The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEOA) sets forth many requirements for colleges and universities. This statement pertains to the triad of requirements designed to address illegal peer-to-peer file sharing of copyrighted works by those using campus networks.
Institutions are required to:
- Inform students annually they may be subject to criminal and civil penalties if they engage in illegal distribution of copyrighted materials and describe the steps being taken to detect and punish such activity.
- Certify to the Secretary of Education that the institution has plans to effectively combat unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material.
- Offer alternatives to illegal file sharing.
To comply with these requirements, the University of Puget Sound does the following:
- Provides warnings online, in print, and in presentations that students who violate copyright laws may be subject to criminal and civil penalties. Instances of copyright infringement are specifically mentioned in the university’s Email, Voice Mail & Network Access Policy.
- Monitors network activity and ensures policy conformance through the use of the ImpulsePoint SafeConnect application in order to certify to the Secretary of Education that the University of Puget Sound effectively combats illegal file sharing.
- Provides a link on the Technology Services website to the extensive list of legal alternatives for downloading music and video files compiled by EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit association focused on information technology in higher education.
—updated January 2011