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Policies and Initiatives

Policies and Initiatives

Last Reviewed Fall 2025.

Class Recording and EIT Accessibility Policies

Student access to Canvas courses is limited to between the date when a course is published and the end date. For all Law Center courses, the default end date will be set to the day prior to the start of the following semester. Faculty can choose to manually disable the option that restricts student access; this will allow students to access the course at any time, even after the end date has passed.

How courses will work with end dates Students:
  • After a term concludes, and a course’s end date has passed, courses in the affected term will no longer appear on the Canvas dashboard by default. Students will no longer be able to access course materials, submit assignments, or interact with students in that course.
  • Students should contact the faculty member who taught the course regarding access requests once the semester is over.
Faculty:
  • As long as faculty have access to Georgetown Canvas, they will be able to access their past courses and course materials.
  • Courses whose end date has passed will no longer appear on a faculty member’s dashboard; they can still be found under ‘All Courses.’
  • Faculty will not be able to add new users to courses after the end date or communicate with enrolled individuals through that Canvas course site.
  • Faculty can change access to courses and open a course up should they choose to do so by restoring course access. Note that faculty cannot restore access for a single user. Restoring access will open the course to all formerly enrolled individuals.
  • Faculty should contact caphelp@georgetown.edu(This link opens in a new tab) if they have questions about this policy or restoring student access to a course site.

Who May Borrow the Law Center’s Laptops?
All faculty members, including visiting faculty, may borrow the Law Center’s laptops for work-related purposes.

How to Reserve a Laptop Computer?
Laptop computers are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Laptop computers may be reserved by filling out the Student Loaner Laptop Request Form or the Faculty and Staff Loaner Laptop Request form. Please provide at least two (2) business days advance notice before the prospective pick-up date. You may pick-up and return the borrowed laptop from McDonough 152, Monday through Friday, during regular business hours.

How Long May One Borrow a Laptop Computer?
Users may borrow a laptop for a maximum of two weeks. Computers must be returned promptly or borrowing privileges may be revoked.

What Software is Available on the Laptop Computers?
All laptops come equipped with Microsoft Office, Microsoft Internet Explorer, and Mozilla Firefox.

Policy Statement and Reason: Printers represent one of the highest equipment expenditures at Georgetown Law Center. The goal of this policy is to facilitate the appropriate and responsible business use of Georgetown Law Center printer assets, as well as control printer cost of ownership by preventing the waste of paper, toner, ink, and so on.

Audience of Policy: This Printer Policy applies to all employees (Faculty/Staff/Admin) of Georgetown Law Center as well as any contract employees in the service of Georgetown Law Center who may be using Georgetown Law Center networks and equipment.

Policy Text:

  • Personal Printers, meaning those deployed to offices/cubicles and purchased by individuals or departments are not maintained nor replaced by the IST Department. Installation of personal printers is generally not condoned at Georgetown Law Center due to the cost of maintaining and supporting many dispersed machines. In certain circumstances, however, where confidentiality, remote location, the need to print a large number of low volume print jobs, or other unusual situation is at issue, personal printers may be allowed.
  • In the event that a personal printer is requested, the requestor will need to receive the approval for the purchase through their department head. Once the approval is received, the requester will need to submit a ticket with the IST Service Desk for the printer, with the corresponding worktags for cost center charge. IST will then purchase the printer, asset track it and then coordinate the deployment. IST will not maintain these personal printers; paper and ink supplies will be at the departments expense.
  • Supported Printers- Department and University wide, Xerox workstation printers are the deployed solution for individual and department wide shared printing resources. Xerox workstations are supported by UIS. Assistance with Xerox printers can be had by contacting:
  • There are a few legacy HP Printers (deployed prior to 2018) deployed throughout campus and those are supported by the IST Service Desk. For assistance with the HP Printers contact:

Policy Statement: The assignment of Smartphones is NOT an automatic provisioned item for new employees.

Reason for Policy: The purpose of this policy to create an authorized process for the assignment/provisioning and requesting of mobile phones at the Georgetown Law Center.

Audience of Policy: This policy is intended for all University faculty and staff who use University provided and owned mobile phones that will be provisioned/assigned and procured in accordance with this policy.

Policy Text:

  • The assignment/accounts provisioned for faculty and staff will be reviewed on a quarterly basis for accuracy and continued need. Department Heads that have approved University provided Smartphones will need to review on some quarterly basis their current approved and departmental assignments and provide IST with revisions/changes/etc.
  • To obtain a Smartphone device, one must complete the mobile device request form on SharePoint, which can be located: https://georgetownuniversity-kmzbf.formstack.com/forms/mobile_device_request_form
  • The request will be reviewed by the employee’s manager and the CIO and if approved, the IST department will then provision the Smartphone device per the approvals and criteria provided. Cost center information will also need to be provided, as each department is responsible for the initial device cost and subsequent monthly bills.
  • Georgetown Law Employee’s will be responsible for the physical Smartphone device. Should the device become inoperable due to system failure, or via no fault of the employee, IST will send the device for repair or replace the device with a unit that is equal or comparable.
  • Georgetown Law Employee’s will be responsible for the replacement/repair cost of the assigned Smartphone device in the event of loss/theft/or negligent damage (i.e. water damage, cracked screen, broken unit). When requesting a replacement or repair cost for a device, please contact your manager, who will work with the IST department in order to provide you with a cost for the replacement or repair of the damaged Smartphone. Replacement/repair costs are determined based on length of contract, model type, new devices available and the exact type of repair.
  • Smartphone devices are NOT automatically upgraded/replaced when new models are released. These are handled on a “case by case” basis and will require manager and IST approval via a SharePoint Request form. If a higher model is desired, the employee can request it if he/she covers the difference in cost via a check to the IST Office Manager located in McD 155. The phone will be the property of Georgetown Law at all times.
  • Smartphones can be purchased by the employee upon separation, the employee will need to pay the going value of the phone, as determined by Amazon via a check to the IST Office Manager located in McD155. The departing employee will be responsible for transferring service to their own account if they decided to buy the University Smartphone.

Policy Statement: All University-owned computers will be replaced/refreshed or upgraded on a set time frame by Information Systems Technology (IST) with newer computers to minimize service cost and improve productivity and security.

Reason for Policy: The purpose of this policy is to create an authorized process for replacement/refresh/upgrade of computers at the Georgetown Law School.

Scope of Policy: This policy covers all University-owned computers that were provided by IST at GeorgetownLaw.

Audience of Policy: This policy is intended for all University faculty and staff who use University-owned computers at the Law Center that will be periodically replaced/refreshed/upgraded in accordance with this policy.

Policy Text:

  • The IST computer refresh program replaces the following:
    • Desktops every five (5) years.
    • Laptops every five (5) years.

The University provides either (1) Laptop OR (1) All-In-One Desktop for Office use. All other devices that an employee might have obtained from alternate funding, will be retired at the end of their five-year cycle in order to keep insecure devices from our network as these machines are often out of support at that point.

  1. Departmental funding can be used to purchase additional devices
  2. FRA purchases are driven by the FRA policy.
  3. Laptops are offered to all hybrid positions.
  4. The IST department allocates funds for Tenured Faculty regarding computer refresh/on-boarding, this allocation is reviewed on a yearly basis and can be subject to change.
  • IST does not replace/upgrade/refresh/provide:
    • iPads and/or Tablets are NOT provided by the IST Department. These devices are purchased from the Department Cost-Center requesting the device.
    • Desktop or personal printers are NOT replaced or provided by IST. Users will be reallocated to department printers.
  • This replacement cycle provides our community with competitive technology, stronger security standards and enhanced support from the IST Help Desk. All UniversityFaculty and Staff members who have a university computer scheduled for replacement are contacted by IST prior to the replacement timeframe to start the replacement process. IST ensures that the hardware and operating systems for standard desktops and laptops will fulfill the majority of everyday computing needs.
  • Any non-standard computer must go through the Exception Process for approval. If University hardware standards do not meet a client’s needs, exception equipment may be purchased, subject to the approval of the Law Center CIO. (IST is optimized to support standard computers with standard software images. Selecting non-standard equipment may limit support and delay repairs.)
  • Computer replacements requested prior to scheduled replacement must be submitted as an exception request. Previously approved exception computers will have to go through the exception process for each replacement to validate that the new standard computers can utilize all the standard IST system images and installed/provided software tools. Exception requests that result in procuring cost that exceeds the regular standard replacement will incur budget allocation with the requesting department.
  • All University computers are loaded with a standard software suite, including a single operating system and software for core office functions. Any secondary operating systems and additional software outside of University-approved standard software will have to be paid for by the requester’s department. Upgrades and/or additions to the standard software suite are scheduled and carried out university-wide by IST. Clients will be notified prior to any scheduled maintenance of the standard software suite.Clients are responsible for ensuring that additional software they install is compatible with the standard suite. Contact IST prior to purchasing non-standard software to review your current software requirements and hardware capacity.
  • In the event of failure, asset owners must have IST certify that the equipment has failed and is no longer under warranty. Upon determination of failure, the Help Desk will initiate the process of replacing the failed equipment with equipment capable of providing comparable functionality. Any additional or different functional requirements must be communicated to the Help Desk at the time the failure replacement process is initiated. A loaner machine will be provided, if needed, during that time.
    • In the event of failure due to an external event/negligent use (i.e. dropped equipment, liquid spills, etc.),departments/individual user are responsible for the replacement cost of the equipment. Reasonable repairs will be covered by the IST parts/repair budget.
    • In the event of loss or theft, departments/individual users are responsible for the replacement cost of the equipment and should funnel claims through their budgets/personal insurance.

Policy Statement: All Technology purchases are managed by the IST department. This ensures proper tracking of the asset and adherence to University best practices. Reason for Policy: The purpose of this policy to create an authorized process for Technology purchases at the Georgetown Law Center. Scope of Policy: This policy covers all Technology purchases at the Law Center. Audience of Policy: This policy is intended for all University faculty and staff who purchase technology for their departments or staff. Policy Text: • All Technology Purchases at the Law Center are managed and driven by the Law Center IST department. • In an effort to enhance and streamline our services, we have created a request portal that contains multiple forms to expedite, track and centralize your request for the following items – there’s no need for a separate ticket when utilizing one of the following forms: o Adobe Software License o FRA (Faculty Research Account) Purchases o Hardware Requests o Smartphone Request o Zoom Studio Faculty Request o Law Center Software and Cloud Services Review/Approval Request • We have also worked with Financial Affairs to allow our community to purchase, without requiring IST approval, as per the IST approval matrix found here. • Whether you submit an expense reimbursement or whether you utilize the GMS punchouts for the products mentioned within the matrix, you will no longer be required to obtain IST support. • No Pro-Card technology purchases will be approved by finance for the items listed below. Please contact the Law Center IST department to initiate/make your technology purchase request for the below listed items

Computer Monitors o Printers o Laptops o Desktops o Software o Computer Docking Stations

  • You will need to provide your departmental work tags to IST when making the purchase request. • You will be responsible for reimbursement to the University if your technology purchase is made without IST approval through your Pro-Card. • All purchased assets are the property of the University and will be returned to IST upon your last day of work. • Assets are NOT to be transferred within the department without IST being involved in that transfer. • All technology requests need to be initiated with the IST Service Desk via the use of the forms provided in the request portal.

Policy Statement: To ensure a trackable, accountable and manageable process for the move/relocation of faculty and staff of University office spaces.

Reason for Policy: The purpose of this policy to create an authorized process for office moves at the Georgetown Law Center.

Scope of Policy: This policy covers all University Faculty and Staff, with designated office space as assigned by the University. Audience of Policy: This policy is intended for all University faculty and staff, regarding office moves; whether initiated by the individual of the University Facilities and Faculty Support Staff.

Policy Text:

  • Physical Office moves are managed by Faculty Support or Facilities.
  • IST does NOT move furniture or personal items.
  • IST does NOT coordinate the office move or the location where faculty or staff is being relocated to.
    • For Office moves being conducted where the faculty and/or staff is simply being relocated within Georgetown Law Center Campus, IST will do the following:
      • Unplug Computer and Computer Peripherals.
      • Unplug desk phone.
      • Move computer and computer peripherals to new location.
      • Move desk phone to new location.
      • Reconnect Computer and Computer Peripherals.
      • Reconnect desk phone.
      • Cable management request need to be done through Faculty Support.
      • Special Setups need to be coordinated and instructions provided prior to the installation during normal working hours.
      • Special circumstances to be discussed with IST and Faculty Support Management.
      • Technology Requests, outside of the standard office move, require a separate ticket to be entered and will be handled during a separate visit.
    • For Office moves being conducted where the faculty is no longer within the Georgetown Law Center (On Sabbatical or Visiting another University), IST will do the following:
      • Advise you with backing up your data to Box.
      • Advise you with the transferring of files.
      • Work with Faculty Support to recover the University Assets assigned to the departing Faculty.
    • Personal Items will need to be taken by the owner, this includes technology items. IST does not store personal technology equipment.
    • IST does not provide USB thumb drives or external Hard drives. If these items are required, they will need to be supplied by the Faculty member.

Policy Statement: When a new employee is on-boarded to Georgetown Law Center, the IST department will need a minimum of (3) three business days to provision the equipment. Please do note that custom orders will require additional time for provision.

Reason for Policy: The purpose of this policy to create an authorized process for the assignment/provisioning and requesting of New Employee Computers at the Georgetown Law Center.

Audience of Policy: This policy is intended for all University faculty and staff who will be assigned a University provided and owned computer device that will be provisioned/assigned and procured in accordance with this policy.

Policy Text:

  • All new University Faculty and Staff are provided the following from the IST Service Desk:Hardware
  • 1 Desk Phone with corresponding voicemail.
  • Hardware Allocations:
    • For Desktop Computer Setups:
      • (1) Desktop Computer (Windows)
      • (1) 24″ monitor,
      • (1) wired keyboard,
      • (1) wired mouse.
    • For Laptop Computer Setups*:
      • (1) Laptop Computer (Windows)
      • (1) 24″ monitor,
      • (1) wired keyboard,
      • (1) wired mouse.
      • *Laptop are provided to Staff, when staff member is designated for Business continuity or for members of the Senior Staff team.
    • Apple Laptops and iMac devices are provided to Faculty, if requested. Please reference the Computer Refresh Policy on the Law Center Website for the allocated amount.
    • Apple Laptops and iMac devices ARE NOT provided to Staff when requested. They will need to be purchased by the department.
  • IST will provide external speakers when requested.

Software

  • Current Windows Operating System Software Installed (Windows)
  • Current Apple Operating System Software Installed (Apple)
  • Current Microsoft Office Suite
  • Adobe Reader
  • Box Drive
  • Zoom
  • Any Connect VPN (laptops)
  • Firefox (Apple & Windows), Chrome (Apple & Windows), Safari (Apple), Microsoft Edge
  • Windows Defender (Anti Virus Windows)Any additional software packages will need to be purchased by the department/user through their departmental funds.IST Does NOT provide the following:
  • USB Thumb Drives- Please do note that the use of USB drives, while not forbidden, is discouraged upon based on the ease of virus and malware exposure. It is recommended that you use the University provided cloud-based solutions for information access and ease. Google Drive, Box and even your email are solutions for Cloud based anytime access.
  • External Hard Drives
  • Desk Phone Head Sets
  • Subwoofers
  • Wire Management
  • Computer Adapters