Note: This policy replaces the Campus-Wide Information Systems (CWIS) policy.
Table of Contents
Purpose of Ithaca College Websites
Responsibility for Web Presence
Responsibility for Web Content
Responsibility for Web Infrastructure
Policy on Information Security
WSG Membership:
Scope of Policy
This policy applies to websites and applications that are owned and operated by, or operated on behalf of, Ithaca College.
Purpose of Ithaca College Websites
Ithaca College websites are intended to facilitate the dissemination of accurate and timely information about and from Ithaca College to the community; to enhance the efficiency and expand the services of campus administrative, academic, and student support programs; to provide connection between and among campus constituents; and to support the College’s enrollment, marketing, and development initiatives.
Oversight
The Web Strategy Group (WSG) is responsible for providing executive oversight for the College’s web presence. The group reviews and approves web-related policies and guidelines, and it identifies strategic web-related resource needs.
The WSG is co-chaired by the Executive Director, Marketing Strategy, and the Executive Director, Applications and Infrastructure, and its membership includes senior leadership from the Division of Marketing and Enrollment Strategy, the Division of Finance and Administration, and the Division of Philanthropy and Engagement, including the offices of Information Technology, Admission, College Communications, and Creative Strategy and Development.
Responsibility for Web Presence
The Offices of Marketing Communications and Information Technology Services (ITS) jointly share day-to-day responsibility for managing the College’s web presence.
Members of the campus community maintain a significant proportion of the College’s web presence via the Web Profile Manager content management system.
Responsibility for Web Content
A primary content manager (PCM) must be designated for each website, page, or document. This individual is responsible for the creation, maintenance, and/or oversight of that content, and for ensuring that it is accurate, remains current, is appropriate for online use, and complies with the policies established by the WSG. The PCM may, where appropriate, delegate some or all of these responsibilities to others. However, the PCM is ultimately responsible for actions of their delegates and the integrity of their site. A PCM must be a current member of the campus community, a faculty retiree, or an alumnus. Information about creating and maintaining Web content can be found at https://www.ithaca.edu/its/services/web.
Responsibility for Web Infrastructure
ITS is responsible for building and maintaining the College’s web technical infrastructure, including maintaining the network, server hardware and software, content management services, web applications, and developing software tools to help automate document maintenance processes.
Wherever possible websites will be managed via the College’s web content management system, the Web Profile Manager.
Responsibility for Web Design
With oversight from the Web Strategy Group, the Office of Marketing Communications takes the lead on the responsibility for establishing, maintaining, and implementing the Ithaca College web brand, which is the overall look and feel of the College’s websites. They work in partnership with Information Technology Services to apply the visual standards to the College's web presence throughout our various web services.
The College reserves the right to enforce the use of design and navigation standards (including the use of specific design templates) throughout its web servers to ensure usability, accessibility, and brand consistency.
Policy on Content
Most material on the College’s web servers is produced by the Ithaca College community, but, except for designated pages, is neither approved nor verified by Ithaca College.
The College reserves the right to remove, without notice, any content that it determines, at its sole discretion, violates College policies, practices, or state or federal laws, or that it determines is otherwise inappropriate. The director of enterprise application services, in consultation with the appropriate vice president, is responsible for facilitating this process.
The PCM is responsible for ensuring that information on the College’s web servers complies with the following standards:
- Must be suitable for distribution to and interaction with both the campus community and the rest of the world.
- Some examples of suitable material are
- Calendars or announcements of upcoming events
- Descriptions of services and programs offered
- News of achievements or programmatic changes
- College policies specific to individual units
- Some examples of material that would be considered inappropriate are
- Commercial advertisements, endorsements, or logos except when used to recognize sponsorship, further the academic mission of the College, or promote a College business service offering
- Material that is illegal
- Private/compliant and protected information (i.e. confidential information). Examples include Social Security numbers, class lists, birth dates, credit card information.
- Disclosing information about a student who has filed a request with the college to have his or her directory information withheld.
- Materials should be checked for accuracy and should be updated regularly.
- The use of copyrighted material must comply with the College’s Copyright Policy and Guidelines (https://www.ithaca.edu/policies/vol2/volume_2-232/).
- Pages should be designed to avoid confusion or duplication with official pages.
- Every department or other officially recognized College organization's home page must contain
- A link to the Ithaca College home page
- The words "Ithaca College" to help identify the page as part of the overall Ithaca College site
Policy on Information Security
Ithaca College web services are accessible via the global Internet. Private/compliant and protected (i.e. confidential) information should not be posted unless appropriate security restrictions are enabled.
To ensure the security of our systems and services, ITS may restrict the types of services and tools available to campus web developers. Where possible, the campus community will be required to utilize one of the content management systems to maintain their sites.
Only members of the campus community, faculty retirees, alumni, and third-party web developers approved by ITS will be given access to our systems for the purpose of content creation or management. The College reserves the right to remove, without notice, any programs, code, or sites that, at its sole discretion, may present security or performance risks.
Website Protocol
All College websites are for non-commercial individual use related to the educational mission of the College by the campus community, faculty retirees, and alumni and for approved College business activities. In addition, web content providers must abide by all College policies, including, but not limited to, the Ithaca College All-College Computer and Network Use Policy.
Individual Sites
Examples:
- Faculty – Faculty Profile
- Staff – Staff Profile
- Student – ePortfolio
- Alumni – Alumni ePortfolio
Individual sites will be removed as follows:
- Faculty & Staff Profiles – upon last day of employment with the college. Faculty profiles for Ithaca College faculty retirees may remain indefinitely.
- Student ePortfolios – 90 days after a student graduates. Upon graduation a student can choose to have their eportfolio converted to an alumni eportfolio.
- Student Web Space – Upon graduation or departure from the College.
- Alumni ePortfolio – May remain indefinitely, provided the individual renews it annually.
Note: In cases of involuntary separation, the College reserves the right to terminate accounts immediately.
Departmental / Organizational Sites
These sites are to be used to provide a web presence for an officially recognized Ithaca College department, organization, office, school, division, or program. The creation of these sites and designation of a primary content manager requires the approval of the head of the organization (e.g., director, dean, VP) being represented, and in the case of a student organization, the additional approval of the Office of Student Engagement and Multicultural Affairs (OSEMA). Accounts for student organizations must be renewed each academic year.
Examples:
- Academic Department Profiles
- Schools and Division Sites and Profiles
- Administrative Office Sites and Profiles
- Special Program Sites and Profiles
- Student Organization Profiles
Course Sites
The College’s official learning management system is Sakai. Any instructor can create a course site in Sakai.
In addition, information providers must abide by all other Ithaca College policies and procedures.