EDUCAUSE and Cornell University Announce New Institute for Computer Policy and Law

For Release: Wednesday, October 30, 2002

Contact: Peter B. DeBlois Director, Communication Services EDUCAUSE pdeblois@educause.edu (303) 544-5665

EDUCAUSE, the association for information technology in higher education, and Cornell University have formed the EDUCAUSE/Cornell Institute for Computer Policy and Law (ICPL). At a time when colleges and universities are aligning their information technology policies with evolving legislation and cybersecurity initiatives, the Institute brings together the association's extensive policy initiatives, online resources, and professional development activities with Cornell's robust six-year-old Computer Policy and Law program.

The ICPL Web site http://www.educause.edu/icpl/ includes a library of nearly 750 institutional computing policies, gathered by the combined resources of the Cornell program and EDUCAUSE, that are searchable by topic, keyword, and type of institution. Additional policy related resources in the EDUCAUSE library are organized under such topics as acceptable use, copyright/intellectual property, data retention, e-mail, privacy, and security.

"Both Cornell and EDUCAUSE can accomplish more by working together than either of us could working alone," according to Polley Ann McClure, Cornell's vice president for information technologies. "Cornell created the Computer Policy and Law program [in 1996], and it has been recognized as an authoritative resource for information and perspective on issues of policy related to information technology."

The ICPL site also has information about the annual ICPL seminar at Cornell and the EDUCAUSE Policy and Law Constituency Group, an open subscription discussion group focusing on policy development, and appropriate institutional responses to legal issues. In addition, the site provides a list of recommended links on 14 current topics developed by the ICPL Advisory Committee, covering, among others, academic integrity and computer-assisted cheating, the USA/Patriot Act, the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act, spam, domain name issues, third-party liability, and cyberstalking.

"The range of IT policy and law issues that higher education must address has never been more complex," said EDUCAUSE vice president Mark Luker. "The partnership we are forming with this Institute will give focus to efforts on many fronts and a place where leaders and managers can share ideas and find exemplary practices." Leading edge thinking and effective solutions that come from work of the ICPL will be disseminated through workshops and seminars coordinated with the extensive series of EDUCAUSE national and regional conferences.

Additional resources on the EDUCAUSE Web site that support the ICPL include Constituent and Discussion Groups, Current IT Issues, Effective Practices and Solutions, the Information Resources Library, Policy Initiatives, and professional development opportunities.

Go to ICPL Home Page

About EDUCAUSE

EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. The current membership comprises more than 2,200 colleges, universities, and educational organizations, including 250 corporations, with 17,000 active members. Learn more about EDUCAUSE at www.educause.edu.