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Web Publishing Policy

Introduction

The University of Colorado at Boulder's presence on the World Wide Web is essential to its mission of teaching, research, creative work, and public service. Thus, the University's web policy seeks to establish standards and guidelines that will:

  • support the vision, mission, goals, and traditional academic values of the university;
  • assist web publishers in developing sites that comply with university policies, rules, and regulations, and local, State, and Federal laws; and
  • facilitate the official business of the University and appropriate online transactions.

This document applies to:

  • www.colorado.edu, the official web site of the University of Colorado at Boulder
  • web pages located on servers within the colorado.edu domain
  • university sites outside colorado.edu using approved CU trademarks in their domain names
  • web pages prepared for any organization or activity receiving university funds, or with funds maintained in the University of Colorado at Boulder financial system, excluding agency affiliates
  • faculty, staff, and student pages on servers connected to the Campus network.

It also describes policies that will assist web publishers outside the university in appropriate use of the university's resources.

Contents

Computer Use Policy

The policy Use of CU-Boulder's Computing and Network Resources governs all campus computing and networking activities, including use of the World Wide Web.

Use of University Name, Seal, and Marks

The university's name, its seal, the interlocking CU, the wordmark, and the athletic buffalo (Ralphie) are among the words and symbols that are trademarked by the university and protected by law. The CU Office of Licensing Programs regulates use of university trademarks, including use on web sites.

The Office of Licensing Programs web site provides information on use of these marks by faculty, staff, students, and alumni of the University of Colorado at Boulder. The licensing web site includes policies and applications for the use of CU names and marks on merchandise and when promoting products or services. Also, the CU-Boulder Style Guide provides helpful information on editorial style related to trademarks and other topics.

Copyright

All electronic publications must follow university and legal standards regarding copyright. Web publishers must secure permission from the owner of the copyright when including copyrighted or trademarked material such as text, photographs, audio, video, graphics, maps, or logos, and include a permission statement or disclaimer as required by the owner of the copyright or trademark. For more information on copyright, see the U.S. Copyright Office web site.

Student Information Disclosure

The disclosure of information about students is governed by the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The registrar's web site describes guidelines for release of student information under FERPA. Faculty are advised to consult FERPA guidelines prior to posting student information on their web sites.

Privacy

Web sites that collect individually identifiable information must provide a privacy statement. The statement must be clear and easily accessible, and should cover the Federal Trade Commission's five core principles of privacy : notice, consent, access, security, and enforcement. Web sites that collect individually identifiable information and provide services to children 12 and under may also be required to comply with provisions of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. Web sites conducting online research with human subjects are required to follow the provisions of the university's Handbook for Research Investigators.

Accessibility

In compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and university non-discrimination policies, all electronic publications, to the extent feasible, must be made accessible to people with disabilities. If it is not feasible, alternative methods must be made available to complete the same tasks.

Links to and from Non-University Web Sites

Links from a University of Colorado at Boulder page to any non-university site must not imply university endorsement of the site's products or services. A disclaimer must be included unless it is clear from the context that the university does not endorse the product or service. The disclaimer is:

Links on these pages to non-university sites do not represent endorsement by the University of Colorado at Boulder or its affiliates.

The university welcomes links to its web site for educational or informational purposes. However, the link must not imply affiliation with or endorsement by the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Personal Web Pages

Personal web pages created by faculty, staff, or students are the sole responsibility of their authors. As a service and for informational purposes only, the university may provide lists of and/or links to personal web pages. The university is not responsible for and does not monitor the content of these pages.

However, the university may investigate complaints, and may remove or limit access to web pages that are deemed unacceptable. Since access to University web space is a privilege, acceptability will be determined primarily on how closely the content of the site is related to the individual's role in the university's mission of teaching, research, creative work, and public service.

Personal web pages are subject to all existing laws and university policies, and may not be used to promote businesses, goods, or services; for advertising; or to provide financial gain for any individual or organization.

Personal pages must not convey the impression that the author is representing, giving opinions, or otherwise making statements on behalf of the university or any unit of the university. A disclaimer must be included unless it is clear from the context that an author is not representing the university. The disclaimer is:

The opinions or statements expressed herein should not be taken as a position or endorsement of the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Hosting

Web sites covered by this policy are prohibited from hosting pages on behalf of individuals and organizations that are not affiliated with the university. Personal web sites may not host pages for individuals other than the owner. Students' personal sites may not host pages for organizations other than groups with Student Organizations Finance Office (SOFO) accounts. Faculty and staff may host pages on personal sites for university departments and organizations, though it is recommended that official pages be located on www.colorado.edu.

This policy is not meant to prohibit official units of the university from providing information on conferences and other activities jointly sponsored by the university and unaffiliated organizations, as long as the university's role and participation is acknowledged. Exemptions to this policy may be considered when hosting a web page will serve the university's mission of teaching, research, creative work, and public service. For information, contact HomePage@colorado.edu.

Advertising, Sponsorships, and Partnerships

Advertising: To protect the educational nature of CU-Boulder web sites, and to preserve their primary role in support of the mission of the university, advertising is prohibited on www.colorado.edu, and permitted elsewhere only as authorized by an "e-business review." (See Review Process: E-Business, E-Commerce, Dot.Com Sites, and Portals.) The e-business review committee will also serve as an oversight committee on web advertising.

Co-branding, hyperlinked logos, link exchanges, and associate, affiliate, and referral programs are among the items that will be considered advertising if compensation is exchanged or anticipated. Text links provided for informational purposes or as part of a comprehensive list of sources will not be considered advertising unless the purpose is to promote a product or service.

This policy is not meant to prohibit auxiliary-funded departments from providing appropriate information on their products and services.

Sponsorships: Sponsors may be acknowledged on official university sites related to university-sponsored artistic or cultural programs, conferences, or special events. These acknowledgments must be supported by a written agreement between the sponsor and the university entity that specifies a limited term, typically concluding with the end of an event or series.

Acknowledgements may include the sponsor's corporate name or logo, but may not include a URL, street address, telephone number, e-mail address, hyperlink to a web page, product name or service information, call to action, or comparison. The acknowledgement must include a disclosure such as "The Artist Series acknowledges the support of these sponsors" and may not imply endorsement by the university.

Corporate logos are restricted to a maximum area of 70 x 70 pixels, unless they are located on separate pages within the site that list only sponsors. On sponsor-only pages, logos may be as large as an area of 100 x 100 pixels. Images must reside on and be under the control of the university site, and may not be animated or interactive. Logos should be subordinate in size and placement to page content and university marks.

Sponsors are not entitled to display university marks on their web sites without prior written consent from the Office of Licensing Programs.

Partnerships: Official university sites covered by this policy may acknowledge business partnerships for services provided at no cost that assist the university in achieving its mission; for example, access to an online research service or a search engine. Otherwise, all the provisions for sponsorships apply to partnerships, except that logos may be hyperlinked to the service provided.

Fundraising

The CU Foundation and activities authorized by the Chancellor such as the Colorado Combined Campaign are the sole entities authorized to conduct fundraising via pledge forms or direct contributions on the University of Colorado at Boulder web site. Faculty, staff, and students may not conduct fundraising campaigns on their personal pages, or link to a fundraising page other than that of the CU Foundation or a group authorized by the Chancellor.

Fraternities, sororities, and other service organizations may describe philanthropic efforts on their web sites, and provide a street address and phone number for contributions.

Review Process: E-Business, E-Commerce, Dot.Com Sites, and Portals

Since shopping/advertising portals and other e-business/e-commerce activities may have a substantial impact on the university, agreements to develop these services must undergo a campus review process. All existing and future contracts will be subject to this review.

Official university units seeking to develop dot.com sites, portals, e-business, e-commerce, co-branding agreements, and related services must seek approval from five areas. The five areas represent campus web development from these perspectives: academic, business/financial/licensing, marketing/communications, legal, and technology/infrastructure.

Members of the review committee are:
Vice Chancellor (according to reporting relationship)
Chief Information Officer (Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic and Campus Technology)
Financial and Business Services (Executive Director)
University Communications (Executive Director)

University Counsel (Boulder campus) must also review each proposal.

Proposed e-commerce contracts and agreements may only be forwarded for an "e-business review" with the approval of the appropriate vice chancellor. Other requests for review may be sent directly to the review committee. Based on review by the committee and with the recommendations of its members, proposals will be forwarded to the chancellor for final approval.

Units seeking to develop portals or e-commerce/e-business arrangements can contact the Office of Web Communications for additional information.

Additional Applicable Policies

Other Campus and University system-wide policies may also apply to web sites and web-related activities. All publishers must make themselves aware of university policies and guidelines, Regent laws and policies, and any local, State, or Federal laws or regulations that apply to electronic publishing.

Additional policies that may apply are:

Policy Violations

Violations of university policy on web pages may result in restricted access to university computing resources; removal from menu pages, indexes, and search results on the University of Colorado at Boulder web site; and/or removal from the server pending appeals, disciplinary, or legal procedures, according to the violation. Submit any questions regarding apparent violation of policy or law to abuse@colorado.edu.

Policy Review

To quickly respond to new issues and changes in technology, this policy may need to be updated by an expedited review process. Under this process, proposed changes to web policy will be reviewed and approved by the Committee on Electronic Communication, presented to IT Council for comment, subjected to legal review, and recommended to the Chancellor for approval.

Style Guidelines

In addition to the regulations and requirements listed above, University of Colorado at Boulder web publishers must comply with the Campus Web Identity Standards and the Style Guide.

Other Resources

The following links point to Campus web sites that provide instruction or guidance in the creation of web sites.

Administration and Information

This policy will be managed by the Office of Web Communications in cooperation with Information Technology Services. Questions and requests for exemptions should be sent to HomePage@colorado.edu.

Date: October 9, 2000
Approved by: Richard L. Byyny, Chancellor
Author: Barbara Barrow, Executive Director of Institutional Relations

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