Web Hosting - Terms of Service

Terms of Service for web hosting at NDSU.
    NDSU will grant the customer the service as a necessary privilege in order to perform authorized job functions. The customer will support and promote the highest standards, best practices, and ethical and legal use for IT devices, software, and services. The customer will not knowingly permit use of the customer’s entrusted access control mechanism for any purposes other than those required to perform authorized employment functions. 
    • The customer will abide by all applicable state and federal laws, the North Dakota University System, and NDSU policies and procedures. 
    • The customer understands that the primary purposes of NDSU network resources are for education, research, and business related to the institution. 
    • If the customer observes any incidents of non-compliance with the terms of this agreement, the customer is responsible for reporting them to the information technology security officer and the customer’s supervisor. 
    • The customer understands that Information Technology Services, or appropriate designated University officials, reserve the right without notice to limit or restrict any individual’s network services or otherwise alter any data, file, or system resource that may undermine the authorized use of an NDSU IT network resource. 

    Unsupported uses / activities 

    The IT Division does not provide for support for the following using pubweb 
    1. 3rd party application installation 
    2. Application development training (e.x. "learn to program") 
    3. Site metrics (e.x. "hit counter," Google Analytics) 
    4. Official NDSU URL (e.x. www.ndus.edu/orgName/ ) for basic sites 

    Prohibited uses / activities 

    Inappropriate or unlawful material: 

    Material that is fraudulent, harassing, embarrassing, lewd, sexually explicit, profane, obscene, intimidating, threatening, potentially violent, defamatory, racially offensive, inappropriate or otherwise unlawful, or in violation of NDSU and NDUS policies and procedures may not be sent by e-mail or other form of electronic communication or displayed or stored in computers. 
    • Political or personal commercial use. 
    • Excessive use or misuse of electronic and network resources. 
    • Misuse of software includes but is not limited to:

      Unauthorized sending, transmitting, receiving, storing, or otherwise disseminating proprietary data, intellectual property, and confidential/sensitive classified information on computer systems and/or external portable media without formal authorization from the data owner or user’s supervisor.  Collection, transmission or storage of confidential data is not allowed. Examples of confidential data include: 

      • Social Security Number 
      • Credit Card Information 

    Follow the NDUS Data Classification Standard (NDUS 1901.2) 

    Examples of confidential information include names, addresses, date of birth, Social Security Number, EMPLID, etc. 

    Relevant NDSU Policies and Procedures 

    1. NDUS PROCEDURE 1901.2 Section 1 Authorized use. 
    2. NDUS PROCEDURE 1901.2 Section 2.3 Freedom from harassment and undesired information. 
    3. NDUS PROCEDURE 1901.2 Section 4.2 Imposition of sanctions. 
    4. NDUS PROCEDURE 1901.2 Section 4.4 Monitoring of usage, inspection of electronic equipment. 

    What are the limitations? 

    Student Accounts 

    Sponsored student organizations may have sites by having a faculty or staff sponsor request a site (i.e. own the site). 

    Student employees may have a pubweb account to access an enhanced site if such access is required for their NDSU work assignment. 

    File Transfer 

    Secure connections are required to upload content to pubweb. To copy files and folders to a site, you must use SFTP, SCP or SSH protocols. 

    Default URL 

    By default, visitors will be able to access uploaded site content at 

    Basic site
    www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~ownerID/
    {Note the trailing slash} 

    Enhanced site 
    www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/org-name/ 
    {Note the trailing slash} 

    Official NDSU URL 

    A site may have an official NDSU URL (e.x. www.ndsu.edu/org-name/ ) given 
    1. The site is an enhanced site 
    2. The URL has been approved by University Relations. Refer to NDSU Web Guidelines to learn about VPUR expectations for an official site. 
    Request an official URL by entering a "Proxy URL" segment when requesting an enhanced site.

    If the URL is not approved by University Relations, we will contact you regarding suggested alternatives. 

    Virtual Hostname 

    Virtual hostnames (e.x. http://orgName.ndsu.nodak.edu/ ) may be used with approval of IT Security and Network Engineering & Operations. 

    All costs associated with the hostname, such as SSL Certificate purchase, will apply. 

    Please contact the Help Desk to submit a request to convert your enhanced site to use a virtual hostname. 

    Content Management System hosting 

    NDSU CMS (content management system) is used by many NDSU departments and enables departments to easily publish content online. Evaluate NDSU CMS when choosing the best solution for your circumstances. If NDSU CMS is new to you, take a tour of a page, see who uses CMS at NDSU, or request a CMS site.

    See Also



    Keywords:
    term, services, host, pubweb, publishing, publish, pub, website 
    Doc ID:
    103450
    Owned by:
    Steve S. in NDSU IT Knowledge Base
    Created:
    2020-06-29
    Updated:
    2022-05-05
    Sites:
    NDSU IT Knowledge Base