Social Media/Technology Protocol [DRAFT 2.3]

(A pdf version of this protocol is available)

Approved by Communications Core Team on 10.5.2011; will be presented to President's Council in the immediate future

Direction Statement

As the influence and utility of social media continue to grow, Utah Valley University needs to establish a deliberate social media presence and strategy. As with any other external marketing strategy, the University's approach to social media should be measured and consistent, while acknowledging the uncontrolled nature of social media. In addition, the University and its personnel must recognize the university resources that social media may consume and require accountability for either official or personal use.

UVU should establish a presence on major social media platforms, keeping current with evolving trends in order to provide an official voice to forums wherein unofficial and/or inaccurate representation could otherwise dominate.

Definitions

1. An official site is a site that is managed by university personnel on university time and represents the university or one of its departments or divisions or functions. Ownership is with the department or university.
2. A UVU-associated site is one that is managed and maintained by an organization associated with the University, such as a chartered club or other official organization, such as the alumni or foundation group. Ownership is with the organization and not with individuals in the organization.
3. A third-party site is one that is managed and maintained by organizations or persons who do not represent the university in an official capacity outside of a teaching environment. Ownership is with the person or organization and not with the university or one of its associated organizations.
4. Inappropriateness of social media site content is defined as content that promotes or condones behavior that violates university policies, student code, or local, state or federal law. Content with questionable language or material might not be appropriate in order to maintain the image of the university.
5. FERPA is the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act that restricts access to information on students and their records.

Protocol/Rules

1. All social media sites are divided into the following four categories:
   1. Official university-wide platforms (such as UVU YouTube channel, UVU Twitter account, UVU Blog, etc.);
   2. Official department/area social media sites;
   3. UVU associated sites, i.e. club sites such as Rodeo Club blog;
   4. Third-party owned sites (not owned by UVU, including personal sites or UVU instructor's instructional sites).
2. UVU must have ownership of categories a and b, and their associated organizations must have ownership of category c. Ownership includes:
   1. Access to the site by appropriate UVU employees.
   2. Must use a uvu.edu email address for ownership during registration.
   3. Usernames and passwords must be registered with University Marketing for categories a and b or their associated organizations for category c sites.
   4. The AVP or dean must approve of or be notified for all official sites (categories a & b).
   5. All official sites must have a registered gatekeeper no lower than a department head. Gatekeeper's signoff is required.
3. UVU or the designated gatekeepers are responsible for the content of categories a and b but not for categories c or d.
4. Gatekeepers may delegate to others the day-to-day responsibility but are ultimately responsible for the site. Gatekeepers are responsible for the person maintaining the site and must be aware of changes in personnel.
5. All logos used must comply with university branding standards.
6. All official sites should be kept up to date and relevant.
7. All official sites should include at least on link to an official UVU site.
8. No private information as classified in university policy should be stored or available on the site such as student records (FERPA), Personally Identifiable Information (PII) such as credit card, social security numbers, birthdates), etc.
9. All official sites must bear on a visible portion of their site the following notice: "This site belongs to UVU (could include link here). Email copyright@uvu.edu for any complaints." A visual stamp may also be displayed where possible and feasible.
10. All currently existing b and c sites must either conform to this protocol or they will not be recognized by the university.
11. All sites not owned by the university found in violation of university copyright, trademark, logo or policy violations will be requested to correct these violations. All third-party sites must not represent themselves as representing the university.

Responsibilities of Areas

University Marketing and Communications

It will be the responsibility of University Communications Committee to:

• Review sites when a complaint is submitted for violations of policies and protocols and work to correct issues.
• Review yearly all official sites for misuse, lack of use and the above protocols.
• Monitor sites that do not fall within the approved a, b, or c categories, and sites that are misleading or purport to be university sites (unauthorized representation of the university by third parties), and/or follow up on complaints about such sites on university copyright, trademark, logo, or policy violations.

Information Technology

It will be the responsibility of Information Technology to:

• In conjunction with the University Communications Committee, maintain database associated with ownership, username and passwords, email addresses and gatekeepers for a, b, and c sites.

Gatekeeper (or designee)

Ultimately the gatekeeper is responsible for the site but they or their designee have the responsibility to:

• Maintain the integrity of the site.
• Monitor for inappropriateness of site content.

AVPs

AVP's have the responsibility to:

• Approve the use of sites within their divisions.
• Manage and control resources associated with the sites.