General Policy on Privacy

Although we work in a public university as public employees, each individual in our Department has a right to privacy.

It is inappropriate to list in any publicly-accessible manner any information of a personal nature, including home address, names of family members, or even photos, of any member of the Department without their permission.

An exception may be made for group pictures, such as parties or other social functions in the Department, as long as the individuals in the pictures are not identified.

The Department will make our best efforts to ensure both the privacy and the security of computer files and directories of faculty, staff, and students. However, the Department reserves the right to deny access to computer accounts for individuals who have seriously breached computer use policies. We will make every effort to act only under the following general conditions.

1. The Department is not in the business of checking users' files and directories for inappropriate use. However, we will not overlook potential problems discovered accidentally.
2. Inappropriate use may be brought to our attention by others within the department or systems administration personnel at UNC or by others with whom the University does business.
3. For cases brought to our attention from inside the Department, the systems administrator will first speak with the individual about whose account a question has been raised. If the individual and the systems administrator cannot agree on proper policy or action, the Department chair will get involved, speaking to both parties.
4. For actions initiated outside the Department, we will also attempt to work in a similar fashion, but circumstances may be out of our control, and systems administrators at ATN may act with or without our involvement.

Other related information on privacy can be found in the Faculty Handbook (www.unc.edu/faculty/faccoun/handbook) where it is noted that "employee personnel files, wherever located and in whatever form, are confidential and not open for inspection except to those persons (including the employee) authorized by the statute." Privacy of computer account files are covered by the Department's Computer Usage Policy (www.physics.unc.edu/policy/userpolicy/node19.html).