Revised: 10/11/2012
University
Web Sites UPPS
No. 04.01.06
Issue
No. 3
Effective
Date: 05/11/2011
Review: April 1 EY
01.
POLICY
STATEMENTS
01.01 With
respect to Texas law, The Texas State University System (TSUS) Regents’ Rules,
and the policies of Texas State University-San Marcos, all hardware, software,
network, and data components of university Web sites qualify as information
resources owned by Texas State University-San Marcos and the State of Texas.
01.02 Texas
State Web sites may not be used by profit-oriented third parties, or for solicitation,
advertising, or other commercial purposes to the benefit of third parties,
except as provided under the terms of the following regulations:
a.
Section 39.02(a) of the Texas Penal
Code prohibits the
use of state property and resources for commercial purposes or personal gain.
b.
Chapter
VIII of TSUS Regents' Rules
restricts the use of Texas State facilities and equipment in solicitation,
advertising and other commercial activities.
c.
Texas
State UPPS No. 01.04.13, Policy Guidelines for the Use of Texas
State Equipment by Outside Entities, contains policy guidelines for the use of
Texas State equipment by outside entities, and requires written agreements
prior to such usage.
d.
Texas
State UPPS No. 04.01.07, Appropriate Use of Information
Resources, describes both permitted and prohibited uses of Texas State’s
information resources, including Web sites.
e.
Texas
State UPPS No. 04.01.01, Security of Texas State Information
Resources, details the security policies
applicable to Texas State information resources, including Web sites.
02.
SCOPE
AND APPLICABILITY
02.01 This
policy applies to all World Wide Web materials and services published on Web
sites bearing the Texas State domain name (.txstate.edu/) and hosted within the
Texas State’s Class B Internet Protocol address space.
02.02 Except
as specified elsewhere in this policy, the provisions of this policy are
generally applicable to all official Texas State Web sites. Specific classes of
Web sites are exempt from some provisions of this policy because of the unique
nature of their content. Such exemptions are noted in the descriptions of these
sites in Section 06. Web site owners with sufficient justification may pursue
exceptions or exemptions using the process outlined in Section 08.
03. KEY DEFINITIONS AND DESCRIPTIONS
03.01 The
definitions and descriptions of key terms and concepts used in this policy are
reflected in Attachment
I, Glossary.
03.02 Wherever
this policy incorporates a statute, standard, or rule by reference, any
definitions or descriptions provided within the referenced statute, standard,
or rule will prevail in the interpretation of that statute, standard, or rule
(see Sections 05.01 and 05.02 for examples).
04. CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM PROCEDURES
04.01 Texas
State has implemented a content management system known as GATO to assure that
the official Texas State home page and other official Texas State Web sites are
consistent in design, function, and navigation, and to achieve timely and
effective creation, modification, retrieval, expiration, and replacement of
official Texas State Web content. All academic and administrative units at
Texas State shall use GATO to publish and manage their official Web sites.
04.02 Content
owners who wish to move existing Web sites to GATO or create new Web sites in
GATO must first complete a GATO Information and Web Best Practices training
session. For details about these sessions and additional GATO training, see http://gato.its.txstate.edu.
04.03 Web
site URL’s are governed by UPPS No. 04.01.08, Texas State Internet Domain Name
Policy. Existing Web sites that migrate to GATO may retain their existing URL
or request a new URL in accordance with that policy. Likewise, new GATO Web sites will be assigned
URL’s consistent with the domain name policy.
04.04 GATO
Web sites shall utilize standard templates to achieve the desired degree of
consistency and usability across all Texas State sites. These templates ensure
that common page elements are identical in function and location on each page
of each site. Examples of common page elements include: primary navigation,
secondary navigation, branding bar, site name, page name, page content, parent
organization, etc. Content providers control what goes into these elements,
such as the text of the navigation items and page names, as well as the text
and graphics to be found in the page content area.
04.05 A
powerful University Events Calendaring System (UECS) has been implemented as a
tightly integrated complement to GATO and the official Texas State home page. Attachment
II, University Events Calendar System, outlines the policies, procedures,
and responsibilities that are specific to the usage and administration of the
UECS.
05. GENERAL
STANDARDS
05.01 Branding,
Graphics, and Design – Because Texas State’s Web sites are the university’s
“front door” for many potential and current constituents, it is critical that
these sites reflect consistency and cohesiveness in editorial and graphic
styles. All Texas State Web pages shall adhere to UPPS No. 01.04.11, Guidelines for Use of Texas State
Logo, System Statement, Board of Regents List, and Equal Opportunity Statement,
the official policy that defines the usage standards for Texas State’s logos,
taglines, and the system membership statement. All Texas State Web pages shall
also adhere to the Editorial and Graphic Style Guides and the related Branding Standards and Graphic
Identity Tool Kit,
published by the Office of University Marketing. These guides change from time
to time and are incorporated into this policy by reference. Content owners, developers,
and providers are strongly encouraged to become familiar with these guides and
to review them when contemplating substantive changes to their Web pages.
Professionally-designed
page templates have been provided to facilitate compliance with style guide
provisions (see also Section 04.04). Use of the templates assures a consistent
look and feel across all pages of the university Web site. Within the template
constraints, content developers retain control over header images, all images
within content areas, content layout, and, to a lesser degree, font size,
color, and style.
05.02 Accessibility – Access to information and
electronic technology for persons with disabilities is an essential component
of Texas State’s commitment to provide a barrier-free learning environment. To
that end, all Texas State Web sites and the services provided via those Web
sites shall satisfy the standards for Web site accessibility recorded in the
following, which are incorporated into this policy by reference:
a. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act ;
b. Texas Administrative Code (TAC)
Chapter 206, Subchapter C;
and
c. Texas Administrative Code (TAC)
Chapter 213, Subchapter C.
05.03 Copyright
– Content providers must be able to justify a claim of “Fair Use” under U.S.
copyright law or obtain written authorization from the copyright holders for
any copyrighted material used, made available, or shared via their Web sites.
Written authorizations must clearly specify any applicable access or usage
restrictions and clearly authorize inclusion of the material on a Texas State
Web site.
Limited
guidance regarding Fair Use is available in the following university policies
and publications:
a. UPPS No. 01.04.20, Copyright Guidelines for Musical
Performances on Campus
b.
UPPS No. 01.04.21, Copyright Guidelines for the Texas
State Albert B. Alkek Library
c.
UPPS No. 01.04.22, Copyright Guidelines for Course
Materials and Research
d.
UPPS No. 01.04.23, Copyright Guidelines for Showing
Movies on Campus
e.
UPPS No. 01.04.24, Policy on Copyrighted Computer
Software
f.
Digital
Copyright P2P, and File Sharing
Content
providers shall seek the counsel of the TSUS Office of the General Counsel
prior to using material under a Fair Use justification of uncertain validity.
06. STANDARDS
FOR SPECIFIC CLASSES OF WEB SITES
06.01 The
Official Texas State Home Page – The official Texas State home page is the
university’s highest level Internet presence and is the page that displays when
the URL is www.txstate.edu.
The university home page is owned, published, and managed by the office of
University Marketing.
The
official Texas State home page shall be published and managed within the GATO
content management system and adhere to all the general standards found in
Section 05 of this policy. In addition and in accordance with federal, state,
and TSUS laws and rules, the official Texas State home page shall contain
direct links to the specific information described below:
a.
The
Voluntary System of Accountability (College
Portrait)
b.
The Texas State University System home page, using the following
statement as a hyperlink: Texas State University-San Marcos is a
member of The Texas State University System
c.
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
d.
Data published as required by the Student Right-to-Know and Campus
Security Act
e.
Texas State’s Privacy Statement
f.
Procedures for Reporting Copyright Infringement
g.
Rights of the Public under the Texas Open Records Act/Public
Information Act
h.
Texas State’s Drinking Water Quality Report
i.
Texas State University System Compliance and Ethics Line
j.
Compact with Texans
k.
TexasOnline, the official State of
Texas portal
l.
Texas Records and Information Locator (TRAIL), a state Web site
search engine
m.
Online Institutional Résumé
n.
Texas Homeland Security
o.
State Auditor’s Fraud Hotline
p.
The university’s Office of Disability Services
q.
Official Texas State Disability Services Policy
r.
Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities
s.
Emergency Preparedness
t.
Statewide Accessibility Standards
u.
Other
information of a temporary nature that may be required from time to time (e.
g., 5% Budget Reduction Plan)
*v. Title IX
06.02 Official
College Sites – All Texas State colleges shall publish and manage their official
Texas State Web sites within the GATO content management system and adhere to
all the general standards found in Section 05 of this policy. Each official
college Web site shall include all of the following:
a.
contact
information with e-mail, telephone, fax, and mailing address;
b.
a
brief narrative describing the college;
c.
a
list of college-level personnel with their contact information; and
d.
a list of the college’s schools,
departments, and centers with links to their Web sites.
06.03 Official
Sites of other Academic Units – All academic departments, schools, centers,
and similar academic units shall publish and manage their official Texas State
Web sites within the GATO content management system and adhere to all the
general standards found in Section 05 of this policy. Each academic unit’s Web
site shall include all of the following:
a.
contact
information with e-mail, telephone, fax, and mailing address;
b.
a
brief narrative describing the unit;
c.
a
list of the unit’s faculty, staff, and other personnel with their contact
information; and
d.
a list of the unit’s programs with
links to their Web sites or descriptions.
06.04 Official Division Sites – All Texas
State divisions shall publish and manage their official Texas State Web sites
within the GATO content management system and adhere to all the general
standards found in Section 05 of this policy. Each division Web site shall
include all of the following:
a.
contact
information with e-mail, telephone, fax, and mailing address;
b.
a
brief narrative describing the division;
c.
a
list of division-level personnel with their contact information; and
d.
a list of the division’s departments
and offices with links to their Web sites.
06.05 Official Sites of other Administrative
Units – All Texas State administrative departments, offices, and similar
administrative units shall publish and manage their official Texas State Web
sites within the GATO content management system and adhere to all the general
standards found in Section 05 of this policy. Each administrative unit’s Web
site shall include all of the following:
a.
contact
information with e-mail, telephone, fax, and mailing address;
b.
a
brief narrative describing the unit;
c.
a
list of the unit’s personnel with their contact information; and
d.
a comprehensive description of the
services provided by the unit.
06.06 Instructional,
Research, and Service Sites of Faculty – Web pages that represent or embody
the academic freedom of faculty in fulfillment of their instructional,
research, and service responsibilities are exempt from the Editorial and Graphic Style Guides published by the Office of University
Marketing (See Section 05.01). Faculty are nonetheless encouraged to follow the
guides to the extent they add value in meeting their instructional, research,
or service objectives. All such sites shall respect Texas State’s trademark
rights relative to the use of its service marks (logos) and taglines. All such
sites shall also comply with the accessibility and copyright provisions of this
policy, Sections 05.02 and 05.03 respectively, unless an exception is granted
as described in Section 08. In keeping with the above described exemption, most
such sites are published and managed outside of the GATO content management
system.
06.07 Personal
Sites – Texas State recognizes that personal publication on the Internet
may contribute to the achievement of the Texas State’s teaching, research, and
service mission. Thus, Texas State provides students, faculty, and staff with a
limited amount of Web space with which to develop their own personal Web sites.
Personal
Web sites are generally associated with the individual owner’s Texas State NetID. The site owner, as determined by the associated NetID, is solely responsible for the site’s content,
including all views and opinions expressed on the site and the content’s
accuracy, timeliness, and appropriateness.
Personal
Web sites that are hosted on Texas State-owned servers and supported by the
Texas State network must adhere to the provisions of UPPS No. 04.01.07, Appropriate Use of Information
Resources, and must comply with the copyright provisions found in Section 05.03
of this policy. With the exception of the faculty sites described in Section
06.06, personal Web sites are encouraged, but not required, to satisfy the
accessibility provisions in Section 05.02 of this policy.
Visitors
to Texas State Web sites must be able to clearly distinguish between official
Texas State content and the content found in personal Web sites. Personal Web
sites may not use the branding, graphics, and design constructs described in
Section 05.01 of this policy, or any facsimile thereof, without prior
authorization from the office of University Marketing. Similarly, personal Web
sites shall not be published or managed within GATO. Owners of personal Web
sites shall prominently display the following disclaimer on the site home page:
Disclaimer
The
views and opinions expressed on this site are strictly those of <site owner
name> and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Regents of
The Texas State University System, Texas State University-San Marcos, any Texas
State college, department, school, program, or recognized Texas State
organization. Comments on the contents of this site should be directed to
<site owner name> at <site owner e-mail address, telephone number, or
other point of contact>.
06.08 Organization
Sites – Chartered student organizations are permitted, but not required, to
use GATO to publish and manage their official Texas State sites. If using GATO,
chartered student organizations are required to follow the branding, graphics,
and design constructs described in Section 05.01. Because of their volatile and
often transitory nature, unchartered student organizations are prohibited from
using the GATO content management system. All student organizations that host
Texas State Web sites within the scope of this policy shall comply with the
accessibility and copyright provisions described in Sections 05.02 and 05.03,
respectively, and with the provisions of UPPS No. 04.01.07, Appropriate Use of Information
Resources.
Recognized
organizations comprised of Texas State faculty, staff, and community members
with direct ties to Texas State (e.g., Faculty Senate, Staff Council, Friends
of Fine Arts and Communication, Family Association, etc.) are encouraged to use
GATO to manage and publish their official Texas State Web sites and to follow
all of the general standards found in Section 05. of this
policy.
06.09 Commercial
Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Systems (e. g., SAP, Millennium, etc.) − Web
applications and services procured from third parties shall comply with this
policy’s accessibility and copyright provisions, Sections 05.02 and 05.03,
respectively. To the extent feasible, portal, login, and entry pages for such
systems should be modified to comply with the Branding, Graphics, and Design
(BGD) standards described in Section 05.01. In most cases, however, it is not
cost-effective to apply the BGD standards to succeeding (lower level) pages of
COTS systems. The content of pages in COTS systems is managed and published
internal to the COTS system and not within the GATO content management system.
06.10 Open
Source and Internally-Developed Systems (e. g., CatsWeb,
Technology Resources’ Web Rapid Application Development, etc.) – Open
source and internally-developed applications shall adhere to all the general
standards found in Section 05 of this policy. Exceptions may be afforded under
the process described in Section 08. The content of the pages in open source
and internally-developed systems is generally managed and published internal to
the system itself and not within the GATO content management system.
06.11 Entities
Authorized to Operate under Different Service Marks and Branding – Some
Texas State entities have been authorized to operate under different service
marks and branding constructs because of grandfathering, gift restrictions,
grant fulfillment, or similar exemptions.
Examples include Athletics, the Alumni Association, and The Wittliff Collections. Exemptions must be authorized by the
office of University Marketing.
Such
sites are exempt from the Branding, Graphics, and Design standards described in
Section 05.01, but shall comply with this policy’s accessibility and copyright
provisions, Sections 05.02 and 05.03, respectively. The content of these sites
is generally managed and published outside of the GATO content management
system.
06.12 Sites
with Electronic Payment Capabilities – Unless otherwise exempted, a Texas
State organization wishing to accept electronic payments via its Web site must
first acquire authorization from Student Business Services. For security and
stability reasons, such payment acceptance applications are required to utilize
Texas State’s established payment gateways. See Section 05 of UPPS No. 03.01.05, University Income Recognition and
Associated Cash-Handling Procedures, for additional details.
06.13 Other
Sites – Any site that is not described by one of the above subsections of
Section 06. shall adhere to all the general standards
found in Section 05. of this policy unless granted an
exception through the process described in Section 08. of
this policy.
07. WEB SITE ADMINISTRATION PROCEDURES
07.01 The
office of University Marketing is responsible for the design, development and
application of branding, graphics, and design standards and templates to be
followed by all Texas State publications, including Web sites. University
Marketing owns, manages, and publishes the content of the official Texas State
home page. University Marketing reviews all GATO Web sites for compliance and
consistency with the referenced standards and provides assistance to
departments in designing Web sites that effectively deliver content while
appropriately reflecting the Texas State brand.
07.02 The
Educational Technology Center is responsible for the technical design,
development, maintenance, and operation of the official Texas State Web site,
the university’s Web content management system known as GATO, and the
University Events Calendar System.
07.03 Technology
Resources is responsible for the server and network infrastructure that
supports the official university Web site, the GATO content management system,
and the University Events Calendar System.
07.04 Web
site owners are responsible for managing the content of their Web sites,
including legal and ethical assimilation of content materials; Web-compatible
and brand-conscious presentation of those materials; and compliance with all
the standards and provisions of this policy in developing and operating their
sites.
08. EXEMPTIONS
AND EXCEPTIONS
08.01 Web
site owners who desire an exemption or exception from a provision of this
policy shall make the request in writing to the director of University
Marketing. The written request must specify the provisions to be waived and
demonstrate a compelling need or unique circumstance that clearly justifies a
waiver. The director of University Marketing will evaluate the request and
advise the requesting owner of the decision.
08.02 If
the Web site owner disagrees with the exemption decision, the Web site owner
may appeal to the vice president to whom he or she reports. The vice president
reviews the exemption request with the associate vice president for Enrollment
Management and Marketing who will make the final decision.
08.03 Unless
otherwise specified herein, the director of University Marketing may grant
exemptions and exceptions solely to provisions of this policy and may not grant
any exemption or waiver to any otherwise applicable policy or rule referenced
by this policy. For example, the director of University Marketing is not
empowered to grant exceptions to or exemptions from the Texas State domain name
policy referenced in Section 04.03.
09. REVIEWERS
OF THIS UPPS
*09.01 Reviewers of this UPPS include the following:
Position Date
Director,
University Marketing April
1 EY
Director, Educational Technology April 1 EY
Center
Associate Vice President for April 1 EY
Enrollment Management and
Marketing
Associate Vice President for April 1 EY
Instructional Technologies Support
10. CERTIFICATION STATEMENT
This
UPPS has been approved by the following individuals in their official
capacities and represents Texas State policy and procedure from the date of
this document until superseded.
Director,
University Marketing; senior reviewer of this UPPS
Associate Vice President for
Enrollment Management and Marketing
Provost
and Vice President for Academic Affairs
President