HEOA Copyright and P2P File Sharing Requirements

Peer-to-peer (P2P) or Torrent file sharing of copyright material is illegal. In accordance with the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, Providence College provides information on alternate acceptable means of acquiring media via the internet. Other legal sources of Online Content as compiled by Educause​.

This page outlines Providence college’s plan to comply with the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) relating to digital copyright infringement and P2P File Sharing by users of the institution’s network.

Technology-based Deterrents​

Providence College deploys bandwidth management technology at the campus network border.

Providence College blocks common P2P protocols and applications to manage the impact these potentially aggressive protocols have on the performance of the campus network.​

Community Education and Annual Notice

Providence College provides an annual notice to all students​.
Providence College provides information on use of technology resources in its Acceptable Use Policy.
Providence College provides training and educational awareness to all resident hall assistants during their training as a “train-the-trainer” initiative.
Providence College provides information and updates on HEOA P2P file sharing requirements on this web page as an informational resource.​

Procedures for Handling Unauthorized Distribution of Copyrighted Material

When DMCA violations are received, our Information Security Officer (ISO) handles the college’s initial response and is the officially registered point of contact for the DMCA.
Escalation of these incidents are handled by the Office of Student Conduct.​

Periodic Review of Plan and Assessment Criteria

The number and severity of alleged DMCA violations are reviewed annually by the Office of Information Security to determine if changes in discipline procedures or educational materials are needed.
Technical deterrents are reviewed annually by the Office of Information Security under the direction of the Information Security Officer to determine if the technical deterrents remain effective in complying with HEOA regulations. ​New technology that becomes available is reviewed periodically for deployment by the college’s Office of Information Security.