The Lexington Herald-Leader reports the proposal would prohibit people from using university technology for any political activity, while also banning people from posting on non-university social media accounts “or engaging in substantial personal communications” using university technology.
The draft does not define what is meant by "political."
According to the draft regulation, authorized users "do not have an expectation of privacy for the data and content of the University-owned computer and software assigned to them." It goes on to say the school may access the content or copy the content of such a computer at any time for any reason.
News of the proposal has prompted a wide variety of concerns, with Faculty Senator Nathan Vanderford calling the policy "drastic."
WUKY reached to UK for a response. In an email, UK spokesman Jay Blanton said existing HR policies already bar employees from using university resources for political activity. Likewise, he described other portions as a restatement of current IT policies, which establish that "university computers, email accounts, and all material on UK servers belong to the university." The new regulation is "not a dramatic departure from existing policy," according to the spokesman.
The regulation would not infringe on the academic freedom of any member of the UK community, Blanton added.
The policy remains in the feedback stage, which will end in early December.
The university is accepting feedback here.