Most software requires acceptance of an End User License Agreement (EULA) at the time of installation. Per
Operating Policy and Procedure 72.09(2.b) and
Regents’ Rules Chapter 07.12, employees and students, as well as departments and units, do not have authority to sign a EULA or any agreement on behalf of Texas Tech. Software license procurements and all related contract documents are reviewed by the TTU Office of the CIO, Procurement Services, and the Office of General Counsel and are approved and signed through the Office of Procurement Services.
Many “Personal,” “Free,” “Consumer,” and “Trial” type of software packages forbid installation on organization-owned systems, including on systems owned by Texas Tech, without legitimately acquired and approved software license(s). In some cases, software packages are licensed at the Texas Tech University System level (i.e., Oracle, Ellucian) for software shared among Texas Tech System component institutions; other software packages are licensed at the institutional (TTU) level (i.e., Office 365, Blackboard, Adobe), and some software packages may be licensed by a department for a few systems or users.
TTU has been contacted in the last few years by several software vendors requesting an audit of appropriate use and licensing of their software on Texas Tech systems. Any software package, installed on a Texas Tech owned device, that is not properly licensed through the System, University, or your department is a violation of copyright laws and TTU policies, and must be removed immediately. Additionally, we ask that you review software installed on institutionally owned systems in your area/department and ensure that all software is properly licensed.
