Responsibilities Assumed by Guest Sponsor
Contractors and others having legitimate, professional affiliations with the university may be granted "guest" access to university information resources. To be granted "guest" access, an individual must be sponsored by a faculty or administrative and professional (A&P) employee of UTHealth or individuals who have been explicitly designated as sponsors for specific groups. Individuals who are not university employees or university students must be listed in the university directory service as "guests" if they are to have non-public access to any UTHealth information resource.
Sponsor Responsibilities Include:
- The sponsor asserts that the individual being proposed for "guest" status has a legitimate affiliation with the university and should be granted non-public access to one or more explicitly defined information resources.
- The actual approval for authenticated, non-public authorized access to any specific information resource is made by the owner of that resource and only to individuals listed in the directory service.
- Guest status MUST NOT be requested for individuals whose identity and associated attributes can be authenticated by Directory Service as a result of inter-realm trust agreements.
The business or purpose of UTHealth is defined by its mission, and information resources are to be used in support of those missions. UTHealth Handbook of Operating Procedures, Policy 180 - Acceptable Use of University Information Resources, requires that UTHealth resources be used only for state purposes. This restriction applies to all persons using such resources.
Legitimate affiliations may include but are not limited to:
- visiting students not officially registered in the Student Information System (SIS) but are participants in UTHealth approved student programs;
- individuals having contractual agreements with UTHealth;
- attending physicians in Graduate Medical Educational (GME) residency programs; and
- research collaborators having roles explicitly defined by a UTHealth principal investigator.
If a sponsor has any doubt that a candidate's affiliation with UTHealth is legitimate for the purpose of being granted "guest" status, the sponsor should consult with the UTHealth Office of Legal Affairs.
