Policy on use of e-mail in Learning Resource Centres

Many thanks to everyone who responded to my message about e-mail policies back in January.  Sorry for the delay in replying.

I've had quite a few responses, most from people who agree that it is a difficult issue with no easy answers. The most popular methods seem to be restricting use to certain PCs (which is what we have decided to continue to do) or certain "off peak" times of the day.  Here is a selection of the other responses :

*Remote access / PC monitoring systems so staff can view student screens to help policing

*"workstation locks" to block e-mail access at busy times 

*Re-writing of computer use policy with clear guidelines on e-mail use

*Open access at any time "provided there are machines free for students who need to get on with College work "

*Strictly limited time slots e.g 10-15 mins 

*E-mail terminals (stands with no chairs) designed not to be comfortable to limit time !

*Plan to open cybercafe

*"Quick access pc" with very short booking times allowed so students can just check e-mail.

*Students have to hand in their ID card when going on a PC, so it is easier to identify and track them


There are lots of areas in which e-mail use is clearly valid ( or essential) in terms of course work / research as opposed to social use.  At the moment we ask students and tutors to let us know if they need to use e-mail as part of an assignment etc so we can facilitate this.  Personally I would like the college to give students their own college e-mail account which we could then encourage them to use for course-related correspondence (and also control more easily than web-based. However our college does not currently offer this) .

Sorry this response does not provide any magic solutions.  However, I was reassured by the replies I got from the list that, as with other issues such as mobile phones, eating and so on,  we are not alone !!

Once again thanks for all the feedback.

Roger

Roger Gardner
Assistant Librarian
Learning Resource Centre
Filton College
Filton Avenue
Bristol
BS34 7AT

Tel: 0117 9092224
[log in to unmask]
>>> Sarah Taylor <[log in to unmask]> 03/26/02 16:30 PM >>>
Dear Roger,

although I realise your enquiry was posted to the list some time ago, I
would be interested in any results you received as we have the same
problem here.  basically we can only limit email use by sticking up
notices on terminals, and on screensavers, and then having a quiet word
with anyone we catch abusing it.  but with limited computer facilities on
site we appreciate the problems for foreign students in particular.
Lastly, does responding to request for feedback from legitimate sites
constitute emailing?!!

Sarah Taylor

On Mon, 21 Jan 2002, Roger Gardner wrote:

> We are currently reviewing our policy on use of e-mail by students in our
> Learning Resource Centre.  We have an increasing demand for e-mail access,
> especially from a sizeable contingent of international students. Up until
> now we have had to restrict e-mail (which is primarily social) to a limited
> number of PCs so that we can meet the needs of students doing Internet
> research, word processing etc.  However this restriction is difficult to
> enforce as students use a wide variety of web-based e-mail services (there
> is no college student e-mail). We have also tried restricting e-mail use to
> off-peak periods e.g before 9.30am and after 4.30pm
> We are interested to find out if other College Learning Resource Centres
> are faced with a similar situation, and if so how they deal with the
> competing demands. I would be grateful for any feedback on this, whether
> you restrict access in any way, e.g. by time or number of machines. At the
> moment we are considering starting an open access policy, whereby students
> can use e-mail at any time, provided there are PCs free for students who
> want to get on with college work.
> 

Sarah Taylor
Assistant Librarian
Library and Information Service
Faculty of Education
University of Cambridge

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