ICC-T Testing

Houses, Operations Management Committee (OpsCom), and the Board of Directors (BoD) collaborate to designate our houses as either pet friendly or pet free. Some houses may implement stricter standards set by the members i.e no cats but dogs allowed. We encourage you to review House Constitutions (link) and discuss this with the House President when you’re touring the house. Service and Emotional Support Animals are not considered pet by law.

Anyone who does not yet have a contract for the house they are planning on bringing a pet into may request pet approval (link) from the house they are planning to move into before they sign a contract for that house. Pet approval granted in this way becomes active at the beginning of that member’s contract period. All active pet approvals expire at the end of the winter term. Members with pets who wish to sign contracts for terms after that time period must have their pets reapproved by the house.

Voting on pets will be conducted by secret written ballot. Ballots must be distributed to each member of the house with a set time to be turned in. Ballots that are not returned are considered abstentions. Abstentions are not counted in the vote. No pet may reside on ICC property without at least 85% house approval (Escher may opt for simple majority house approval. 85% suite approval is mandatory.)

Cost

$15 per pet, per month. These funds are utilized for maintenance costs of cleanup of the house.

Documentation

All dog owners must provide proof of renter’s insurance covering their dog.

All cats and dogs must be neutered or spayed with proof on file at the Membership Office.

All cats and dogs must be current in their vaccinations with proof on file at the Membership Office

Approval Process

• Step 1: make sure you select a house that is eligible for pets
• Step 2: request pet approval from the house (form)
• Step 3: house votes
• Step 4: you’re notified of result and contract is issued

The Americans with Disabilities Act defines a service animal (SA) as a guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to a person with a disability. SA’s perform some of the functions and tasks that the person with a disability cannot perform for themself. Given the tasks performed must be directly related to the individual’s disability, an emotional support animal (ESA) does not qualify as a SA.

We recognize that the emotional support and comfort provided by a pet allows one to deal with challenges that might otherwise compromise their quality of life. To legally be considered an emotional support animal (ESA), the pet needs to be prescribed by a licensed mental health professional to a person with a disabling mental illness. A therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist, for example, must decide that the presence of the animal is needed for the mental health of the patient.

The application process is a little different than pet approvals. We encourage folks to explore pet friendly houses as their top choices as this assists in reduction of allergens in our pet free houses. Please contact the Housing Department (or Ops?) to discuss the process and documentation needed to proceed.

Welcome to the newly developed s Guide.

Goal: to increase knowledge of member rights and ownership over complex systems while increasing appropriate and transparent access for all members.

Strategic objectives
O2: Utilize, improve, and document operational processes, policies, procedures and tools; create standards for effectiveness and the basis for knowledge management approach.
O5: Create an intentional Learning Organization in a manner consistent with the cooperative principles, focusing on building life skills, a strong community, and personal relationships.

Annual objective: Develop a plan to produce a knowledge management system that will capture and provide easy access to historical data and information (O2, O5)
Outcomes: To develop & create a KM plan that focuses on identifying WHAT to capture and how to retrieve and share the information across the organization.

This policy will serve as the container for both plans and provide organizational clarity, parameters, and best practices to maintain our cooperative legacy.

One of the first things to understand is what all of the different parts of our policy are and how they work together.

At the top we have our Article of Incorporation; these define our organization as far as the State of Michigan is concerned. Though we provided housing as early as 1932, it took a few years for our fellow co-opers to qualify as a legal non-profit organization. The Articles are ironclad and can only be changed in dire circumstances at the State Government level.

Next we have our Bylaws; these outline what membership means, who our corporate officers are, assigns duties of the Board of Directors and a host of other fun things. Changes are made infrequently through a referendum of the entire membership, typically done at the Winter Annual Meeting (WAM.)

After that we have what is actually referred to as the Standing Rules (SR’s.) Our Standing Rules (SR’s) are the main operational guidelines of the ICC. They are frequently updated as the needs of our membership change overtime. Proposals are routed through the Coordinating Committee and approved or rejected by the Board of Directors. They are divided into three sections: Membership & Board of Directors, Central Operations, and House Operations.

Policies vary throughout the ICC, though they are most commonly utilized on the Committee and Team level. These documents are created by the committee, team or administrative department and do not need formal Board Approval. Policies cover operational activities that further outline the directives from the Standing Rules. (insert example) 

The documents outlined above, provide guidance for the ICC as a whole.

In addition to these guiding documents, every co-op house outlines their own guidelines for community living. These House Constitutions (HC) tend to be geared more towards theming and operations of the house e.g vegetarian only meals, substance free, work hours, etc. HC’s are reviewed and edited by the membership of the co-op house through a house vote. Houses can provide stricter guidelines though they cannot override the SR’s. Where the house does not elaborate on a statement, the house is bound to follow the guidelines established herein. When in conflict, this source will prevail over house policies and rules.

ICC-T has exclusive ability to add, change, or delete content to the iCOPS policies and organizational charts. To maintain the integrity of the iCOPS, ICC-T is responsible for coordinating publication of the iCOPS and organizational charts in final form and for ongoing maintenance of the iCOPS (or website)

A. The development of new policy should include the following steps:

1. Assess the need for the policy and ensure the subject matter of the policy is broadly applicable to a large segment of the cooperative.
2. Assess any implications of the proposed policy, including cost and resource requirements.(example)
3. Make use of the subject matter experts and drafting experts to develop the policy. (example)
4. Consider and develop materials needed to both enable and inform the operation of the policy:
   1. enabling documents: procedures, forms, delegations of authority, business processes
   2. informing documents: guidelines, FAQ’s, templates
   3. develop a communications and implementation plan before final approval (look at this)
5. Where appropriate, provide co-op members relevant to the policy’s subject matter an opportunity to review and comment on policy before final approval.
   1. hierarchy of ideals?
      1. SP
      2. VP/Committee
      3. CoCo/Staff
      4. BoD
         1. Members
6. After final approval, the executive officer(s) or delegate(s) should send an electronic copy along with written approval from the appropriate executives or officers to policy@icc.coop. Once the electronic copy is received, ICC-T will update the iCOPs. The electronic copy and written approval are retained permanently.
7. It is the responsibility of the issuing office to make the cooperative community aware of new or changed policy. (ICC-T pathways available)

B. Policy Review/Change

The official charged with the responsibility for implementing and/or updating university policies in their area is the policy owner. At least every five years, it is the responsibility of the policy owner to review and update policies when necessary. Once a year, ICC-T will send a copy of the policies scheduled to be reviewed in that year to the policy owners. Each policy includes a “review date” and remains in effect even if the review date is past.

1. Major or substantive revisions to an existing policy must be treated the same as new policies, and will undergo the development and approval process described in Section A of this procedure.
2. If no changes are required when a policy is reviewed, the policy owner should send an email to  indicating no change to the policy.
3. The policy owners or ICC-T can make minor revisions that do not change the substance of a policy (e.g. changing links, references to other policies or documents, changing titles) without completing the formal approval process described in section A. Such changes should be sent to

C. Decommissioning an Existing Policy

Policy owners may decommission a policy when it is no longer applicable or is more effectively combined with another policy.

1. The policy owner should send a written request (or form) to remove the policy along with the written approval of the appropriate executive officers or delate to
2. Once the request for deletion has been received, ICC-T will review the deleted section for potential effects of the removed policy on internal controls and other iCOP policies. The decommissioned policy is then deleted from the iCOP. A copy of the written request and approval are retained permanently.

D. Organization Charts

Executive officers or their delegates are responsible for ensuring that organization charts for their area are reviewed annually and updated as necessary. Each fall, ICC-T coordinates and update of org charts. Once the appropriate executive officer or delegate reviews and approves edits to the charts, the updated charts are returned to ICC-T and new charts are posted to the iCOP website.

Acceptable Use of Organization Property

Use of the ICC’s computers and electronic communications technologies is for program and operational activities. These resources shall be used in an honest, ethical, and legal manner that conforms to applicable license agreements, contracts, and policies regarding their intended use.

Although incidental and occasional personal use of the ICC’s communications systems are permitted, users should not have an expectation of privacy in regards to centralized content and acknowledge that ICC-T or a Board approved body may review, edit, remove content and suspend/restrict a user to meet an organizational need. Unless directed by a court of law, active email accounts will not be subject to search and seizure (check this language.)

In addition, the information, ideas, concepts and knowledge described, documented or contained in the ICC’s electronic systems are the intellectual property of the ICC, unless an artist has signed a restrictive agreement. The copying or use of the ICC’s intellectual property for personal use or benefit during or after employment, membership, or other period of contract with the ICC is prohibited unless approved in advance by ICC-T, CoCo, or the Board of Directors. All hardware (laptops, computers, monitors, mice, keyboards, tablets, printers, telephones, fax machines, etc.) issued by the ICC is the property of the organization and should be treated as such. Users may not physically alter or attempt repairs on any hardware at any time. Users must report any problems with hardware to the Director of Member Services or Technology Coordinator. (DMS TC)

Password Security

Users are responsible for safeguarding their login passwords. Passwords may not be shared, printed, or stored online without the prior approval of the DMS or TC. Users should not leave their computers unattended without logging off. If a user suspects that the secrecy of their password has been compromised they should report this to the DMS immediately and initiate a password change request. Certain accounts will be reset yearly by ICC-T to ensure fluid operations during transition periods (ex: Interim Managers, Spring Turnover Officers)

Confidentiality (really edit)

All information about individuals, families or organizations served by Berkeley Student Cooperative is confidential. Unless mandated by law, a court order, or an administrative order, no information may be shared with any person or organization outside Berkeley Student Cooperative without the prior written approval of the individual, family or organization and the Executive Director.

E-Mail Communications (review)

The Organization may communicate with its members, donors, customers, alumni, vendors and clients via e-mail. E-mail is not a secure or private communications mechanism, nor should employees, officers, directors, or members treat it that way. Sensitive or confidential information should not be sent via e-mail over the Internet without password protection or encryption. Employees should exercise care in the use of e-mail and in the handling of e-mail attachments. If an email is from someone you do not know, or if you were not expecting an attachment, do not open it, delete it. The user should contact the Computer Systems Administrator if there are questions as to the validity of the message and attachment.

Anti-Virus Controls (mohammad)

The Organization maintains current anti-virus controls on its computer systems. This includes servers and personal computers. The system will automatically download and distribute virus signature updates to all systems. The anti-virus software is monitored by the Computer Systems Administrator. Regular file system scans of all systems are conducted automatically. Users are prohibited from disabling or altering the configuration of the anti-virus software. Users are also required to report any suspicious activity on their computers to the Computer Systems Administrator. This activity includes, but is not limited to: cursor or mouse moving on its own, hard drive thrashing without user input, uncharacteristically slow performance, a change in behavior of the system, etc.

Disposal of Computer Equipment (mohammed)

Berkeley Student Cooperative will take appropriate steps to make it impossible to retrieve any data from retired computer equipment. These steps will include but will not be limited to running “fileshredding” software on all electronic media, including computer hard drives, prior to disposing of computer equipment. This software should perform low-level formatting or use a “wipe” utility that follows the Department of Defense (DoD) standard 5220.22. The software overwrites all areas of the computer’s hard drive in a manner that makes it impossible for subsequent users to retrieve any of the data on the hard drive. This procedure shall be performed by Berkeley Student Cooperative’s Computer Systems Administrator. Use of Berkeley Student Cooperative’s electronic communication systems to copy, modify, or transmit documents, software, information or other materials protected by copyright, trademark, patent or trade secrecy laws, without obtaining prior written permission from the owner of such rights in such materials, is prohibited.

Download/Installation of Software (not really needed?)

The installation of new software on central level workstations without the prior approval of the Computer Systems Administrator is prohibited. If an employee, officer, director, or member desires to install any new programs, written permission should first be obtained. Software should not be downloaded onto central level workstations from the Internet. This is a common mechanism for the introduction of computer viruses. If Internet-based software is needed, the Computer Systems Administrator should be contacted to perform the download and testing of the application prior to installation.

Consequences

Persons​ ​found​ ​in​ ​violation​ ​of​ ​the​ ​guidelines​ ​above​ ​will​ ​be​ ​dealt​ ​with​ ​by​ ​the​ ​Co-op​ ​on​ ​a case-by-case​ ​basis.​ ​Pending​ ​severity,​ ​consequences​ ​can​ ​include,​ ​but​ ​are​ ​not​ ​limited​ ​to​ ​:​ ​a formal​ ​apology​ ​to​ ​all​ ​parties​ ​involved,​ ​loss​ ​of​ ​Internet​ ​privileges,​ ​or​ ​expulsion​ ​from​ ​the​ ​co-op system.

Liability

The ICC shall​ ​not​ ​be​ ​held​ ​responsible​ ​for​ ​the​ ​actions​ ​of​ ​an​ ​individual​ ​member or house community.

Responsible Use of Information Resources

Access​ ​to​ ​modem​ ​information​ ​technology​ ​and communication systems has​ ​become​ ​one​ ​of​ ​the​ ​many​ ​benefits​ ​of​ ​living​ ​within our cooperative​. ​The​ ​privilege​ ​of​ ​Internet​ ​access​, Domain accounts, and​ ​the​ ​ability​ ​to transport​ ​files​ ​among​ ​members​ ​is​ ​vital​ ​to​ ​carrying out our mission and vision. The continuing ability to use these resources is contingent upon their appropriate and responsible use.  Members of the community are expected to be good stewards of ICC information resources and data, and use them in a safe, responsible, ethical, and legal manner.

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to identify guidelines for the use of ICC technologies and communications systems. This policy establishes a minimum standard that must be upheld and enforced by users of the organization’s systems. The term “user” as used in these policies refers to employees (whether full-time, part-time or limited term), members, officers, directors, house-level managers, independent contractors, consultants, and any other user having authorized access to, and using any of, the ICC’s computers or electronic communications resources.

Scope

Computer and electronic communications resources include, but are not limited to, host computers, file servers, stand alone computers, laptops, tablets, printers, fax machines, phones, online services, email systems, bulletin board systems, and all software that is owned, licensed or operated at the central level. The policy is not intended to govern the use of house-level technology except with respect to the hardware managed by telecom (check with John)

User Responsibilities

We aspire to hold our organization to a high standard of digital citizenship for our members.  Members of the community agree to abide by the following norms of behavior with regard to technology use:

1. Comply with Applicable Laws, Regulations, and ICC Policies (iCops?)
   1. Comply with all federal, State of Michigan, and other applicable laws, regulations, contracts—including third party copyright, patents, trademarks, software license agreements, and ICC policies regarding electronic communications, protection of institutional data, and operation of information technology resources.
2. Respect the Intended Usage of Resources
   1. Use only those computing resources that they have been authorized to use, and use them only in the manner and to the extent authorized.(delete?)
   2. Do not interfere with the intended use or proper functioning of information technology resources, or gain or seek to gain unauthorized access to any resources.
   3. Do not circumvent or bypass security measures, requirements, or any standard protocols in place to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of ICC systems and networks.
   4. Do not use ICC resources, including email lists or listservs, to campaign for or against a ballot initiative or candidate running for office or to conduct a political campaign.
   5. Do not use information resources for personal commercial purposes or for personal financial or other gain
   6. Refrain from sending unsolicited mass communications unrelated to ICC business or activities.
   7. Refrain from creating the appearance that ICC is endorsing, affiliated with, or otherwise supporting any organization, product, service, candidate, or position.(discuss)
3. Respect the Shared Nature of Resources (review, tweak to ICC)
   1. While U-M makes every effort to accommodate the increased demands for anytime-anywhere IT resources, users should understand that these resources are finite and should:
      1. Use information technology resources in a manner that respects the integrity of the system or network and in a manner that is consistent with the primary missions of the university.
      2. Refrain from disproportionate uses that have the likelihood of consuming an unreasonable amount of resources, disrupting the intended use of these resources, or impinging on the access of others.
      3. thoughts: limited time and resources, may take time to respond
4. Respect the Rights and Privacy of Other Users (review, tweak to ICC)
   1. thoughts: quote open books, use 1, 4,
   2. U-M is committed to respecting the privacy of individuals and will safeguard information about individuals subject to limitations imposed by federal and state law and other provisions described in Privacy and the Need to Monitor and Access Records (SPG 601.11).  Members of the university community have a reasonable expectation of privacy in both their institutional roles and personal lives; in turn, they should:
      1. Respect the privacy of other community members, regardless of whether their accounts are securely protected.
      2. Respect the privacy of all individuals for whom the university maintains records.
      3. Refrain from invading the privacy of individuals or entities that are creators or authors of information resources.
      4. Not falsely assume another person’s or entity’s identity or role through deception or without proper authorization, or communicate or act under the name, email address, or any other forms of identification attached to a specific person, organization, or entity without proper authorization.
5. Safeguard the University’s Information Technology Resources
   1. The organization employs measures to protect the security and integrity of its information resources and networks but cannot solely prevent unauthorized access or compromised accounts.
   2. Users are responsible for following published security guidance to ensure that all their devices that access ICC resources are adequately protected.
   3. All users of ICC information technology resources must promptly report all information security incidents, as defined in Information Security Incident Reporting Policy (SPG 601.25).

What is a proposal?

A proposal is a formal document which requests that the BoD makes a change to its practice, procedures or standing rules. It might be something that a member thinks needs improvement, or perhaps a new idea, or something else that they think could improve co-op life. The member might consider floating the idea by their house, the appropriate committee, their board representative, and so forth to get lots of input. They and the committee then go to CoCo for further discussion and Board agenda planning

Background
Is the problem clearly identified?
Is the group who sees this as a problem (e.g., staff, members of a certain house, etc.) clearly identified? Do we understand why they see a problem?
Have you considered the view that no problem exists?
Is the history of the proposal clearly explained?
Have you considered what factual questions people might have and addressed them?
Are all unfamiliar terms defined?
Is the Background limited to facts, not opinions?
With this info, is the Board in a position to make an “informed decision”?
Be sure to review the proposals on the ICC database, https://goo.gl/aV24Ri, to get a better sense of the history of the issue.

Proposal
Has the proposal been discussed by the appropriate committee(s)?
Has the committee identified the problem, brainstormed possible solutions and arrived at this as the best option?
Is the proposal worded clearly and succinctly?
Is the proposal in Standing Rule form, if appropriate?

Considerations/Pros and Cons
Could someone totally unfamiliar with the issue understand why either side thinks what they do?
Are both the Pro and Con sides given equal weight?
Are all sides of the issue identified?
Is the view that no problem exists taken into account?
Are facts presented as facts and opinions presented as opinions?

Tips for better proposal-writing
Ask someone unfamiliar with the issue to edit the proposal for clarity.
Show your proposal to the appropriate staff persons and ask their opinion.
Make sure you’ve broken things into short, clear paragraphs.
Sleep on it. Read your proposal over again the next day.