CampusMoodle VLE Site Policy

CampusMoodle VLE Site Policy and Data Protection Statement

Introduction

Campus Moodle is the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) used at The Robert Gordon University. It is based on the Moodle 'Course Management System' (http://www.moodle.org), a free open source software package designed using sound pedagogical principles, to help educators create effective online learning communities. Moodle is distributed under the GNU General Public License.

Campus Moodle provides a range of features for the delivery, support, administration and participation in teaching and learning activities. The features include content delivery and collaboration between tutors and learners, such as:

• Content creation or upload;
• Discussion forums and chat rooms;
• Messaging tools;
• Assignments;
• Quizzes; and
• Monitoring of users' online activity.

The Campus Moodle VLE is integrated with the Robert Gordon University Student Records database to enable the creation of accounts for enrolled students and their allocation to the appropriate study areas. Other software and web services may also be linked to provide an integrated learning environment for staff and students. The Campus Moodle VLE is defined as the Robert Gordon University implementation of the Moodle course management system and all other linked software tools for the support and delivery of teaching, learning and research at Robert Gordon University. Hereafter it will be referred to as 'The Robert Gordon University VLE'.

Purpose of the Site Policy

The purpose of the CampusMoodle VLE Site Policy is to specify user responsibilities and to promote the appropriate use of the Robert Gordon University VLE for the protection of all members of the University community. The Site Policy applies both within and out with University premises.

Please note that users include:

• Students, including enrolled students, those who have access before enrolment and associate students;
• Students of partner institutions who are granted access;
• Ad hoc learners attending short courses at the University;
• Users external to RGU i.e. those who hold affiliate accounts such as external examiners, practice teachers and placement supervisor.

Site Policy

Registration

• All users must register to use the Robert Gordon University VLE.
• All registered users must agree to the Campus Moodle VLE Site Policy and any other applicable University policies, including the IT Security Policy and the JANET Acceptable Use Policy. All University IT policies are available at: https://www.rgu.ac.uk/policies. The JANET Acceptable Use Policy can be found here: https://community.jisc.ac.uk/library/acceptable-use-policy.

These Policies cover the whole period that the user is a member of the VLE community at Robert Gordon University.

Your Responsibilities

Users of the Robert Gordon University VLE must agree to:

1. Not use the Robert Gordon University VLE for anything else other than for the purposes of teaching, learning and research. However, incidental personal use, for example via the Moodle social forums, is acceptable.
2. Not use the Robert Gordon University VLE for personal commercial use, for example marketing.
3. Not use the Robert Gordon University VLE for uploading, storing, viewing or transmitting any material which is (or may be considered to be) defamatory, inflammatory, discriminatory, obscene or offensive.
4. Not upload private, confidential or sensitive material unless this is authorised
5. Not misrepresent the University or bring it into disrepute in any way through the use of the Robert Gordon University VLE.
6. Be responsible for moderating discussion forums which they may have created.
7. Always act in a professional manner. Be polite and courteous to others when using the Robert Gordon University VLE. The Robert Gordon University VLE is not to be used to libel, slander, or harass any other persons.
8. Not plagiarise in submitted postings or assignments.
9. Not breach the copyright of the University or any third party by copying from the Robert Gordon University VLE without authorisation. Copyright of the course materials and content of the Robert Gordon University VLE are owned or controlled by the University unless otherwise stated. Any copies of third party materials will be clearly labelled with warnings about any copyright restrictions.
10. Ensure that any copyright material reproduced and loaded onto Moodle conforms with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended) (clickable link: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/48/contents) or with any licence agreement held by the University, or has been made with the express permission of the rights holder. All reproductions must be fully acknowledged. Please click here for RGU Library’s Policies on Copyright: https://library.rgu.ac.uk/library-policies. Material not conforming to these requirements will be removed from Moodle.
11. Any piece of work submitted electronically may be submitted to Turnitin (3rd party software to check for originality) and added to the TurnitinUK database.

Your Responsibilities for VLE Security

Users of Robert Gordon University’s VLE must agree to the following:

1. You must take all reasonable precautions to safeguard your username and password
2. You must keep physical access to the Robert Gordon University VLE secure. For example, do not login to the Robert Gordon University VLE and then leave your computer unattended.
3. You must not attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the Robert Gordon University VLE.
4. You must not post material which contains viruses or other programs which may disrupt the University's systems.
5. Understand that Robert Gordon University will not take responsibility for any loss of information, which has been posted on the Robert Gordon University VLE, once users cease to be formally associated with the University.

Enforcement

Certain activities will be regarded very seriously by the University and are subject to severe penalties for users, including suspension of use of the Robert Gordon University VLE. For staff such activities will be treated as gross misconduct under the Disciplinary and Capability Policy (http://www.rgu.ac.uk/file/disciplinary-policy-and-procedure-pdf-240kb) and for students will be regarded as misconduct in the Academic Regulations (https://www3.rgu.ac.uk/about/schools-and-departments/administration-and-support/governance-and-academic-quality/quality-assurance-and-regulations/academic-regulations)

These activities include deliberate interruption to the use of the Robert Gordon University VLE; gaining or attempting to gain unauthorised access to any part of the Robert Gordon University VLE or information stored therein; unauthorised disclosure of personal data; wilful or reckless infringement of any intellectual property rights of the University or third parties; and the viewing, transmitting or storing any material which is (or may be considered to be) defamatory, inflammatory, discriminatory, obscene or offensive.

Data Protection Statement

Students

By applying to RGU, accepting an offer and enrolling, you enter into a contract with the University and agree that it can process your personal information for administrative and educational purposes. By extension, on registration on the VLE, you are giving your permission to the University to process your personal data via the Robert Gordon University VLE. This is for the purposes of teaching, learning and research.

The Robert Gordon University VLE is hosted in the UK at Robert Gordon University. However, some aspects will be hosted by third parties under University contract. The Robert Gordon University and contracted third parties will deal with your personal data in accordance with the principles set out in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as per the RGU Student Privacy Statement 2017/2018: http://www3.rgu.ac.uk/file/student-privacy-notice-260kb

Robert Gordon University VLE is integrated with the RGU student records database which holds personal data collected from you at the time of student registration. The personal data passed to the VLE is adequate, relevant and not excessive for the purposes of administration and education purposes.

Staff

How the University collects and uses your personal data to manage your employment relationship is set out in the Employee Privacy Notice: https://www3.rgu.ac.uk/file/employee-privacy-notice-pdf-75kb. The VLE holds your name and University email address. Personal information which you may enter into your VLE profile, including your photograph, is provided by yourself.

External Users

On registering with the Robert Gordon University VLE, the University will collect your name and personal or business email address. Personal information which you may enter into your VLE profile, including your photograph, is provided by yourself.

Usage of CampusMoodle user data

CampusMoodle user analytics (including tools such as Activity Completion tracking, CampusMoodle logs and reports) contain recorded data of a user’s activity while logged into CampusMoodle. The analytics data may contain information per user on date, time and duration of each login, and all activities undertaken including: activities, resources and links created, viewed, updated, deleted and all other changes. Only authorised users have access to user’s analytics data. These authorised users may include tutors, module coordinators, administrative staff, technical support and other authorised third party organisations.

CampusMoodle user analytics would mainly be used for monitoring student engagement, providing academic support, troubleshooting access issues and enhancing the online learning experience. Only summarised statistics (not including personal data) could be used for general reporting. The retention period of CampusMoodle data is 7 years.

Cookies

In order to use the Robert Gordon University VLE you must have 'cookies enabled' on your web browser. When you register with the Robert Gordon University VLE, you agree to allow certain information about you to be collected from the Robert Gordon University VLE.

We collect your information by cookies. Cookies are small file structures used by the Robert Gordon University VLE to 'request' information from the computer which you are using. This information is then returned to the Robert Gordon University VLE and stored. The types of information we collect may include usage statistics, for example when users last logged into the system, when they accessed certain activities, or when they uploaded their assignments.

We use this information to help improve the Robert Gordon University VLE services by ensuring that the material and content of the courses match with the users' requirement and also to make sure users are not having problems with access. The usage statistics are visible to the Robert Gordon University VLE administrators and may be visible to your course tutors and, where applicable, authorised users from your employer's organisation.

Who has access to your information?

• Only persons who are able to log onto the VLE have access to VLE information.
• Students in the same study areas as you and authorised persons, for example tutors, course administrators, external examiners and placement supervisors, have access, by being able to view your VLE profile, to your name, CampusMoodle email address, photograph and any discussion comments you make.
• Students are able to hide their VLE profile photograph from other students.
• Only the individual student and authorised persons will have access to assessment information.

For further information and help on data protection issues, please visit the Robert Gordon University: Data Protection web pages at https://www3.rgu.ac.uk/about/governance/information-governance/data-protection/data-protection/.

Disclaimer

Please note that the Robert Gordon University reserves the right to remove, vary or amend any of the content which appears on the Robert Gordon University VLE at any time and without prior notice.

Please also note that the Robert Gordon University VLE may contain links to other websites outside the University's control and that the University is not responsible for the content or accessibility of these sites.