Policy Title – Policy on Information and Communication Technology
Policy Number – 11
Functional Areas – Academic/Research/Administration
Effective and Revised Dates – 08.11.2018
Approving Authority – The Council, University of Sri Jayewardenepura
Administrative Responsibility – Chairman-IT Committee
Rationale and Purpose –
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have been rapidly penetrating into our routine life and making a tremendous impact at home and at work place. Also, ICT is considered as the principal driver of economic development and social change in the modern world. Moreover, the ICT sector is rapidly transforming the way people do business, access information and services for education, communicate with each other and in entertainment. For this reason, it is essential that we provide an efficient and a reliable service to the USJP community who will benefit from increased access to ICT-enabled resources for the betterment of the motherland.
This Policy on ICT is prepared to be implemented at the USJP in order to avail ICT resources to the community for the promotion and development of learning atmosphere.
The key objectives of the ICT policy of the University shall be:
- To provide ICT facilities to every member in the university community without discrimination of ethnicity, caste, language, religion, gender, differently-abled persons, place of residence or on economic levels.
- To provide efficient ICT-related services to students and teachers in all aspects of teaching, learning and administration.
- To develop and design all ICT related services to cater to student needs in leaning, examinations and graduation.
- To maintain confidentiality, security, integrity and availability of information especially data relating to examinations and finances.
- To host all teaching materials in the LMS
Scope –
This policy applies to all staff members, students and visitors who will use ICT services provided by the USJP.
Related Documents –
This policy is formulated in accordance with the document titled “Policy and Procedures for ICT Usage in Government” published by the ICTA (2009). The key aspects this document plans to cover are as follows:
Policy Statement –
The use of ICT opens up great benefits to the learning environment and as such, this policy will ensure an appropriate, effective and safe use of ICT services provided by the University to its community.
Definitions –
CITS: Centre for Information Technology Services
DHCP: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
IP: Internet Protocol
IPX: Internet Packet Exchange
LMS: Learning Management System
TCP: Transmission Control Protocol
- IT Management Policy
- A backup system shall be installed to archive confidential data
- Each Faculty will have a central coordinating unit for all ICT related functions within the Faculty, referred to as an “IT Unit”
- Each Faculty or Department may have its own ICT policy provided that it aligns with the main University ICT policy
- Policy on ICT in Teaching, Learning and Examinations
- To the maximum extent possible, all teaching material shall be uploaded to the LMS
- Each Faculty will maintain its own LMS for undergraduate studies
- All exam results shall be published online
- Databases containing exam results shall not be connected to the University Network
- Each Faculty shall consist of an “Examination Unit” to provide facility to securely administer processing of examination results which includes entering, publishing and storing of results
- All software installed in university computers shall be licensed or open source.
- Policy on ICT in the Procurement of Related Goods
- All procurement of ICT related goods and works will be coordinated with CITS to ensure compatibility with the campus-wide network.
- New buildings will include a computer network and an intercom wiring plan prior to commencement of construction
- Each faculty to designate a person who is an expert in ICT related goods to function as a member of technical evaluation committees for the procurement of ICT related equipment
- Policy on ICT in Web Presence
- USJP’s official web address will be sjp.ac.lk
- All departments / branches shall have a link in USJP web site
- All content on the website shall reflect the vision and mission of the USJP
- Content that is obscene, misleading or offensive to any ethnic group, gender, accepted religion, culture or to any tradition of Sri Lanka will not be included on USJP web sites.
- All official documents such as circulars, notices, forms will be available on the web site
- Only official email addresses provided by USJP will be displayed on staff contact details
- No personal domain names will be used with the official domain name
- Commercial advertisements will not be published on the web site without written permission of the VC
- USJP will assign a designated person to respond to queries directed to info@sjp.ac.lk and such responses shall be monitored.
- USJP emails will include a standard official signature: name, designation, faculty/department/branch name and contact information and a personal URL, if any
- All emails shall contain a standard disclaimer
- Faculty prospectus shall carry all official email addresses of staff members and officers.
- All emails sent to everyone@sjp.ac.lk or other official groups shall be moderated. Only emails relevant to the vision and mission of USJP shall be forwarded to this list.
- All computing devices assigned to staff members and laboratories shall be used for academic and official work only
- Faculty and department web sites shall be managed by respective faculties
- Policy on ICT in University Network
- Every user shall be given a username and a password to access the USJP network which includes both wired and wireless networks.
- Official email address will be used only for official purposes
- All email accounts of staff members shall be retained for a period of one year after date of retirement or resignation. Deletion of emails after this period shall meet organizational requirements and legal requirements
- Users who wish to connect their own computers to the Network shall ensure that it is configured to use TCP/IP protocol with IP address automatically assigned by the Computer Centre and that the computer is protected with up-to-date anti-virus software.
- Users must apply the latest software security patches and service packs to their computers to prevent network intrusions or attacks.
- User computers shall not execute DHCP, IPX or other services that will hamper smooth connectivity to the Internet
- WiFi accounts for university guests shall be created with the approval of the relevant Head of the Department
- Users shall not store highly confidential documents such as pending exam papers on the computers connected to the campus Network.
- Every faculty shall maintain its own database containing students’ network account.
- Access policies for social networks such as Facebook shall be implemented based on requests from the Heads of Departments/divisions.
- All WiFi access points will be authorized by respective faculties. Users shall not connect WiFi access points without the secure login access to the campus network
- All network points shall have a designated responsible user. A Network point will not be installed in open areas without any user authentication.
- Policy on ICT in Human Resources
- All centralized ICT services will be administered and managed by a single entity (Centre for IT Services – CITS)
- A Chief Information Officer/MIS Manager shall be the Head of the CITS
- Adequate technical and administrative staff will be assigned to the CITS
- Every faculty will have an “IT Unit” under the direct purview of the Dean with adequate staff to handle faculty-wide network and other systems and IT infrastructure.
- Routine programs shall be conducted to train technical staff of the CITS and in IT Units of faculties
- Each faculty will have a permanent cadre position for a “Network Manager” under the Dean’s office.