THE BILL OF RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR ELECTRONIC LEARNERS

PREAMBLE

In order to protect the rights and recognize the responsibilities of 
individuals and institutions, we, the members of the educational 
community, propose this Bill of Rights and Responsibilities for the 
Electronic Community of Learners.  These principles are based on a 
recognition that the electronic community is a complex subsystem of the 
educational community founded on the values espoused by that community.  
As new technology modifies the system and further empowers individuals, 
new values and responsibilities will change this culture.  As technology 
assumes an integral role in education and lifelong learning, 
technological empowerment of individuals and organizations becomes a 
requirement and right for students, faculty, staff, and institutions, 
bringing with it new levels of responsibility that individuals and 
institutions have to themselves and to other members of the educational 
community.

ARTICLE I: INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS

The original Bill of Rights explicitly recognized that all individuals 
have certain fundamental rights as members of the national community. In 
the same way, the citizens of the electronic community of learners have 
fundamental rights that empower them.

Section 1.
A citizen's access to computing and information resources shall not be 
denied or removed without just cause.

Section 2.
The right to access includes the right to appropriate training and tools 
required to effect access.

Section 3.
All citizens shall have the right to be informed about personal 
information that is being and has been collected about them, and have the 
right to review and correct that information,.  Personal information 
about a citizen shall not be used for other than the express purpose of 
its collection without the explicit permission of that citizen.

Section 4.
The constitutional concept of freedom of speech applies to citizens of 
electronic communities.

Section 5.
All citizens of the electronic community of learners have ownership 
rights over their own intellectual works.

ARTICLE II: INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Just as certain rights are given to each citizen of the electronic 
community of learners, each citizen is held accountable for his or her 
actions.  The interplay of rights and responsibilities within each 
individual and within the community engenders the trust and intellectual 
freedom that form the heart of our society. This trust and freedom are 
grounded on each person's developing the skills necessary to be an active 
and contributing citizen of the electronic community. These skills 
include an awareness and knowledge about information technology and the 
uses of information and an understanding of the roles in the electronic 
community of learners.

Section 1.
It shall be each citizen's personal responsibility to actively pursue 
needed resources: to recognize when information is needed, and to be able 
to find, evaluate, and effectively use information.

Section 2.
It shall be each citizen's personal responsibility to recognize 
(attribute) and honor the intellectual property of others.

Section 3.
Since the electronic community of learners is based upon the integrity 
and authenticity of information, it shall be each citizen's personal 
responsibility to be aware of the potential for and possible effects of 
manipulating electronic information: to
understand the fungible nature of electronic information; and to verify 
the integrity and authenticity, and assure the security of information 
that he or she compiles or uses.

Section 4.
Each citizen, as a member of the electronic community of learners, is 
responsible to all other citizens in that community: to respect and value 
the rights of privacy for all; to recognize and respect the diversity of 
the population and opinion in the community; to behave ethically; and to 
comply with legal restrictions regarding the use of information resources.

Section 5.
Each citizen, as a member of the electronic community of learners, is 
responsible to the community as a whole to understand what information 
technology resources are available, to recognize that the members of the 
community share them, and to refrain from acts that waste resources or 
prevent others from using them.

ARTICLE III: RIGHTS OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Educational institutions have legal standing similar to that of 
individuals.  Our society depends upon educational institutions to 
educate our citizens and advance the development of knowledge.  However, 
in order to survive, educational institutions must attract financial and 
human resources.  Therefore, society must grant these institutions the 
rights to the electronic resources and information necessary to 
accomplish their goals.

Section 1.
The access of an educational institution to computing and information 
resources shall not be denied or removed without just cause.

Section 2.
Educational institutions in the electronic community of learners have 
ownership rights over the intellectual works they create.

Section 3.
Each educational institution has the authority to allocate resources in 
accordance with its unique institutional mission.

ARTICLE IV: INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Just as certain rights are assured to educational institutions in the 
electronic community of learners, so too each is held accountable for the 
appropriate exercise of those rights to foster the values of society and 
to carry out each institution's mission.  This interplay of rights and 
responsibilities within the community fosters the creation and 
maintenance of an environment wherein trust and intellectual freedom are 
the foundation for individual and institutional growth and success.

Section 1.
The institutional members of the electronic community of learners have a 
responsibility to provide all members of their community with legally 
acquired computer resources (hardware, software, networks, data bases, 
etc.) in all instances where access to or use of the resources is an 
integral part of active participation in the electronic community of 
learners.

Section 2.
Institutions have a responsibility to develop, implement, and maintain 
security procedures to insure the integrity of individual and 
institutional files.

Section 3.
The institution shall treat electronically stored information as 
confidential.  The institution shall treat all personal files as 
confidential, examining or disclosing the contents only when authorized 
by the owner of the information, approved by the appropriate 
institutional official, or required by local, state or federal law.

Section 4.
Institutions in the electronic community of learners shall train and 
support faculty, staff, and students to effectively use information 
technology.  Training includes skills to use the resources, to be aware 
of the existence of data repositories and techniques for using them, and 
to understand the ethical and legal uses of the resources.
(August 1993.  Used by permission)