NMEC Policies & Procedures

Policies & Procedures

1.    Direct–connect Internet access

1.1. Each member institution shall be provided with a high-speed, Internet connection to the consortium’s high-speed backbone.

1.2. Each member institution will be provided with a number of public, route-able IP addresses for their use in connecting to the Internet.

1.3. Each member institution shall be responsible for protecting its internal local area network (LAN) from intrusion via the Internet connection. The NMEC consortium does not block or filter any of the connections it provides to the Internet.

1.3.1.   Members are encouraged to provide their own firewall or proxy server and to utilize anti-virus software.

1.3.2.   Members may attach and maintain their own Web, Email, DNS, caching servers or other public accessible server, but may not re-sell the Internet connectivity or use their connection for e-commerce or other commercial activity.

1.4. Each member institution shall be responsible for complying with the Children Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and shall provide yearly verification of compliance when requested by the NMEC network administrator. This includes the provision of the act requiring content filtering of materials inappropriate to minors.

1.5. Each member shall limit the usage of the Internet connection for educational purposes and shall prohibit any access for commercial purposes.

1.6. Each member shall comply with all the rules and regulations of the Universal Service Fund Program (e-rate) including maintaining a current Technology Plan, providing a yearly Letter-of-Agency (LOA) to the NMEC network administrator when requested, and by providing Free Lunch Program data to the network administrator to verify need and establish USF program discount.

1.7. Members shall adhere to all policies and procedures established by the consortium’s Internet provider.

2.    Interactive Television (ITV) / Video Conferencing

2.1.  Room Usage –

2.1.1.   Each member institution will determine the guidelines for ITV room usage at there location.

2.1.2.    Each member institution shall submit their guidelines, including room rental and reservation procedures, to the NMEC network administrator.

2.2. Technical support fee structure for special ITV/conferencing events that require support by NMEC support staff will be charged as shown.

2.2.1.    Chart

Sponsoring Group

Room

Hourly Fee

Video conference

Hourly Fee**

NMEC sponsored meetings, programs, and continuing education opportunities open and promoted to the consortium

To be determined by each institution

No Fee

State and local government sponsored meetings, programs, and continuing education opportunities

Same as above

$25 /hour

Not-for-profit (501.c.3) organizations and non profit educational institutions

Same as above

$25 /hour

Other groups and individuals, with the approval of the participating institution’s Superintendent(s).

Same as above

$50 /hour

 

2.2.2.   Additional fees may be charged for technical support outside of normal business day.

2.2.3.   Normal business day is defined as Monday through Friday from 8AM to 5PM, excluding holidays.

2.2.3.1.       Rate shall be $30.00 per hour, per technician required.

2.3. ITV Schedule Changes and Cancellations – A minimum of one week’s notice shall be provided for any ITV event change or cancellation.                    

2.4.  Daily ITV Classes

2.4.1.   Required Instructor Certification – All Instructors must complete the NMEC provided ITV instructor training program and/or demonstrate competence in use of equipment and presentation to the satisfaction of the NMEC Network Administrator.

2.4.2.   Class schedules and student counts are required to be sent to the NMEC network administrator from each ITV Instructor within the first two weeks of each semester.

2.4.3.   A listing of classroom and technical contacts for each receiving site shall be provided to NMEC support personnel at the start of classes to facilitate service issue responses.

2.4.4.   Snow, vacation, and in-service days, etc. will be determined by the host district. If the host district is holding school, the course will be held. If the host district is not holding school, the course will not be held and will be made up at another time. The host school will be responsible for coordinating the schedule with the receiving schools(s).

2.4.5.   Fee structure for shared classes:

2.4.5.1.       The fee structure shall be set by the NMEC Administrative Board.

2.4.5.2.       The current fee structure is as follows;

2.4.5.2.1.   $325 per student per semester.

2.4.5.2.2.   Student may drop a class within two weeks of the start of the class without incurring the fee.

2.4.5.2.3.   Sending school district is responsible for collecting fees from the receiving school district(s) for each class presented

3.  Equipment

3.1. Network Equipment

3.1.1.   All network equipment provided by the NMEC consortium remains the property of NMEC. (See attachment #1 for listing of network equipment)

3.1.2.   NMEC will be responsible for costs incurred to maintain, replace, or upgrade network equipment

3.1.3.   Each NMEC member institution shall be responsible for insuring the NMEC equipment located in their facility against loss.

3.1.4.   Equipment Disposal – Any disposal of equipment shall meet the requirements established in the NMEC Bylaws and adhere to any other applicable statutes.

3.2. ITV Room Equipment                   

3.2.1.   ITV Rooms, and associated equipment, are the property of the member institution in which they are physically located.

3.2.2.   Each member institution is responsible for costs incurred to maintain, replace, or upgrade ITV room equipment. This will include outside contracted services, or the replacement of equipment or parts, if required.

4.    Reporting Problems

4.1. Each school year the member institution will supply NMEC Network Operations Center with an updated contact list containing the names and phone numbers of a primary and alternate contact responsible for maintaining the ITV room and the network equipment.

4.1.1.   The contacts will be responsible for reporting any problems with ITV room/network equipment, ITV events and network problems to the NMEC staff, not to services providers.

4.1.2.   In addition to the contact list, any certified ITV Instructor is eligible and encouraged to report any problems as they occur.

4.2. Each school district must designate a contact person that will be responsible for the school’s network security and who can respond to reports of scanning or other network issues that may originate from their network space.

5.    Contracts

5.1. All member institutions shall be responsible for their share of costs associated with any multi-year contracts entered into by the consortium during the institution’s term of membership in the consortium, for the duration of the contract.

5.2. The approval of the NMEC Administrative Board is required before entering into any multi-year contract