7.0143 Q: Telecommunication Policy (1/32)

Elaine Brennan (EDITORS@BROWNVM.BITNET)
Fri, 27 Aug 1993 15:36:24 EDT

Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 7, No. 0143. Friday, 27 Aug 1993.

Date: Thu, 26 Aug 93 06:35 AST
From: J_WARD@UPR1.UPR.CLU.EDU
Subject: Telecommunications Policy

The administration of the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez
Campus, has distributed, in draft form, a policy on
telecommunications. Because the implications are so broad and
deep, the College of Arts and Sciences has constituted a
committee to study the issues involved.

A particularly difficult point is the interpretation of a law
that forbids spending public funds for "prop"sitos personales,"
which may be translated as unofficial activities or personal
purposes. One administrative interpretation is that faculty
members may not make personal telephone calls (neither local nor
long distance) from their offices because the telephone company
bills the University for all long distance calls and for all
local calls in excess of a predetermined monthly or annual quota.

Some States must have similar laws governing public funds, but
has any come up with reasonable criteria for distinguishing
personal from official in the context of university faculty? Are
there guidelines for defining or delineating
unofficial/personal/professional/official?

Any objective and reasonable comments or suggestions that may
help us in our evaluation of the policy statement would be
appreciated. Obviously a reply directly to me would be more
appropriate than a reply to Humanist.

James H. Ward, Ph.D.
Faculty Committee on Telecommunications Policy
College of Arts and Sciences
University of Puerto Rico in
Mayaguez