Title:  What policies affect how employees can use computers?

Question:
What are the limits on UW employees using computing resources for
'personal' reasons? What if the employee is also a student or alumnus and
uses the same UW NetID in different roles?

Answer:
As an employee, you have certain restrictions on your use of state
resources. State law prohibits personal use of computing resources and
services provided by the UW for your work.  Allowed use is
defined in UW Administrative Policy 47.2 (APS 47.2), which can be found at
http://www.washington.edu/admin/adminpro/APS/47.02.html

Also, the University of Washington is subject to the Washington State Public
Records Act, which defines the public's right to access "public records."
The law defines "public records" to include any record containing
information relating to the conduct or functions of the University, and
prepared, owned, used, or retained by the University, regardless of
physical form or characteristics.  This may include the records on UW
computers (central, departmental, or desktop), as well as other ISP email
systems.  The Act allows members of the public to submit a public records
request to the UW, which must then provide the requested records unless
one of the exemptions listed in the Act applies.

As stated above, the determination of whether a specific record is subject
to the Public Records Act depends on the facts pertaining to the
particular record, not where it is stored. Please note the implications of
this with respect to your use of other email systems.

In addition to being an employee, you may also have other affiliations
with the UW (such as student or alumnus status) that do not have the same
restrictions.  Since you have only one UW NetID, you may wonder how you
can separate your activities.  In order to be able to deal with public
records requests and to avoid even the appearance of misuse of state
resources, it is recommended that you:

 o Do not use work-provided resources, such as computer, printer, network,
or staff modem pool, for personal use except as allowed by APS 47.2

 o Use separate folders for work email and personal email

 o Keep separate directories for work and personal files, documents,
   spread sheets, and databases

Note that saving email on these systems does not prevent it
from being considered to be a public record.  Records that are "public
records"  as defined above are subject to the Public Records Act even when
they are stored on student or alumni designated systems.

If you are unsure about impact on your work, you should contact your
supervisor for guidance.