Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
MS Teams Usage Policy
This guidance should be read in conjunction with the following polices and guidance:
For students
Please review the Student Regulations Webpage and read the following guidance:
- Student Conduct - Student Social Media Policy
- Student Conduct - Student Code of Discipline
- Data Protection - Leeds Beckett Data Protection Policy
- Data protection - Student Privacy Notice
Please review the Library Webpages and read the following guidance:
- Copyright Guidance
- Student IT Regulations
- Please refer to your Individual Course Handbooks, where additional guidance is provided.
For staff
Please review:
- Human Resources Guides and Support Webpage and read the Social Media Policy
- University Data Protection Policy
- University IT Security Policies
Please review the Library Webpages and read the following guidance:
For all MS Teams users
University MS Teams sites are provided for use in relation to University activity e.g. to support discussions, collaboration and communication relating to: academic study; engagement in University-led clubs, societies, enterprises, events and activities; and internal staff peer networks.
MS Teams sites are provided to include members selected from across our student and staff community. Guest access can be arranged for third parties working outside of the University. For further guidance please contact the Office 365 Programme team email: office365@leedsbeckett.ac.uk.
MS Teams is an Office 365 cloud service and therefore information contained within our University Teams sites is stored in Microsoft Data Centres. This meets UK and EU data protection and security standards.
Interaction is encouraged. Chat-based collaboration is a useful tool when there is regular interaction and works best when there are multiple voices represented within the dialogue. It is important that users recognise that this is a University provisioned service and therefore users must adhere to the guidance below or risk disciplinary action. Usage may therefore differ to the way you engage within external collaborative or social media sites designed for personal use.
- Be transparent
use your own name and photograph within your Office 365 profile. It is important that members are clear about who they are interacting with. - Be safe
MS Teams is designed to support professional networks, therefore, do not over disclose personal information and protect yourself against identity theft. - University space
MS Teams sites are created for use by designated groups, however, as these are University own sites they may be accessed and monitored by University staff members who are not visible members of your MS Team. An example of this may be the monitoring of particular key terms as part of activities undertaken by the University to safeguard our student and staff environment and provide an inclusive place to study and work. - Post to appropriate members
all MS Teams channels and discussions are visible to all members of the MS Team site. Private messaging is available to send direct messages to selected members. - Be professional
be polite, no haters, trolling or hijacking posts. Treat team members with respect. It is important that this is maintained throughout even in instances when opinions differ. Be clear and avoid using ambiguous language which may be open to misinterpretation. - Keep it relevant
make sure you clearly understand the purpose of your MS Teams site. Stay on topic and avoid sharing irrelevant content as this may frustrate other members. No spam. - Don’t lose your data
MS Teams provides a file storage location for files posted within conversations and channels. This provides a time limited repository and should not be used as a substitute for personal storage solutions such as OneDrive; staff and student P Drives or departmental files storage. The University and Microsoft cannot guarantee that we can retrieve data previously saved in this location after the MS Team site is closed. - Sharing images and videos
you should ensure that the sharing of images and videos does not breach image rights and copyrights. Seek permission from anyone included in personal photographs prior to sharing them. - Sharing confidential, personal and sensitive information
in most instances there is no need to share Confidential or Personal or Sensitive information (see our University Data Protection definitions) via MS Teams and this should be discouraged within the MS Teams site. Individuals Personal and Personal Sensitive information must not be requested or shared. Sharing your own data should only be done when there is a valid reason and done so at your own risk. See also our Be Safe guidance above. Where there is a need to share Confidential information this should be labelled as ‘Confidential’; appropriate permissions should have been sought from the data owner prior to sharing; the purpose of sharing the data should be transparent to the group and there should be a clear timeframe set to ensure that this data is removed as soon as it is no longer needed. The sharing of Confidential, Personal and Sensitive information increases the risk of data breaches and when breaches occur this may result in disciplinary action taken against the individual sharing the data (for students under our Student Code of Discipline) and action against the University by data protection regulators. - Sharing information outside of your MS Team site
information shared within your MS Teams site is for use by your site members only and should not be shared outside of the MS Teams site without appropriate permissions. No Confidential, Personal or Sensitive information should be shared outside of your MS Teams site or the University. - Inappropriate posts
the University reserves the right to remove inappropriate MS Teams sites or posts. This may include posts that damage the reputation of individuals or the University, include defamatory comments that cause distress to members of our University community, that contain obscene content or breach civil or criminal law. If you post inappropriately and later remove this post this may still be accessed by the University and used within disciplinary procedures as appropriate. Typically, a MS Teams site will have two nominated site owners who will monitor use and ensure inappropriate posts are removed. Such posts may lead to disciplinary action.
