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Administrative Experience
Taking Care of Business OnlineYour campus experience will include some time spent taking care of practical matters, such as registering for classes, requesting transcripts, and paying tuition. Find out which transactions and the services that support them can be handled online and at a distance. Managing your Personal InformationWhat personal information, contact information, grades, degree progress, financial status, or other information can you view online? Patriot Web enables students to apply for admission to the university, register for class, view their class schedule, pay their tuition and other fees using a credit card or electronic check, view their grades, and their financial aid status. Students can view their demographic data, holds, academic status, and degree progress. Can you update any of this information online yourself? Using Patriot Web, students can update their mailing addresses and emergency contact information, as well as apply to the university, register for classes, and make payments. Conducting BusinessWhat kind of business can you do online?
What campus and community services are covered by debit-card, smart-card, or one-card systems? George Mason’s one-card system handles declining balance purchases at numerous retail locations and dining service venues on campus as well as at three off-campus eateries. A variety of meal plan options are available for students, faculty, and staff as well. Some campus departments use the ID card for time and attendance tracking; the card is also used for varying levels of secure access, both online and offline, into and within buildings, and for parking gates. Libraries on the three campuses and within the tri-state consortium use the card to verify patron borrowing rights. Our latest venture, slated for completion in mid-fall, is to have all photocopiers and computer lab print release stations operating online. This will allow us to automate interdepartmental charges for copying. The ID card is also used off campus as a flash pass, providing cardholders a discount at movie theatres and retailers and discounted rides on the city buses. Are the University Catalog—including course descriptions, degree requirements, and academic policies—and the semester/term Schedule of Classes available on the web? The University Catalog is available online. Indexes are provided, as well as a search function to assist in locating information. Privacy, Security, and Usage RulesWhat security and privacy policies are in place to protect student information? The university adheres to all the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Acts (FERPA). See details on the web site. How does the campus protect students from identity theft? The University has established a Security and Privacy Compliance Committee. under the leadership of Chief of Staff to the President. In addition the University takes a conservative and strict interpretation of FERPA. How does the campus notify students of their rights under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)? There is a section on Student Privacy on the Registrar's web site on the right hand side. This site gives general information to students about FERPA and their ability to request increased privacy. The same notification is provided in the University Catalog and the Schedule of Classes for each term. Increased privacy options include the ability to prevent listings in the campus directory and the ability to mark student records as "confidential." If a student chooses the confidential option, business must be conducted in person with photo identification or with notarized authorization from the student. The university will not release any information without one of these acts. In addition, as a general practice, the Registrar's Office does not release telephone numbers or addresses of any student when a third party calls for a verification of enrollment or degree award. Is network bandwidth limited for peer-to-peer software, gaming, Web cams, or other programs requiring high levels of network resources? Yes. Are web pages filtered? No. Is there a campus code of behavior about using computer resources? George Mason’s Responsible Use of Computing document is available online. This policy applies to all academic and operational departments and offices at all university locations owned and leased. The policies and procedures provided apply to all university faculty, staff, students, visitors, and contractors. It identifies the responsibilities of each member of George Mason University’s community in the use of computing resources. Complaints of improper usage are to be reported to the Security Review Panel (SRP) at stopit@gmu.edu. The SRP serves the Mason community by interpreting the policy, proposing and reviewing amendments, helping resolve complaints about misuse of the university's computing resources, getting those involved in abusive behavior to stop it, serving as a buffer between George Mason university students and various campus authorities, and working for the security and integrity of the campus networks on which so many people depend. General security information and access to security resources can be found on the IT Security web site. Does the campus have policies addressing peer-to-peer file sharing, virus software, and copyright? George Mason University's Responsible Use of Computing Policy, Copyright Compliance Policy, Student Honor Code, and Student Judicial Code cover these issues. All of these policies are available online under “University Copyright Policy". When music, movies, and games are under the custody of a music-sharing program, anyone can access them and download copies. This makes the user a distributor of copyrighted materials. Under the law (U.S.Title 17 S.106), this is illegal unless the user has permission from the copyright holder to distribute the materials. The web sites below provide details of these policies: The Student Handbook, in PDF format, provides information in regard to the Student Honor Code and the Student Judicial Code. How does the campus manage e-mail spam? The university has implemented the MailFrontier Enterprise Gateway that manages spam at the network level providing many user controlled features including white listing, black listing, spam quarantine, and a personal spam digest. “How to opt in” at the bottom of the web page links to a FAQ, which is a starting point to begin working with the spam application. |
