4.192 University Advancement and Student Affairs: Midwestern State University

4.192 University Advancement and Student Affairs
MSU WEBSITE POLICY
Date Adopted/Most Recent Revision: 11/9/02

Introduction
1. Midwestern State University (MSU) recognizes the value and potential for faculty, students, and staff to publish on the World Wide Web (WWW), and this mode of communication has become an increasingly attractive channel for information dissemination. The purpose of this document is to provide user guidelines to help ensure a high quality website in terms of content, organization, and presentation. All pages other than ones considered personal or working (i.e., class notes, syllabi, research projects, etc., later referred to as “freezone”) must adhere to the minimum page design/content standards (see below) in order to be registered and linked to the university’s website. The standards will help provide visual consistency and institutional identification on pages intended for external audiences.
2. Comments on all publications on Midwestern State University web policies and procedures should be directed to Webmaster at webmaster@mwsu.edu.
Definitions
The following terms appear throughout this document and are therefore defined below for the purpose of a common understanding.
1. The Main Site. Pages that are linked directly from the MSU homepage and the departmental/office pages linked directly below are considered “main Site” pages. These pages utilize a consistent header/footer/menu system that is maintained by the Webmaster’s office.
2. The Freezone. Pages that are personal or class related and do not require a design that is controlled by the Webmaster’s office (i.e., class notes, syllabi, research projects, student projects, etc.).
3. Breadcrumb Navigation. A hyperlink format that gives the website visitor a path that represents their current location in the website and allows them to jump directly to any level above. EXAMPLE: Home>>Academic>>Liberal Arts>>English.
4. Sitemasters. Sitemasters serve as liaison between university units and the Webmaster. Sitemasters shall be designated by unit heads who will inform the Webmaster of those appointments. The sitemaster responsibilities include the following:
  1. Ensure that all pages are maintained in accordance with the technical and design requirements established in this policy as well as local, state, and federal laws.
  2. Ensure that content is grammatically correct, clear, current, and linked properly to other pages.
  3. Report web-related problems to the Webmaster’s office.
  4. ADA Compliance. In compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, all electronic publications, to the extent feasible, must be accessible to people with disabilities. If it is not feasible, alternative methods must be made available to complete the same tasks.
  5. Design Guidelines. The following recommendations are provided to assist in creating pages that are not only functional but also reflect positively on the image of the university.
Common Guidelines for Freezone and Main Site Pages.
1. All pages must comply with appropriate university policy, and applicable, local, state and federal laws.
2. Maintain accuracy and keep information current
3. Design to accommodate the needs of clients.
  1. Consider the range of browsers used by audience
  2. Keep page size manageable; consider graphic file size when designing pages.
  3. provide (e-mail links) for comments and/or Webmaster.
4. Keep in mind that documents in proprietary formats (such as Word, for example) to be downloaded may not be readable if the user does not have the software or has an older version of the software used to create the document. The Webmaster’s office will assist in converting non-proprietary files to a generally accessible format such as PDF or RTF.
5. Duplication. To facilitate revisions and prevent contradictory information from appearing, unit sitemasters should like to needed information already on the university web rather than duplicating the information on individual sites.
6. Broken or dead links occur as pages are modified, moved, or deleted over time. If pages are maintained according to this policy, there should be no links on pages that produce error messages or otherwise do not work. Sitemasters should check frequently for broken or dead links on site pages.
7. "Under Construction” messages or image signs may not be used.
8. Index designation. Every directory (folder) that contains web pages on the web server must include a file named “index.asp”. Exceptions to this rule are images directories, PDF directories or other media directors deemed appropriate by the Webmaster.
9. University visual identify guidelines apply to electronic publications just as to printed publications.
Main Site Pages. When working in pages that are deemed “Main site” pages, the following guidelines apply.
1. Minimum page requirements include the name and e-mail address of the sitemaster responsible for the page. Each page should include a link to the next higher-level page. Each sitemaster is responsible not only for maintaining the page but also for ensuring information is of the highest editorial standards (spelling and grammar).
2. Main site pages are created using a template that ensures Midwestern State University and department affiliation in information are provided through the use of standard footer and header files.
3. Organize effectively by presenting information using standard template menus that are created by the Webmaster. These menus allow users to find information (contacts, links, forms, etc.) in the same location from page to page while navigating the MSU website.
4. By using the Main Site header and footer templates, all pages in the main website indicated department/office name and include breadcrumb navigation that allows the visitors the ability to return to higher levels within the site, e.g., Midwestern State University homepage and/or department/office home page.
5. Explicit links are provided through the header and footer on each page back to the homepage for that document or collection which must in turn include an explicit link back to the sponsoring department or office. The header and footer also provide links to the department or office homepage and the Midwestern State University homepage. Documents should be designed to minimize users’ reliance on navigational aids in browsers.
Freezone Pages. The Freezone area allows the faculty/staff a more unique and creative environment for presenting information to the public. When working in pages that are deemed “Freezone” pages, the following guidelines apply.
1. Freezone pages do not require a templated look and are not required to display headers and footers designed and maintained by the Webmaster.
2. While it is always suggested that pages be designed in a way that allows visitors to find information, the Webmaster does not hold any authority over the organization of pages developed by faculty and staff in the freezone area.
3. It is beneficial to use links that allow your visitor to return to main department or office level web pages as well as the main MSU web page.
4. There are no required links on Freezone pages other than a suggested link to the MSU home page and/or MSU department pages associated with the author’s content.
5. The Webmaster’s office can provide templates and graphics to aid in page creation. Using images provided by the Webmaster’s office would help speed download time of pages.
Copyright, Trademark, and Privacy Statement. Contents of all publications on the Midwestern State University website must follow university standards regarding copyright as published in the Midwestern State University Policies and Procedures Manual, Policy 3.139.
Use of Copyrighted or Licensed Material.

Written permission must be obtained from the copyright holder and kept on file, whenever necessary, for the use of any and all copyrighted materials not belonging to Midwestern State University or to a faculty member utilizing his/her own material. Copyright permission may be necessary not only for text but in some instances also for photographs, graphics, audio, video, compiled statistics, graphs, or otherwise, as well as for mirrored web sites. However, copyrighted materials that are in the public domain or that may be used within “fair use” guidelines may be display as permitted. Appropriate copyright notices must be prominently displayed as necessary and access to such materials must be limited as required by the conditions of the license for use obtained from the copyright owner.
Individuals and units creating web pages must secure rights to all material copyrighted by others, including but not limited to text, images and sounds, before using such material in their web pages in compliance with university policies and guidelines. Photographs and images must not be scanned from Midwestern State University publications (or any other published material) for image. The university does not own the rights to all of the photographs or illustrations in the publications. (The university may have licensed a photograph only for use in a single publication or only for use within the United States.)

Commercial Endorsements on the Website and Freezone. Commercial activity on the Midwestern State University website must follow university standards as published in the Midwestern State University Policies and Procedures Manual, Policy 4.130.
Content. Certain laws and university policy prohibit the publication of certain categories of material, web pages (official, research/instruction, or professional) linked from the Midwestern State University site or stored on a server connected to the University network must comply with applicable laws and with University policies and regulations. The following must not be included in official, research/instruction, or professional web pages themselves, or in web pages accessed via direct links from official web pages.
Enforcement. The university reserves the right to remove from its servers or disconnect from its network any material or web pages that the university is either made aware of or becomes aware of being or potentially being in violation of university policies or of applicable laws. The Webmaster is responsible for protecting both the system and users from the abuses of these policies and laws. Pursuant to this duty, the Webmaster will contact the responsible part for the page or pages deemed in violation of this policy and discuss the necessary steps to be taken to correct such issues. In rare cases, the Webmaster may temporarily deactivate a web page. Decisions made on these occasions may be appealed to the University Website Advisory Committee. Any enforcement of polices will be made pursuant to appropriate administrative procedures applicable to the offending party.
Policies Relating to Freezone Pages. Web page contents relating to research and instruction, course management and personal data of residents in a university server are subject to all existing laws and university policies.
1. Responsibility.
  1. The research investigator or instructor or individual developing the web page, the program or college, should include the following disclaimer on their respective web pages:
    
    “The information provided in this web page is the sole responsibility of its author. As such Midwestern State University thereof is not responsible for its content.
  2. The Webmaster and sitemasters should add the following disclaimer to pages that present collections of links to research, instruction, professional and personal web pages:
    
    “Research, instruction, professional and personal web pages contain the personal expression of the individuals responsible for their implementation and maintenance. The contents of both the pages and the link identifiers include academic subjects, personal beliefs, images, discourses and sounds that some may find offensive. Neither the contents of those pages nor the links are supervised or monitored by Midwestern State University. If you feel you might be offended by the contents of these pages, you should not access them.”
2. Copyright. Web pages developed for Midwestern State University that contain copyrighted materials must contain an appropriate copyright notice similar to the following:
  
  Copyright XXXX(year), Dr. John Doe. All rights reserved.
3. Disclaimer: Syllabi should contain the following disclaimer (or similar language) on the web page:
  
  “The material in this syllabus was accurate at the time of publication but is subject to change.”
Security Statement. This site has security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information under the control of Midwestern State University.