effectively combat the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials by users of its network, including the use of one or more technology-based deterrent
- A plan to offer alternatives to illegal downloading.
Please see below for an overview of the policies, procedures, and other actions that Bucks County Community College has implemented as a "good faith" effort to comply with this Federal Law.
Informing the Community
Links relevant to Bucks County Community College web pages:
Copyright Infringement - Policies and Sanctions
Bucks County Community College is committed to ensuring appropriate use of electronic and network resources. The College utilizes technology-based deterrents including a firewall to guard the network from unauthorized access, and a packetshaper device to monitor, analyze, and block certain network traffic to address P2P and related copyright and related concerns. In addition to the technology resources, the following LOGIN banner is displayed requiring user acceptance prior to accessing the College network:
This computer system is the property of the Bucks County Community College. It is for authorized use only. Users have no expectation of privacy in any materials they place or view on this system. The College complies with state and federal law regarding certain legally protected confidential information, but makes no representation that any other uses of this system will be private or confidential. Any or all uses of this system and all files on this system may be intercepted, monitored, recorded, copied, audited, inspected, and disclosed to authorized College and law enforcement personnel, as well as to authorized individuals of other organizations. Unauthorized or improper use of this system, as outlined in the College's Responsible Use of Electronic Resources policy, may result in administrative disciplinary action and/or civil charges/criminal penalties. By continuing to use this system you indicate your knowledge of and consent to these terms and conditions of use. You must agree to the above terms and conditions to continue.
Problems and suspected violations related to acceptable use of network resources are handled through the Office of Security and Safety and the Director, IT Security.