Home > Policies > Procedures Manual > General > 05-009 Web Policy

05-009 Web Policy

Last Update: November 7, 2022

Approved: June 13, 2023 by President Zvi Szafran

Policy Contact: Director of Public Relations

Supersedes:


I. SCOPE

This policy addresses the use of the SUNY Canton website and applies to all college departments, faculty, staff, and students.

II. POLICY STATEMENT

SUNY Canton’s web pages will be used to promote the brand and mission of the institution. The website should communicate information about the College to current and future students, alumni, businesses, employees, and the community. It is essential that information published on the Web be accurate and reflect standards of quality, consistency, and usability. It is also important that the College’s web policy remain responsive to future technologies and change, with continual review and updates as necessary to promote the reputation and positive image of the College.

 

III. POLICY

The Public Relations Office (PR) coordinates all official internal and external communications, college publications, and the College’s website for a consistent message and appearance. It is the operational authority on all external communications related to televised, web, and print media in the effort of maintaining a consistent voice or message.

  1. General Policies
    1. The College’s website will comply with Federal and State laws (see Section VIII Authority).
    2. The College reserves the right to remove from its server or disconnect from its network any material that the College determines to be in violation of College, State, or Federal policies.
    3. Links from the College’s official pages to other Internet sites must be related to the College’s mission. These links will be reviewed by the Director of Public Relations or PR’s Web Designer.
    4. All web pages (official and unofficial) will comply with the College’s policy on acceptable use. See Sections III.B and III.D for further clarification.
  2. Official Web Pages
    Official web pages consist of pages created by academic and administrative departments.
    1. Academic and administrative units are responsible for developing and maintaining the content of their area web pages. The unit shall appoint an authorized designee(s) to request and schedule updates on the SUNY Canton website.
    2. Minimally, campus departments should review their area web page annually for accuracy, and submit update requests accordingly. Academic units should submit their annual update requests by June 1. Non-academic units should submit their annual update requests by August 1. Additional website updates can be submitted at any time during the calendar year to ensure the most relevant content is available to students, parents, and the community.
    3. Official web pages must be approved by PR’s Web Designer. The Web Designer will review new, significantly reconstructed, or updated pages for material consistency, editorial clarity, and university policy compliance.
    4. Official web pages will contain the College logo, a link to the home page, and contact information. They will follow the pre-established template approved by Public Relations as well as the College’s design and content guidelines. A standardized format will be used in the development of all official web pages in order to present a consistent, cohesive institutional presence. The format will be built to current web standards, adhere to design principles, and provide flexibility for end-users.
    5. Official web pages will be periodically reviewed for misspellings and broken links and updated accordingly by PR’s Web Designer.
  3. New Content and Accessibility on Official Web Pages
    All content that appears on the SUNY Canton website or connected to third party sites is reviewed and approved by the Director of Public Relations/Web Designer before being posted.

    For full details on Accessibility on the SUNY Canton website, please visit Policies and Procedures for Accessibility on the Web.
  4. Unofficial Web Pages
    Unofficial web pages consist of pages created by faculty, staff, and student clubs and organizations. Views or opinions expressed on them do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of SUNY Canton.
    1. Student Organization Web Pages
      1. Web pages of student organizations will adhere to the general web policies of the College.
      2. Web pages of student organizations will include a disclaimer that the College does not accept responsibility for the contents of the page.
      3. Web pages of student organizations will contain a link back to the College’s home page.
      4. Web pages of student organizations are subject to review and approval by the advisor of the student organization.
    2. Faculty/Staff Web Pages
      1. Faculty/staff may request their own page for professional information related to their work at the College, and that information may consist of a curriculum vitae, educational background, professional scholarship and research, courses taught/developed, and/or organization membership.
      2. Faculty/staff will be responsible for updating, revising, and maintaining their web pages.
      3. Faculty/staff web pages will be built in a pre-determined template, approved by Public Relations.
      4. Linked external faculty/staff web pages should contain a disclaimer. (e.g., This is a faculty web page and not an official SUNY Canton web page. Any views or opinions expressed on this site do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of SUNY Canton.)

IV. DEFINITIONS

None

V. OTHER RELATED INFORMATION

None

VI. PROCEDURES

  1. New Web Pages
    Campus offices, academic programs, faculty/staff, and student organizations wishing to request a new webpage should submit the request at any time to pr@canton.edu. The request should be submitted by the authorized designee (campus offices and academic programs), the advisor (student organizations), or the requesting faculty/staff member.
  2. Web Updates
    Each web page’s authorized designee may request and schedule updates on the SUNY Canton website. Non-designees may request updates by including the authorized designee on any related communications to PR’s Web Designer. Department/unit web pages must be reviewed at least annually to ensure accurate and timely content. Submit web update requests to pr@canton.edu.

VII. FORMS

None

VIII. AUTHORITY

NY State Information Technology Policy NYS-P08-005, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, SUNY Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) Accessibility Policy (Document 6901)

IX. HISTORY

Previously approved – migration to new format with minor updates.

X. APPENDICES

None

XI. FREQUENCY OF REVIEW AND UPDATE

Policies will have a normal review period of every five (5) years unless required otherwise.