The Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) is a reauthorization of the Higher Education Act that includes provisions designed to curtail activities related to the unauthorized sharing of copyrighted materials. Among those provisions are the requirements that higher education institutions:
- Develop plans to “effectively combat” the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials on their campus.
- Make an annual disclosure to students informing them of the civil and criminal penalties for unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials including the steps that the institution will take to detect and punish such activity on its network.
- Offer options and opportunities for legal access to copyrighted materials.
- Develop procedures for periodically reviewing the effectiveness of the plans to combat the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials by users of the institution’s network using relevant assessment criteria.
Ithaca College has developed this Plan to comply with those provisions of the HEOA § 668.14. In order to understand the Plan, it is important to understand the context in which Ithaca College operates its campus network(s).
Network service to and within Ithaca College residence halls is provided by Apogee, Inc., through an agreement with the College. Apogee, headquartered in Austin Texas is, according to their web site, “the leader in managing student networks for colleges and universities.” Apogee acts as the ISP of record for wired and wireless network services within residence halls as well as wireless services for students throughout the Ithaca College network. As such, Apogee responds to all DMCA complaints and has its own policies for dealing with copyright violations related to use of its network.
Ithaca College operates its own wired and wireless network used by faculty and staff on the central campus – within academic and administrative facilities. Throughout this plan, whenever it is appropriate, distinctions will be made between the Apogee network and the central campus network operated by Ithaca College.