Effective Date: July 17, 2000
Revised: February 22, 2006
Title of Policy: East Carolina University Web Page Policy
Purpose of Policy: This policy governs the creation and maintenance of all web pages
Person(s) with Primary Responsibility: Chief Information Officer
Approved: IRCC
1. Related Policies and Applicable Law
In addition to compliance with this Policy, all web pages (either official university web pages or unofficial web pages as defined below)/web development must be in compliance with applicable federal and state laws (including, but not limited to the law of copyright), and consistent with the policies of ECU and of the University of North Carolina including:
- ECU Academic Computer Use Policy
- ECU University Student and Employee Computer Use Policy
- ECU Publications: Guidelines for Using the East Carolina University Logo
- ECU Patent and Copyright Policy
- ECU Policy Statement on commercial exploitation of classroom materials
2. Purpose
The East Carolina University Web Page Policy provides guidance and minimum content neutral standards for faculty, staff, and student web developers contributing to the university's web presence by maintaining web pages on university servers. University Web Space is provided primarily to support the academic and administrative functions of the University. University related web sites are an important means of conducting university business, including but not limited to advancement, communication, education, research, and scholarship.
Specifically, this Policy is designed to:
- Promote the use of web sites in a manner consistent with the mission of the University;
- Address security issues associated with the campus network and enable appropriate online transactions of university business;
- Mandate that the development of websites comply with university policies, and applicable state and federal laws; and
- Provide necessary management and oversight of the University’s IT resources
3. Web Pages Subject to This Policy Web Sites on University servers are subject to this Policy. Web Sites on University Servers are either Official University Web Pages or Unofficial Web Pages.
Official University Web Pages include the East Carolina University homepage (www.ecu.edu); academic department and program pages; office, administrative, and support unit pages; news and information pages; and any other World Wide Web Address that is otherwise sponsored or endorsed or created on authority of a University Department or Administrative Unit; including course pages residing outside the secure course management system.
Unofficial Web Pages are web pages maintained by individual University computer account holders on University Servers, such as personal faculty and staff web pages; individual student web pages, and university recognized student organization web pages.
4. Minimum Requirements for both Official University Web Pages and Unofficial Web Pages
- Accessibility
ECU strongly encourages you to make every effort to comply with accessibility requirements mandated by Federal and State law. Such requirements include but are not limited to adherence to Section 508 Subpart B – Technical Standards of the Rehabilitation Act and Chapter 168A of the North Carolina General statutes
- Affiliation and Disclaimer
Official University Web Pages must include a link to the ECU Web Terms of Use/ Disclaimer
Unofficial Web Pages: The appearance or design of an Unofficial Web Page should not create a likelihood of confusion that a reasonable person viewing that page would believe that it is an Official University Web Page, or is otherwise sponsored or endorsed or created on authority of a University Department or Administrative Unit. To reduce the likelihood of confusion, every Unofficial Web Page maintained on a University Server must contain the following disclaimer:
This web page is not a publication of East Carolina University, nor is it in any way sponsored or endorsed or created on authority of a University Department or Administrative Unit. The author(s) of this page are solely responsible for its content.
- Web Applications and Databases
ITCS must be notified of all intentions to put interactive applications on the internet servers. Such applications must be reasonably constrained due to concerns about security, server performance, operational monitoring, and ongoing maintenance. Collecting data received through web applications using coldFusion scripting requires a datasource be established on the server. ITCS has the right to deny requests for datasources or disable existing datasources if security or performance concerns are brought to our attention. Applications that require extensive scripting or involve monetary transactions must be handled by ITCS. Issues of privacy and the confidentiality of sensitive information are considered a high priority by ECU Information Technology & Computing Services, and may be brought to the attention of ITCS at any time by any member of the ECU community. Sensitive information should not be displayed or collected by any website residing outside a secure connection
5. Minimum Requirements for Official University Web Pages Only - Accessibility
All Official University web pages must comply with accessibility requirements mandated by Federal and State law. Such requirements include but are not limited to adherence to Section 508 Subpart B – Technical Standards of the Rehabilitation Act and Chapter 168A of the North Carolina General statutes.
- General Appearance
All Official University Web Pages must follow the minimum design requirements.
- Maintenance
Each department, office, and academic center must designate one person to be the site’s primary web contact (PWC). The PWC is responsible for making sure that his or her department, office, or academic center’s web site adheres to the university web policy. The PWC may delegate steps needed to meet accordance with the policy, such as content creation, but should be prepared to serve as the primary informational contact for inquiries regarding the site. Each area must designate a PWC to obtain space on the internet server. In the absence of a PWC, the chair or director will be listed by default.
Official web pages must be kept up-to-date. Out of date information should be removed and new information should be added on a regular basis. To verify when a site was last updated, all sites will automatically display a “date last modified: mm/dd/yyyy” on the bottom of the page. Only active files should be kept on the internet servers. Inactive sites and files should be removed from official directories and stored either locally or on another campus network.
6. Oversight Oversight of web pages subject to this policy is the responsibility of the University Web Management Committee. Violations of the web policy will be made known to the PWC for resolution. Noncompliance with applicable policies and/or laws may result in removal of web pages or directories from the main web server and/or removal of links to the site from the upper level university web pages and site index. Oversight of web pages will be consistent with the First Amendment.
7. Responsibility at Termination An author of an unofficial web page is solely responsible for moving that page to a new non-university server once the employment and/or academic relationship with East Carolina University has ended, such as where an individual leaves university employment, a student graduates or is otherwise no longer an enrolled student at ECU, or where a student organization ceases to exist. ECU reserves the right to remove unofficial web sites authored by an individual and/or group who/that no longer maintains an employment and/or academic relationship with ECU without notice as part of its routine maintenance of university servers.
