The EMU World Wide Web Policy

Statement of Policy | University Practice | Responsibility for Implementation | Scope of Coverage

Statement of Policy

It is the policy of the University to ensure that official information published on its Web site(s) correctly represents Eastern Michigan University and its mission; is accurate, well-written, timely and visually appealing; and is of the same high standards as other official communications.

University Practice

General Rules on Information Content
In general, University policies and regulations that apply to the content of publications and communications apply to contents of web pages published using EMU's web servers.

In particular, all information on EMU official pages must:
• comply with all laws governing copyrights, intellectual property, libel and privacy,
• not violate any policy, rule or regulation of the University,
• not be used for non-EMU commercial activities,
• comply with Americans with Disabilities Act standards or provide text-only alternate versions.

Official University Web Pages
A University WWW page is considered official when it is published by (and representative of) the University itself, or a college, school, department, or an official administrative unit of the University. (See the Official Web Pages section of this site for further details.)

Official Web pages are considered University publications. University Marketing and Communications and ICT are responsible for developing style, standards and review procedures for official University Web pages. The Director of Web Communications will develop and maintain the official EMU home page.

Administrative and academic units are responsible for developing their own sites using the graphics, style guidelines or templates supplied by University Marketing and Communications, under the direction of the Web Communications team. Site developers must follow the procedures published in the EMU Web Standards Guide. Web sites developed by any University administrative or academic unit that do not use provided templates must be approved by the Director of Web Communications.

It is the responsibility of the designated representatives in academic and administrative units to ensure that all information in their electronic (Web) publications is accurate, current and adheres to University policies.

WWW pages published by faculty, staff and students
Faculty, staff and students may create Web pages for use in their various academic and administrative duties and activities and may install them on EMU's Web servers. The contents of individuals' Web pages published on EMU servers must comply with the General Rules on Information Content stated in this policy.

Faculty professional pages containing resume, research, and course information will be reviewed by the respective department head.

Personal Web sites are not University publications. Any unofficial University site must indicate that it is unofficial by publishing the approved disclaimer for unofficial Web sites. The disclaimer may be obtained from the Director of Web Communications.

Student Organization WWW Pages
Recognized student organizations may create Web pages and may install them on an EMU server. The Director of McKenny Union and Campus Life (or their designee) must verify that the student organization is active and officially recognized by the University before a link can be created from an official page to the student organization's home page. The Office of Campus Life is responsible for providing an approved list of student organizations.

The contents of student organization Web sites must comply with the General Rules on Information Content stated in this policy.

Student organization Web sites are not University publications and must publish the official Web site disclaimer on their home pages.

Advertising, merchandising and commercial activity
Except for approved University-related items, sale of goods and services is prohibited on any EMU site. Non-EMU advertising, merchandising and commercial activity are prohibited in the emich.edu domain.

Vendor services
Administrative and academic units with requisite budgetary resources may contract with an approved vendor to produce their Web sites and related services. Vendor contracts must be reviewed and approved by the Director of Web Communications prior to the initiation of paid services. Procedures for working with vendors are provided on this web site. Authorized users may request a list of approved vendors from the Director of Web Communications.

Responsibility for Implementation

The Executive Director of University Marketing and Communications and the Executive Director of Information and Communication Technology are jointly responsible for the implementation and administration of this policy. They shall resolve issues of interpretation and enforcement of this policy jointly with an appropriate administrative official, a Dean in the case of an academic unit or a Director in the case of an administrative unit.

Scope of Policy Coverage

This policy applies to all users of web resources and facilities at the University and its related foundations and organizations.

All users of web facilities at EMU consent to all of the provisions of this policy and agree to comply with all of its terms and conditions and with all applicable local, state and federal laws and regulations.

Any user whose actions violate this policy, or any other University policy or regulation, may be subject to limitations or elimination of web privileges as well as other disciplinary actions.

The University reserves the right to remove from its servers Web sites that do not comply with University guidelines or the EMU Web Standards Guide.

Questions about this site should be referred to the director of Web Communications.    

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