St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary - TechSupport TechSupport Interim Policies on Mobile Telephones

St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary
Technology Committee

Interim Policies on Mobile Telephones
May 1, 2006

Certain employment positions at St Vladimir's Seminary, where high-availability is desirable, require the use of mobile telphones. These positions include, but are not limited to: the Dean and certain Advancement, Maintenance, and Technology employees. These policies are interim in nature and are intended to guide the seminary's aquisition and use of cellular technology.

This document does not supersede previously implemented policies.   Questions of interpretation should be addressed to the Director of Systems.

It is understood by the St Vladimir's Seminary community that information security is of the utmost importance.  

I. Purchasing Authority:

The TechSupport office is responsible for the procurement of cellular phones and services. A Director/Department Head/Chair must approve the purchase of a cellular phone. The cellular billing plan must be commensurate with the business needs of the unit. Under no circumstances should personal use be a factor in the determination of the billing plan. TechSupport will arrange the account setup. Generally, all mobile telephone plans will be established through a centralized seminary account to improve efficiencies in billing and to leverage potential corporate discounts.

II. Oversight Responsibility:

The TechSupport Office has cellular phone oversight. The office will provide assistance on equipment usage, repair, replacement, account charging and system design. Periodically, the Seminary will audit its cellular phone usage to determine if there has been any abuse of the system. Issues concerning the charging of personal long-distance calls to the Seminary, excessive personal calls, charges that exceed business needs and the disclosure of confidential information will be addressed with the appropriate personnel. The TechSupport Office will provide assistance in the investigation and clarification of these reviews.

III. Use of Seminary-owned Cellular Phone:

a. Cellular phone providers and services plans must be approved by the Seminary.

b. The use of a Seminary cellular phone shall not be in lieu of more cost effective, practical and readily available means of communications such as landline telephones, two-way radios, or corporate calling cards.

c. Individuals with departmental mobile phones may occasionally need to make incidental personal calls on the Seminary cellular telephone. The Seminary recognizes that carrying a business cellular telephone and a personal cellular telephone is not always practical. The use of a College cellular phone for occasional personal calls is allowed with the understanding that the personal use should be minor (less than 20%).

e. No direct payment is required for personal calls on Seminary-owned cellular telephones, provided there are no additional costs incurred as a result of personal telephone use. Likewise, no direct payment will be made to individuals for business calls made on their personal cellular phones if they do not incur additional direct costs.

If roaming, long distance, or airtime charges beyond a plan maximum are associated with personal calls on a Seminary cellular telephone, the individual will be asked to identify those costs and indicate whether they are related to personal or Seminary business. When personal use of a Seminary cellular telephone usage exceeds the maximum base minutes in a plan, it shall be deemed that personal minutes are the cause and reimbursement must be made to the Seminary.

f. Employees may never call 900 numbers, make harassing calls, or use Seminary mobile phones for illegal activity.

g. The end user of a cellular telephone should exercise discretion in distributing the cellular phone number. Charges are assessed to the phone regardless of whether the communication is incoming or outgoing.

h. Cellular transmissions are not secure and employees should use discretion in relaying confidential information on cellular telephones.

i. Use of a cellular telephone while operating a vehicle is illegal in some states and should be avoided as a general practice even if features such as headsets or voice activation are in use.

j. Mobile phones are Seminary property and must be turned in upon termination of employment.

k. The TechSupport office may recall them at any time for any reason including regular maintenance needs.

l. Violations of the Seminary’s cellular phone policy may lead to discipline, including termination.

m. Lost cellular phones must be reported immediately to TechSupport.

n. The use of 411 calls for information help should be limited to emergency needs only. These calls are expensive and are not included in any pricing plan.

I have read and agree to abide by the Seminary's interim policies and best practices regarding mobile telephone use:

___________________________

(signature of employee and date)