Government Arts College’s G Suite for Education Fair Use Policy

As part of the endeavours of Government Arts College, Thiruvananthapuram (GACTVM) to provide the most effective web-based tools and applications for learning, access to G Suite for Education is being offered to its staff and students. This state-of-the-art tool will equip the faculty and students to exchange knowledge effectively in this digitally connected world.
G Suite for Education includes free web-based programs like document creation tools, shared calendars, and collaboration tools. This service is available through an agreement between Google and GACTVM. G Suite for Education can be accessed from anywhere through the Internet. The core services offered include Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive and Docs, Google Meet, Google Jamboard, Google Sites, etc. Access to additional services like YouTube, Google Maps, Google Photos, etc. may be given as per the decision of the college administration from time to time. Students are responsible for their own online behaviour and use of services offered by G Suite for Education at all times.
Learn more about G Suite for Education : visit https://edu.google.com/intl/en_in/

Google’s Privacy notice
“A G Suite for Education account is a Google Account created and managed by a school for use by students and educators. When creating this account, the school may provide Google with certain personal information about its students and educators, which includes a user’s name, email address, and password in most cases, but could also include secondary email, phone, and address if the school chooses to provide that information. Google may also collect personal information directly from users of G Suite for Education accounts, such as telephone number, profile photo or other information they add to a G Suite for Education account.”
For more details on what information, google collects and how they use it, read https://workspace.google.com/terms/education_privacy.html

Digital Safety
As a best digital citizenship practice, account holders should not post their personal contact information (including last names, addresses, and phone numbers) or that of others. Content created by the students may be shared with their peers in the college who also use G Suite for Education (in addition to their teachers, GACTVM administration, their parents or family members outside the college) for academic reasons. Each individual is responsible for the use of his/her individual account and should take all the necessary precautions to prevent others from being able to use their account. A user should not provide his/her password to others under any circumstances.
Email messages sent from a G Suite account email system are required to strictly adhere to the state and central government laws and policies. GACTVM monitors all inbound and outbound emails for viruses, profanity, offensive language, racism and sexual comments, virus hoaxes, chain-mail, and known spam mailers. The GACTVM reserves the right to intercept, store, archive, delete or view such emails for security purposes; and, where necessary, investigate inappropriate subject matter by the parties involved.
Acceptable Use
G Suite for Education is meant for educational use. Students may use them for their personal use, but it will be subject to the following rules, restrictions and additional policies that may apply. Faculty and administrators will have access to view student activity in G Suite for Education. All account holders of GACTVM should always abide by the State and Central government laws and policies applicable from time to time.
An account holder of G Suite for Education for GACTVM, is expected to
 Use the account for academic purpose specific to the course only.
 Exhibit respect and courtesy at all times while using the account.
 Understand that the account will be monitored for inappropriate usage.
 Not use the account for other online services or accounts.
Loss of Privileges
The use of technology is a privilege, not a right, and inappropriate use may result in a loss of those privileges. When there is a reason to believe that violations of laws or policies have occurred, such cases will be referred to the Principal of GACTVM for further investigation and appropriate action will be taken. The college reserves the right to suspend any suspected G Suite account immediately without any notice and after further investigation, the account may be restored, suspended, or terminated as the case may be and if found guilty, the account holder shall be subjected to disciplinary actions as determined by the GACTVM.
Inappropriate use or misuse shall include, but are not limited to:
(1) Intentionally seeking information on, obtaining or modifying files & other data, or passwords belonging to other users.
(2) Misrepresenting or interfering with other users of GACTVM and/or malicious acts like hate mail, harassment, profanity, vulgar statements, or discriminatory remarks.
(3) Disrupting the activities of GACTVM through abuse of the hardware and/or software.
(4) Any use for non-curriculum related communication or unauthorized communication.
(5) Illegal use / installation, down-sizing or copying of copyrighted software / electronic materials.
(6) Allowing anyone to use the account other than the account holder (and parent / guardian of account holder).
(7) Commercial activities or use for personal financial gain like running a business or running a website to sell things or trying to make money.
(8) Inappropriate sexual or other offensive content, threatening another person, misrepresentation of GACTVM staff or students.
(9) Any other inappropriate use violating the laws of the State or Central governments.
Account Expiry
Immediately after a student graduates/gets transferred from the college, the privileges of G Suite for Education also will cease. After the final semester exam, students’ access to G Suite applications except Gmail will be terminated. Students may use Gmail for three more months. After that the Gmail access also will be terminated. Students are directed to safeguard and backup any important data they are keeping within the G Suite account immediately on course completion.
There will be official email ids corresponding to the office bearers of various bodies in GACTVM like Heads of the Departments, IQAC, NCC, NSS, etc. The official email ids are meant to be transferred along with their passwords and all the contents of the accounts to the next person who assumes charge. At the time of handing over the charge, the same must be handed over to the Principal/ substitute individual.
Each faculty member can also request for a personal G Suite account. The personal account will be valid till the retirement of the staff. If a staff member gets transferred from GACTVM, the core services offered by G Suite like Gmail and Google Drive will still be accessible, but the access to additional services will be restricted. After the retirement date, the G Suite account may be kept for one more year. The account will be terminated after the time limit if the user has not requested to extend the services upon any valid reasons. Research students also can request to extend the services upon valid reasons.
Password Policy
The G Suite for Education account holder is required to create a secure password with minimum 8 characters and maximum 100 characters. He/she has the sole responsibility to safeguard the password. Users are encouraged to use the 2-step verification process for added security.
New Account
A student of GACTVM who wishes to create a G Suite for Education account shall contact the concerned tutor and shall provide the required data. The teacher shall forward the request through proper channel to the admin of the G Suite for Education account for creating the account. The students will be intimated of the creation of the new account via a mail to their secondary email address, which they provided to the teacher while requesting for the account. For uniformity and avoiding conflicts the email addresses shall follow the format, name_course_batch@gactvm.ac.in.
A member of the teaching or non-teaching staff of GACTVM who wishes to create a G Suite for Education account shall contact the admin of the G Suite for Education account directly for creating the account. On receiving the required data, the account will be created and the same shall be intimated through a mail to their secondary email address provided. The email addresses requested should not be in conflict with the existing email address(es).