Faculty Information Technology Resources Policy
Purpose
This policy lists the different support models for information technology resources (ITRs) that directly support an individual faculty member’s teaching and research needs as well as the responsibilities on both ITS and the faculty member in each model.
Scope
Any ITR that is on the university network, used to directly support teaching or research, and not available to all faculty members is covered by this policy.
Policy
Hardware ITR support models
Any hardware ITR covered by this policy will be supported according to one of these two models:
- Self-support
- ITS-support
Any hardware ITR covered by this policy will be located in one of these two locations:
- Outside of the ITS data center model
- Inside the ITS data center model
For a given hardware ITR, the associated responsibilities for both ITS and the faculty member for both the support model and the location will apply to the hardware ITR.
Self-support of hardware
If a faculty member opts for either self-support model for hardware ITRs, here are the expectations for both the faculty member and ITS unless negotiated otherwise. Any negotiations must be agreed to by both sides, documented in writing, and reviewed annually by both parties.
ITS will perform the following if needed:
- Provide wesleyan.edu SSL certificates
- Make any needed configuration changes to the university’s perimeter firewall
- Provide configuration information to use the university’s Single Sign-On (SSO)
ITS will NOT perform the following unless otherwise negotiated:
- Provide technical support beyond the items listed above in the “ITS will perform” section
- Have administrative access to the ITR
Faculty member, or their designee, will:
- Install any missing security patches rated “high” within 30 days
- Install any missing security patches rated “critical” within 7 days
- Either ensure that all ITR components are supported by the vendor or will work with ITS to ensure that access to the ITR has been limited to only those individuals and ITRs that need to access it
- Annually confirm to ITS that the ITR is still in use
ITS-support of hardware
If a faculty member opts for the ITS-support model for hardware ITRs, here are the expectations for both the faculty member and ITS unless negotiated otherwise. Any negotiations must be agreed to by both sides, documented in writing, and reviewed annually by both parties. If the negotiations cannot come to an agreement, the hardware must be supported by the faculty member under the “Self-support of hardware" model above.
ITS will perform the following if needed:
- Provide wesleyan.edu SSL certificates
- Make any needed configuration changes to the university’s perimeter firewall
- Provide configuration information to use the university’s Single Sign-On (SSO)
- Install any missing security patches rated “high” within 30 days
- Install any missing security patches rated “critical” within 7 days
- Either ensure that all ITR components are supported by the vendor or will work with ITS to ensure that access to the ITR has been limited to only those individuals and ITRs that need to access it
ITS will NOT perform the following unless otherwise negotiated:
- Provide technical support beyond the items listed above in the “ITS will perform” section
ITS will determine whether there will be a chargeback for provided support.
The faculty member, or their designee, will:
- Annually confirm to ITS that the ITR is still in use
The faculty member, or their designee, will NOT:
- Have administrative access to the ITR
Hardware located inside of the ITS data center
ITS prefers that any hardware ITRs are located in the ITS data center if they can support the faculty member’s teaching and research from that location. If a faculty member opts to house hardware ITRs in the ITS data center here are the expectations for both the faculty member and ITS unless negotiated otherwise. Any negotiations must be agreed to by both sides, documented in writing, and reviewed annually by both parties.
ITS will perform the following if needed:
- Install the ITR in the ITS data center
- Attach the ITR to the network
Hardware located outside of the ITS data center
If a faculty member opts to house hardware ITRs outside of the ITS data center here are the expectations for both the faculty member and ITS unless negotiated otherwise. Any negotiations must be agreed to by both sides, documented in writing, and reviewed annually by both parties.
ITS will perform the following if needed:
- Provide assistance in attaching the ITR to the network
The faculty member, or their designee, will provide the following if the ITR is being supported by ITS:
- Provide a process for ITS to obtain physical access to the ITR if ITS is providing support to the ITR
Software ITR support models
Any software ITR covered by this policy must follow one of the following models:
- Self-support
- ITS-approved vendor support
- ITS support
Software: self-support
If a faculty member opts for the self-support model for software ITRs, here are the expectations for both the faculty member and ITS unless negotiated otherwise. Any negotiations must be agreed to by both sides, documented in writing, and reviewed annually by both parties.
ITS will:
- Provide configuration information to use the university’s Single Sign-On (SSO)
- Provide access to relevant site licensed software
ITS will NOT:
- Have administrative access to the ITR unless otherwise negotiated by the faculty member and the ITS staff supporting the ITR
The faculty member, or their designee, will:
- Provide the necessary hardware ITR(s) to run the software
- Perform troubleshooting of any issues that arise
- Install any security patches rated “high” within 30 days
- Install any security patches rated “critical” within 7 days
- Coordinate and perform necessary upgrades to ensure that all ITR components are supported by the vendor
- Maintain any code developed in house including making any changes necessitated by upgrades to other systems required to maintain support, such as a major version update to PHP
Software: ITS-approved vendor support
ITS has relationships with several vendors who can provide support to software ITRs. If a faculty member opts for the ITS-approved vendor support model for software ITRs, here are the expectations for the faculty member, the ITS-approved vendor, and ITS, unless otherwise negotiated. Any negotiations must be agreed to by all sides, documented in writing, and reviewed annually by all parties.
ITS will:
- Provide contact information to the faculty member for ITS-approved vendors
- Provide configuration information to use the university’s Single Sign-On (SSO)
- Provide access to relevant site licensed software
- Provide any needed wesleyan.edu SSL certificates
- Make any needed configuration changes to the university’s perimeter firewall
ITS will NOT:
- Have administrative access to the ITR unless otherwise negotiated by the faculty member, the ITS-approved vendor, and ITS
The ITS-approved vendor will:
- Provide the necessary hardware ITR(s) to run the software
- Perform troubleshooting of any issues that arise
- Install any security patches rated “high” within 30 days
- Install any security patches rated “critical” within 7 days
- Coordinate and perform necessary upgrades to ensure that all ITR components are supported by the vendor
- Maintain any code developed by the ITS-approved vendor including making any changes necessitated by upgrades to other systems required to maintain support, such as a major version update to PHP
The faculty member, or their designee, will:
- Install any security patches rated “high” within 30 days for any components not administered by the ITS-approved vendor
- Install any security patches rated “critical” within 7 days for any components not administered by the ITS-approved vendor
- Coordinate and perform necessary upgrades to ensure that all for any components not administered by the ITS-approved vendor ITR components are supported by the vendor who provided the ITR
- Maintain any code developed by the faculty member or any university student or employee working on their behalf, including making any changes necessitated by upgrades to other systems required to maintain support, such as a major version update to PHP
Software: ITS-support
Software ITRs do not lend themselves easily to standardized models. ITS is not staffed to provide individual software development services. If a faculty member opts for the ITS-support model for software ITRs, the following items must be negotiated. Those negotiations must be agreed to by both sides, documented in writing, and reviewed annually by both parties. If the negotiations cannot come to an agreement, the software must be supported by the faculty member under either the “Software: self-support" model or the “Software: ITS-approved vendor support” model above.
The negotiations will document, at a minimum, the following:
- Who is responsible for installing any security patches rated “high” within 30 days
- Who is responsible for installing any security patches rated “critical” within 7 days
- Who is responsible for coordinating and performing necessary upgrades to ensure that all ITR components are supported by the vendor
- Who will have administrative access to the ITR
- How quickly reported issues will be addressed
- Whether there will be a chargeback for provided support
Exceptions
All exceptions to this policy require written approval from the Chief Information Security Officer. All exceptions require annual renewal.
Appendix
Approval History
August 2024 – Policy adopted