Telephone Services Policy

1.0 Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to define appropriate use of telephone services at Brown University.

2.0 Scope

This policy applies to all telephone services billed to Brown University accounts including traditional telephones, cellular phones, wireless-enabled Personal Digital Assistants, and pagers. It also applies to the use of voice mail, encompassing both the receipt of Voice Mail Broadcasts and those departments requesting such broadcasts. It does not apply to personal telephone devices.

3.0 Policy

3.1 Prohibited Calls

• 900 Type Calls - These calls are prohibited. If your department has a need to make such calls, contact the Telecommunications Office at 863-2007.
• Collect Calls - Receipt of these calls through the use of a University phone is prohibited.

Note regarding 900 numbers:
900 numbers differ from 800 or 888 numbers in that the caller pays a fee when dialing the former; 800 or 888 numbers are toll-free. See http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/tmarkg/nine.htm for more on 900 numbers.

3.2 Cellular Phone, Pager, and Wireless-enabled Personal Digital Assistant Use

Access and use of university-provided devices is a privilege that is granted in connection with an individual's duties to the University and are to be used for the conduct of University business and/or in furtherance of the educational mission of the University.

The use of University phones for occasional personal calls is allowed with the understanding that their primary use be for work purposes. For cell phones, the plan selected should be chosen based on work needs. Should personal calls require going beyond the plan selected, the cost of those calls will need to be reimbursed to the University. For more details regarding cell phones, see the Procedures for Cell Phone Services for specific information about reimbursement procedures.

For safety reasons, the use of a cellular telephone while operating a motor vehicle is illegal in some states and is discouraged even if features such as headsets or voice activation are in use.

Service for cellular phones, pagers, and wireless-enabled Personal Digital Assistants can be terminated by the University at a supervisor's discretion. Upon termination of employment with the University, all such services are terminated and any University owned or provided devices must be returned to the University.

3.3 Review of Phone Use

Departmental management is responsible for determining what telephone devices are needed to conduct University business (including but not limited to cell phones, wireless-enabled Personal Digital Assistants, and pagers) and what the appropriate service level and billing plan should be for these devices. The billing plan must be commensurate with the business needs of the department. Under no circumstances should personal use be a factor in the determination of the billing plan.

Departmental management is also responsible for regularly reviewing monthly telephone billing statements and for investigating unusual calling patterns, unexpected charges or unusual call volume. The Telecommunications Office (863-2007, Telecommunications@brown.edu) will provide consulting and advisory services upon request to assist in clarifying usage questions or in selecting optimal plans based on business needs.

3.4 Privacy in Telephone Services

The use of certain phones of the university may be monitored for quality control purposes. In such cases, callers will be notified that their call is being monitored for business purposes.

Cellular transmissions are not secure, so employees should use discretion in relaying confidential information via these devices.

3.5 Voice Mail Broadcasts

The Broadcast feature of Brown’s Voice Mail System is reserved for emergency notifications to all voice mail subscribers. On occasion, Voice Mail broadcasts can be used for general announcements affecting the entire University or large populations (faculty, staff and students). Approval from the appropriate authorizing administrator (3.51 below) is required before any announcement can be scheduled. A Voice Mail Broadcast Announcement can be activated only by the Telecommunications Office, but it may be recorded by the requesting department.

3.51 Approval

The table below indicates the Voice Mail groups, departments authorizing bulletin broadcasts, and names of the appropriate authorizing administrators.

3.52 Procedure

Contact Telecommunications in writing via e-mail (voicemail@brown.edu) with the text of the proposed announcement, the targeted group, and the schedule for sending the announcement (broadcast will be sent only once per request). Telecommunications will contact the requestor to review the announcement.

Telecommunications will print the e-mail request and will schedule, date and sign the request. The broadcast will be filed for future reference.

Note regarding receipt of voice mail broadcasts:
After the Broadcast Message has been sent, all voice mail users in the targeted group or groups will receive the message. A Broadcast will not activate the "message waiting" feature on the telephone set. A user's voice mailbox must contain another unheard message for the voice mail indicator to be triggered. The Broadcast Message will override any unheard messages in the mailbox. Users will then be prompted to either erase or save the Broadcast Message.

4.0 Related Documents

Computing Policy for Brown University (home) | Acceptable Use | Procedures for Cell Phone Services
Electronic Equipment Disposition Policy | Bulk Email Guidelines

Questions or comments to: ITPolicy@brown.edu

Interim Effective Date: August 30, 2004

Final Version Date: March 8, 2005