The use of CD-ROM technology to distribute software (applications and data) is prevalent in the technology industry today for both administrative and academic applications. It is becoming very common for textbook companies to include software in the form of a CD along with textbooks. In response to the need for faculty/staff to make use of the increasing number of CDs available, test machines are available -- one in the AB lounge, AH Lounge, Holmdene, and AB350 (ITS). These machines should be used to test all new applications regardless of the media (i.e., disk, cd-rom, internet download, etc .)-as a step in protecting Aquinas from the following issues and threats:

1) Software Licensing and College Liability - the opportunity for installation of software regardless of College licensing and tracking requirements

2) Software Duplication - installation of software without following proper purchasing procedures (which includes a check through ITS to ensure that excessive numbers and varieties of software which performs essentially the same function are not inadvertently acquired)

3) Network Backup - installation of software without ITS awareness resulting in data files not being included in network backup processes

4) Security - installation of software without ITS involvement to ensure that data is stored in a secure location accessible only by those authorized

5) Inadvertent PC Re-configurations - installation of software without following prior testing procedures and ITS involvement which likely results in changes to the PCs configuration rendering previously functioning network features to cease and requiring trouble shooting and technical support to re-image the PCs involved

Responsibilities: The Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) addresses these issues/threats (please refer to H:\employee\aup for the Faculty, Staff, Student, Guest, and Merit AUPs).

If you have any questions regarding this policy or the evaluation of new software, please contact ITS at extension 2050.

Software is obtained from many different sources. Some of the most common scenarios with probable answers are given below. You will find instructions for software evaluation in the accompanying Guidelines For The Evaluation Of New Software document. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact ITS at extension 2050.

Questions that need to be answered:

• Is the software an application or data?
• What will the software be used for?
• Who will need to use the software?
• What is the software license agreement?*
• Does Aquinas already own the software?*
• Is there similar software already in use by Aquinas?*

Please note: Questions 4, 5 and 6 should be answered by ITS.
When a vendor sends software for purchase and/or evaluation, ITS should be contacted to administer licensing, purchasing, and the evaluation process.

Scenario 1

Textbook and/or Discipline Specific software:

Answers to the above questions:

1. Application
2. Software will be used for classroom instruction
3. Students
4. Every student that purchases the textbook can use the software
5. No
6. No
7. Install software on a test machine. Evaluate program for use in classroom instruction.

Contact ITS with answers to the above questions. ITS will install the software, making it available to the instructor for testing. Once testing is completed, ITS will make the software available according to the above criteria.

Scenario 2

Vendor sends software for evaluation and/or purchase:

Answers to the above questions:

1. Application
2. Used for department specific purposes
3. Single user
4. Single user
5. No
6. No
7. Install software on a test machine. Evaluate program for required use.

Contact ITS with answers to the above questions. ITS will make the software available for use according to the above criteria.

Scenario 3

Software for enhancing documents (presentations, clipart, spreadsheets etc. ) :

Answers to the above questions:

1. Data
2. To be available to everyone
3. Staff and faculty
4. Anyone
5. No
6. No
7. This type of data can be used at a person’s workstation. (There is no installation).

Use the software according to the vendor’s recommendation. Contact ITS when the data needs to be made available to the public.

Using the test machines will insure that your personal workstation remains unaffected by new software installations which would otherwise require your PC to be re-imaged (which overwrites the C:\ drive and custom settings). This will also safeguard you against licensing, liability, and security issues.

1. Go to a test machine (located in either AH, AB lounge, AB350, Holmdene), login to the machine, place the CD in the CD-Rom and close the CD-Rom.
2. Right click Start, left click Explore.
3. On the left side of the Explorer window, scroll to the diskette or CD-ROM drive (usually the A:\ or E:\ drive) and double-click on the icon to the left of the drive letter.
   • The contents of the CD or diskette will be listed on the right side of the Explorer window. Check to see if there are any variations of install (.exe, .bat, .com, etc.), setup (.exe, .bat, .com, etc.) or any file with the .zip extension.
   • Install, setup, .exe, .bat, and .com indicate this CD or diskette contains an application. By double clicking on any of these files, an installation window should appear. Follow the manufacturer's recommendations for installation. Generally the default location for the application's directory will be the C:\ drive -- accept that default location. (Because this is a test machine, we can re-configure the machine and no damage will be done to your office machine's configuration.)
   • Any files ending with a .zip extension will need to be unzipped before you can use them. Please contact ITS for assistance with this procedure.
   • Most other files will be data files (.doc, .ppt, .xls, etc.). By double clicking on these files, the appropriate application will automatically be launched and the file will be opened. Once you have determined that this CD or diskette contains only data files, you will be able to view and edit these files on the machine in your office and/or on the instructor carts. If you experience problems launching the application, contact ITS at extension 2050.
4. After evaluation of the application, if you decide you would like to continue using it, please provide ITS with answers to the Questions that need to be answered: section in the accompanying New Software Evaluation FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) document. ITS will then provide you with installation recommendations.

If you have any problems or questions, please contact ITS at extension 2050.

ITS will install Discipline-Specific/Department-Specific software, including textbook software, on the Aquinas College network. If you would like this done, please follow these steps:

1) The requestor must test the software.

a) See the Software Policy Reminder for information on the location of test machines.

b) See the New Software Evaluation FAQ's for a list of frequently asked questions.

c) See the Guidelines for the Evaluation of New Software for a text description of the software evaluation process.

d) See the Flowchart (above) For The Evaluation Of New Software for a graphic flowchart of the evaluation process.

2) The software must be approved by the department head/chair.

3) The dates for software requests for the 2006/2007 academic year are:

• October 17, 2008 for approved software request forms for second semester (including third and fourth quadmesters) 2008/2009 academic year
• March 13, 2008 for approved software request forms for all 2008 summer sessions
• April 27, 2008 for approved software request forms for fall semester (including first and second quadmesters) 2008/2009 academic year