Policies & Policy Handbooks

Medaille.edu Website Information Integrity Policy

Policy Manuals

The Medaille University Policy Manuals provide information to students, faculty, administrators, community members, and the public regarding: governance and administration; campus community policies; employment; faculty policies; and student life and residence policies. Questions pertaining to Volumes I, II, III, or V should be directed to Human Resources. Questions pertaining to Volume IV should be directed to Academic Affairs. Questions pertaining to Volume VII should be directed to Student Affairs. The Medaille University Policy Manuals are reviewed and updated as needed.

Volume I: Governance and Administration
Updated July 2022
History, Mission, Charter, Administration, Organizational Charts
   Appendix A: Board of Trustees Bylaws
     Appendix B: Organizational Charts
   Appendix C: Student Government Association Constitution
   Appendix D: Alumni Association Bylaws
     Appendix E: Staff Council Charter
   Appendix F: Campus Map

Volume II: Campus Community Policies
Updated September 2021
General Campus Information, Health Related Policies, Safety and Security Policies, Information Technology, Public Relations Policies, Code of Ethics Governing Research, Institutional Advancement Policies, Miscellaneous Policies, Office of Disability Services Policies and Procedures

Volume III: General Institutional Employment Policies
Updated March 2022
Personnel Records, Benefits, Wage and Payroll Policies
Appendix I: NY HERO ACT: Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Plan

Volume IV: Faculty Handbook
Updated July 2020
Volume IV: Faculty Handbook
Updated October 2018: Not currently approved by the Board of Trustees.

Volume V: Personnel Policies for Administrators and Hourly Personnel
Updated July 2021
Personnel Records, Wage and Payroll Policies

Volume VI: Selected Undergraduate Academic and Enrollment Policies
Academic Programs, Academic Policies, Core Curriculum, Academic Honors and Honor Societies, Registrar's Policies, Registration Procedures for Undergraduate Students, Academic Services, Advising Policies, Classroom Management Policies, and Admissions Policies
Effective July 2014, this volume has been removed; policies are reviewed and updated regularly in the University catalogs and the Admissions handbooks.

Volume VII: Student Code of Conduct
Updated July 2021
General Student Information, Student Services, Student Alcohol and Drug Policies and Programs, Peer Sexual Harassment, Residence Life, Student Code of Conduct and Judicial Procedures, Student Activities and Organizations, Student Government Association Constitution, Athletics

Medaille University Grievance Policies

Academic Grievance Procedure

A student wishing to resolve an academically-related grievance is required to follow the Academic Grievance Procedure. The procedure is as follows:

The student should contact the instructor directly and attempt to resolve the grievance.
If the grievance cannot be resolved between student and instructor, the student should contact the instructor’s Program Director/Department Chair. The grievance should be submitted to the Department Chair of the course in question.
If still not resolved, the student should contact the Academic Affairs Office.

**Note: All academic grievances must be made in writing. Academic Affairs reserves the right to meet with the involved parties. A student may appeal the Program Director/Department Chair’s decision to the Vice President for Academic Affairs. The decision of the Vice President for Academic Affairs (or his/her designee) is final for all academic matters.

Non-Academic Grievance Procedure

A student wishing to resolve a non-academic-related grievance is required to follow the Non-Academic Grievance Procedure. The procedure is as follows:

The student should contact the Institutional department in question directly and attempt to resolve the grievance.
If the grievance cannot be resolved between the student and the representative of the Institutional department, the student should contact the department’s Director/Supervisor. The grievance should be submitted to the department’s Director/Supervisor in question.
If still not resolved, the student should contact the Vice President of the department in question.

Laboratory Safety Policy

Medaille University Laboratory Safety Policy Manual
Safety Rules in Science Labs, Chemical Safety Rules, Biohazard Safety Rules, Live Animal Safety Rules, Pregnancy, Service Animals, and Other Medical Conditions

Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Policy

Following are the institution’s policies with respect to unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing.

The University Acceptable Use Policy states that the receipt of, possession of, or distribution of copyrighted material without the permission of the copyright holder is prohibited. You should also know that such acts are a violation of the laws of the United States (title 17, U.S. Code). Violators of copyright law could be subject to felony charges in state or federal court, and may also be sued by the copyright holder in civil court. Such civil suits could subject the violator to liability for infringement with damages up to $100,000 per work.

Current technology easily allows your personal computer to duplicate and distribute copyrighted video images, audio recordings and other digital materials. Unfortunately, this makes it easy for you to violate University policy and US copyright law. For this reason you should know the use of popular and freely distributed file sharing programs such as KaZaA, Gnutella (Morpheus, LimeWire, Gnucleus, Bearshare), Aimster, iMesh, and many other programs to download copyrighted music and video material, in almost every case, places you in violation of University policy and US law.

Most of these programs by default allow Internet users to copy files from your computer. Most programs don't alert you in advance or even ask your permission before turning your computer into an Internet file server. Some of these programs also install hidden components that allow file sharing to run in the background on your computer. As a result, whenever your computer is turned on, the file sharing application is also enabled, even if you don't open the application or actively use the program. This places you at great risk of violating University policy and copyright law by becoming an unlawful distributor of copyrighted material. For example, what you may believe to be a single one-time policy violation consisting of downloading a single track of music from a popular CD is actually an around-the-clock violation of University policy and copyright law because anytime your computer is turned on it is publicly announcing to the Internet (perhaps unknowingly to you) that the single music track you previously downloaded is now available on your computer for distribution via the Medaille University network.

You should know the IT staff does not monitor computer use on the University network to look for copyright violations; however, in the process of investigating network congestion or troubleshooting technical problems, they may become aware of policy violations. In such cases the computer center staff will report these violations.

You should also be acutely aware that law enforcement agencies, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and other copyright holders of digital media are actively monitoring the Internet for users who are actively distributing copyrighted material. The recording, film and software industries have recently become very aggressive in their active pursuit of copyright infringement. They have spent millions of dollars, and they have hired hi-tech firms to develop and maintain software which is able to search the Internet and identify unauthorized distribution of their protected titles. This active monitoring is specifically designed to search for distribution of materials using the most commonly used software packages including KaZaA, Gnutella (Morpheus, LimeWire, Gnucleus, Bearshare), Aimster, iMesh, as well as many others.

During a one year period, Medaille University received in excess of 50 formal complaints from legal authorities representing copyright holders stating that computers on the University network were involved in the unlawful distribution of copyrighted materials. The IT Department was able to confirm these reports, and each case was easily traced back to a student computer connected to the campus network, running one of the common file sharing programs. Many of the cases involved unsophisticated and first time use of these programs by first year students. It is clearly not safe to assume that even the most casual copyright policy violation will go undetected.

When a copyright holder or their agent contacts Medaille about an occurrence of copyright violation, the school is required to take action. If you are suspected of infringement, a representative of Medaille University will confront you about the matter. The University has outlined the consequences of copyright violation if you are found in violation of U.S. law and University policy.

Everyone must abide by copyright restrictions and University Acceptable Use Policies. By installing and running these common file sharing applications you are putting yourself at great risk, and unless you are technically sure your use of such programs is not a violation of University policy or the law, it is strongly encouraged that you avoid their use.

Please keep in mind that you are responsible for all uses of your computer, and that network use by a computer can be traced to its registered owner.

There are a variety of other University policies and resources pertaining to the use of IT resources. Other prohibitions may exist in local or departmental computing labs and facilities. You are responsible for adhering to these policies. Please check directly with local authorities about their policies.

Medaille University is committed to adhering to all requirements of the United States Copyright Law.

This policy is intended to serve as a guide so that copyrighted material can be legally used in all aspects of the Medaille University Mission. While this is not an attempt to completely analyze the entire code, it does outline aspects of the code that are most likely to impact the use of copyrighted material in a not-for-profit educational setting.

Copyright Law

The Copyright Law of the United States is codified in Title 17 of the U.S. Code. The obvious purpose of Copyright Law is to prevent unauthorized reproduction of original works of authorship, including works of art, drama, literature, music and other intellectual efforts. There are however, two commonly used provisions that permit the use of copyrighted material to be used in an educational setting.

Fair Use

Intellectual Property

Medaille University supports the scholarly activities of its faculty and students. In an effort to promote the University, as well as protect the work of scholars, the Intellectual Property Policy was developed.

Fair Use

Section 107

For reference, see § 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use

The provisions of Fair Use are contained within section 107 of the US Copyright Law. When certain conditions are met, Fair Use allows the use of copyrighted material to be reproduced by parties other than the copyright holder. Please consult Section 107, Title 17 of U.S. Code for the complete details of the Fair Use exemption, but in short, it allows for the reproduction of copyrighted materials to be used in criticism, teaching (including multiple copies), news reporting, scholarship and research.

Section 107 is very brief and does not outline a set of cut-and-dry rules. Instead it offers 4 guiding principles that should be considered when determining whether an item falls under the provisions of Fair Use:

the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
the nature of the copyrighted work;
amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
The code itself acknowledges that the determination of Fair Use can be challenging. It is important to note that there are no specific regulations that indicate the percentage of the original work that can be used for an item to fall within Fair Use. Instead, the previously stated guidelines must be examined in their entirety and the conclusion of Fair Use is determined based on those.

To assist you in making a determination of Fair Use, please consult this checklist from Columbia University.

Complete the checklist and print a copy for your records. In the event a Fair Use decision is challenged, this record of your rationale will serve as documentation of your efforts to adhere to the Federal Copyright Code. More information on Fair Use can be found on the United States Copyright Fair Use page.

Section 110 (1)

This section of the Copyright Act details the exemption of certain performances and displays as pertains to fair use in a classroom setting. The full text of Section 110 can be found at: For reference see, § 110: Limitations on exclusive rights: Exemption of certain performances and displays

Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, the following are not infringements of copyright:
(1) performance or display of a work by instructors or pupils in the course of face-to-face teaching activities of a nonprofit educational institution, in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction, unless, in the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, the performance, or the display of individual images, is given by means of a copy that was not lawfully made under this title, and that the person responsible for the performance knew or had reason to believe was not lawfully made.

Medaille.edu Website Information Integrity Policy

Medaille University webmasters uphold the expectation that any information submitted for addition or revision to medaille.edu, by a Medaille University faculty or staff member, be accurate and honest. Prior to submitting new or revised information for the website, faculty and staff members must confirm the request is approved by the governing body over which the information is held.

Medaille University Policies and Policy Handbooks: Copyright, File Sharing, Administration and Community Policies

Policies & Policy Handbooks