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The Higher Education Opportunities Act (HEOA) was signed into law on August 14, 2008. Enforcement of the provisions formally began on July 1st, 2010. Provisions within this act deal with the distribution of copyrighted materials. Three main provisions within the law are explained below along with the actions the College of St. Scholastica is taking to meet the mandates of the law.
- An annual disclosure to students describing copyright law and campus policies related to violating copyright law.
- Each year at the start of the spring semester, the IT Department sends out an email to all students outlining the College's policy in regards to the illegal sharing of copyrighted material and the efforts the College is taking to reduce illegal file sharing. The College's Acceptable Use Policy and Software License Compliance FAQ are also posted on the College's website.
- 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 deterrents".
- The College utilizes two different technologies to deter the illegal sharing of copyrighted material. A packet shaping device classifies P2P traffic and limits both the inbound and outbound flow of this traffic. Second, an intrusion prevention system drops inbound and outbound traffic that it classifies as P2P. These two technologies work together to limit the ability to share and receive P2P files on the College of St. Scholastica network.
- The College of St. Scholastica IT department responds to Digital Millennium Copyright Act notices. Initially the IT department contacts the individual involved in the alleged violation and requests that they remove the offending material from their computer. We also explain how the action is a direct violation of our Acceptable Use Policy. A second violation involves the above actions with the addition of requiring the student to visit the IT department to make sure the offending material has been removed from their computer. A third violation results in the above actions, in addition to the removal of network access until the student has met with the Dean of Students.
- Offer alternatives to illegal file sharing.
- The Educause website http://www.educause.edu/legalcontent contains links to sites that contain legal downloads of music, video and images. This link is included on our yearly communication to students.
Reviewing Effectiveness
The technology will be reviewed annually and revised as needed as a result of a reduction in the effectiveness of the controls in place.
Updated 3/15/2019