Muhlenberg College Website Policy
Contact/Responsible Offices:
Office of Communications and Marketing: [email protected]
Office of Information Technology: [email protected]
Contents
- Introduction
- Accessibility
- Content Management System
- Requirements for Search
- Domains Included in Policy
- Policy Exceptions
- Website Content Standards
- Visual Identity Standards
- Contact Information
- Copyright Information
- Third-Party Hosting and Microsites
- Inappropriate Website Content
Introduction and Purpose
Muhlenberg College websites serve as essential resources, communication and marketing tools for the institution. They allow the College to communicate valuable information about the Muhlenberg mission, programs and community to our primary external audiences: prospective students and donors, parents, alumni and media.
Policy goals:
- Ensure that all pages on Muhlenberg College websites include accurate, timely and accessible information
- Provide standards for use and content maintenance for web pages that share Muhlenberg College information
- Define the domains included in this policy, exceptions to the policy and guidelines around third party domain hosting
Accessibility
Muhlenberg College websites will adhere to the Muhlenberg College Digital Communications Accessibility Policy and will work to ensure all web-based content is compliant with applicable local, state and federal regulations and laws.
The footer of the Muhlenberg College websites, present on every webpage, must include either a link to contact information for accessibility complaints and feedback or text embedded in the footer that contains this information.
Content Management System
Management and use of the CMS, the system that stores and displays Muhlenberg College web content, will comply with all College policies and relevant laws, including but not limited to discrimination and harassment policies, federal, state, and local laws, statutes, and regulations, brand standards, confidentiality of records, positive data security and appropriate use of computing facilities. Any Muhlenberg College information made available to external users is subject to review by the College to ensure consistency with laws and College policies.
Search Requirements
All Muhlenberg College- associated websites must have a search engine function and must work to integrate search capabilities across sites. Exceptions require joint approval from the Muhlenberg’s Office of Information Technology and the Office of Communications and Marketing.
Domains Included in Policy
All websites that fall within the Muhlenberg College domain umbrella — that is, any website used for Muhlenberg business and/or including muhlenberg.edu within its name — are governed by this policy.
This policy also applies to any websites that represent the entity of Muhlenberg College and that are used to conduct college business, including websites developed and/or managed by third parties on behalf of the College (see below).
Policy Exceptions
This policy is not intended to affect the activities of faculty members and their freedom to conduct and share research and scholarly work. This policy is not intended to affect student organization websites. However, the College does not accept responsibility and shall not be liable for the content of those pages.
Website Content Standards
All Muhlenberg websites must:
- Be accurate and updated on a regular basis
- Include content that is reviewed by applicable office or department each academic year
- Be routinely checked for broken links
- Unpublish out-of-date content, including documents that are no longer relevant
- Add and delete people from directories as appropriate
All Muhlenberg websites must comply with the following College policies:
- Muhlenberg College Visual Identity System User Guide
- Digital Accessibility Policy
- Web Privacy Statement
- Information Technology Data and Security Privacy Policy
- Code of Ethics and Conduct
- Conflicts of Interest Policy — Family Members
- Muhlenberg College Copyright Policy
Visual Identity Standards
The main College website and all third-party-hosted sites associated with the College must follow Muhlenberg College Visual Identity System User Guide and follow established guidelines on Muhlenberg branding and registered marks, approved color schemes, graphics and other visual standards.
Contact Information
All webpages on Muhlenberg College websites must include information that contains contact information for the appropriate department, office or program.
Copyright Information
The footer of every page on the Muhlenberg College website must include appropriate copyright information.
Third-Party Hosting, Microsites and Domain Names
Departments or offices interested in moving their content onto a microsite, creating a new site through a third-party vendor or requesting a special domain name to improve marketing their website must seek approval from the Office of Communications and Marketing. The Office of Communications and Marketing will consult with the Office of Information Technology before determining approval. Each College-associated domain on a third-party platform must prominently link back to muhlenberg.edu and is subject to this policy and those listed above.
Inappropriate Content
Materials containing the following are prohibited on Muhlenberg College websites:
- Copyrighted information without written consent of copyright owner
- Violation of federal, state, or local laws or regulations
- Violation of College policies
- Content that is defamatory to any group(s) or individual(s) or are disparaging of any group(s), organization(s), or institution(s)
- Content that is abusive, profane or sexually offensive
- Content that contains information that may injure someone else and/or lead to a lawsuit or criminal charges
- Use the College name and logo without authorization in ways that imply endorsement of commercial organizations, their products, or services
- Advertisements for commercial products or enterprises
- Information that may constitute an invasion of privacy of any group or individual
- Content that violates the confidentiality of college or student records
The types of material listed above or any direct link to another page containing such material should not be included in any Muhlenberg College web page. Muhlenberg College reserves the right to remove any page or material that is in violation of this or any College policy.
