The information below will provide you with the information regarding the Software Management of the Aquinas College Network.

Definition and Scope
Software is defined as a set of instructions and statements that a computer uses to bring about a desired result. On the Aquinas campus, software takes on many forms. The College utilizes operating system software (Windows, LINUX, NetWare, etc.), productivity software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.), graphics software, media viewers, and many others.  This policy will not make any distinction between the various classes of software or how they are installed. Whether an application is commercial (licensed and purchased from a vendor), freeware (software that is available to the public at no cost), shareware (software that is available to the public for a limited time or with limited functionality at no cost), or even an upgrade to a current installation, they are by definition considered software and must be properly administered by the College. This will assist Information Technology & Services (ITS) in maintaining the integrity of the Aquinas network, preventing duplication of software purchases, and properly administering campus-wide software licensing.

Software Requests and Purchasing

Department heads and budget managers must coordinate all software purchases for on-campus use with ITS administrators.* This can be accomplished using the following procedure:

• Staff/Faculty wishing to purchase software for on-campus use must fill out a software request form. This form can be accessed on-campus via the Intranet at: http://campus.aquinas.edu/its/forms/software_request.html
• This form must be completed and authorized by the appropriate department head or Vice President and submitted to the director of Information Technology & Services for approval.
• ITS administrators will analyze the feasibility of the request as it relates to the current infrastructure of the College network. A prompt response will be issued to the requesting department, stating whether or not the request can be met and providing any alternate solutions.
• If technically feasible, the request must undergo analysis for financial feasibility (unless funds are already available). This process will involve ITS, the department initiating the request, and possibly the Office of the Vice President for Operations/Finance. This process will assign funding sources for the request, either internal or external.
• Finally, a purchase order will be initiated by ITS to the selected software vendor, following established college purchasing procedures. Once the software is received from the vendor, ITS administrators will coordinate its implementation with the requestor.

The above software request and purchase process applies to the acquisition of software from licensed distributors only.  Aquinas College prohibits the use and installation of any application that is not exclusively licensed to the College.  This is verified by ITS during the purchasing phase (see step 5 above).  License compliancy for software acquisitions cannot be guaranteed if the software is procured from any source other than an officially-licensed software distributor.  As such, personally-owned or used software cannot be considered to be exclusively licensed to the College, and is therefore prohibited from use/installation.

*Software purchased as reference media for stand-alone (non-networked) use in the Library must be purchased following established Library purchasing and storage procedures. However, ITS must still be notified to allow for proper documentation of all Aquinas software titles.

Software Licensing

During the analysis phases of the purchasing process, ITS administrators will decide on a licensing scheme for the software title in question. All software used on the Aquinas campus must be licensed exclusively to the College by the software vendor prior to use. Software at Aquinas is licensed in several ways, such as:

• Site license: A general license that allows installation on all machines on campus.
• Concurrent User license: A license that allows the software to be installed on all machines across campus, but only a certain number of network users may access it simultaneously.
• Per-Seat license: A license that allows only a certain number of workstations to run a copy of the software.

Software that is not properly licensed leaves the College liable under federal software piracy and copyright laws. To avoid this, ITS carefully tracks the licenses of all approved software applications and ensures that software is properly licensed and documented.

Software Installation

The only software applications that may be installed on an Aquinas network workstation are those that have been approved by ITS administrators through the above request and purchasing processes.  Approved applications are made available to faculty, staff, and students via the Application Launcher (available on the Start Menu). The Application Launcher automatically transfers software and configuration files to the workstation from the network using a pre-defined set of parameters designed by ITS administrators. Aside from launching these pre-approved applications, under no circumstances shall any Aquinas faculty, staff, or student install software onto an Aquinas workstation without first consulting ITS.

Again, this policy is in place to maintain the integrity of the Aquinas network and the data stored there-in. Any new software added may be incompatible with the network environment or it may result in the reconfiguration of the workstation involved. All workstations are configured specifically for efficient interaction with the network and any reconfiguring can result in a decrease in functionality. Departments requiring the installation of new software applications must contact ITS so that licensing, compatibility, and configuration issues can be properly addressed.

Work-At-Home Use

While some software applications/suites are licensed for “work-at-home” purposes, Aquinas College is unable to facilitate software distribution for home use.  The restrictions that software publishers place on home installations of academically-licensed software require more administrative oversight and infrastructure than the College can accommodate.  These restrictions specifically relate to:

• Distribution of copyrighted media to employees
• Unauthorized duplication of copyrighted software
• Release of academic volume license keys/serial numbers to non-ITS employees
• Liability for damages caused by the installation of College-owned/leased software on a personally-owned hardware platform
• Access to software by non-employees (i.e. spouse, children, etc.) while in the home for non-work purposes
• Verification of software removal following termination of license or College employment

College-owned/leased software is only approved for “work-at-home” purposes when installed on laptops/PCs owned/leased and maintained by the College.  This includes equipment on loan from the ITS Department as well as equipment permanently assigned for departmental use.

Software Storage

All software (including any program disks, licensing materials, and other supplemental materials included in the software purchase) must remain in the possession of Information Technology and Services at all times.* These materials may only be removed from the Information Technology and Services storage location by an Aquinas employee who provides written authorization from his/her cabinet-level supervisor. Any software training manuals will be placed on reserve and stored in the Library in order to provide centralized access by all members of the Aquinas community.

There are many reasons for the above storage policy. They are as follows:

• Program installation and supplemental disks must be available to ITS administrators in order to properly maintain the software installation.
• ITS is a secure location in which software can be safely stored without fear of theft.
• By keeping all software in one location, the possibility of loss is greatly reduced.
• If a licensing investigation is brought against the College, ITS administrators will need to have quick access to all software materials to prove proper ownership – the Business Software Alliance (http://www.bsa.org) requires the following for proper proof of ownership:
• The program disks
• Manual covers
• Statement of license agreement
• Receipt of purchase

* Software purchased as reference media for stand-alone (non-networked) use in the Library must be stored according to established Library storage procedures. However, ITS must still be notified to allow for proper documentation of all Aquinas software titles.