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SECTION 710.1: WORLD WIDE WEB USE POLICIES

SOURCE: NDSU President
                   SBHE Policy 1901.2
                   HECN Policy ??

Preface: Need for Administrative Policies and Requirements, Rationale, Help Resources, and Suggestions

A successful North Dakota State University web site attracts prospective students; markets the university and its resident expertise; and strives to swiftly guide users to all resources.  A coordinated and consistent visual identity system creates and reinforces the image of North Dakota State University as a credible institution. ; Users will appreciate, recognize, remember, and understand the NDSU web site because its graphic imagery and navigational tools are consistent.

NDSU activities must be consistent with NDUS policy and the principles of academic freedom and professional ethics:


To facilitate academic freedom and promote responsibilities:

Freedom in research and freedom in the classroom in discussing the course subject is balanced with special obligations of accuracy, restraint, and respect imposed by the University's special position in the community.  See American Association of University Professors' 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure (With 1970 Interpretive Comments).  Professional ethics call faculty, and by implication those they lead to 1) "accept the obligation to exercise critical self-discipline and judgment in using, extending, and transmitting knowledge" and 2) "accept their share of . . . responsibilities for the governance of their institution."  See American Association of University Professors' 1987 Statement on Professional Ethics.  These ideas are also expressed in the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education (SBHE) Policy 401.1 on Academic Freedom.


To account for the additional responsibilities World Wide Web (WWW) authors assume:

    The chances of legal and/or administrative problems increases substantially because 1) the distribution is vast and 2) electronic messages can be redistributed so conveniently by people who receive them.  The need for accuracy is heightened because the number of potential readers is vastly larger than the number of potential readers of an equivalent paper publication and the traditional checks and balances provided by editors, publishers, and distributors do not exist.  Authors of electronic messages assume the additional responsibilities of editorship, publishing, and distribution.
     

                                                                                POLICIES:
     

  1. Introduction

    2. The WWW is one vehicle by which each campus unit may express to the world its perception of its unique contribution to the North Dakota State University mission.  It is important that each unit emphasize its relationship to the entire NDSU community on its WWW site.  It is the policy of NDSU that the Web Advisory Board will to promote an environment that facilitates the development of high quality NDSU WWW sites where units express both their uniqueness and affiliation with NDSU.
       
  2. Individual integrity is assumed

    3. Universities are not obligated to monitor their computer networks for compliance with applicable laws and policies. This would be impractical and antithetical to the principles of academic freedom, open inquiry, and free exchange of ideas that are essential to the intellectual life of a university.  However, universities do have legal, moral, and pedagogical obligations to respond in timely and decisive manners to incidents of alleged or known noncompliance with applicable laws and policies.  Ignorance by users of such laws and policies is not a defense.  It is assumed that faculty, staff, and students will either be knowledgeable of applicable laws and policies or work to become knowledgeable of such and to refrain from any actions for which they have any doubts as to their compliance with applicable laws and policies.
  1. The four classes of NDSU WWW pages:

    2. The North Dakota State University WWW site is organized into four classes of web pages: official, affiliated, professional, and individual. Style requirements for official web pages are intended to facilitate a unified and professional presentation of North Dakota State University.  Style requirements and suggestions  for affiliated, professional and individual web pages are intended to facilitate positive and professional expressions and provisions of North Dakota State University's resident expertise and services.
3.1   Official
The following WWW pages are official:  Office of the President and administrative units and committees directly supervised by the President; administrative units and committees directly supervised by the vice presidents of academic affairs, agricultural affairs, business and finance, and student affairs; academic units/departments supervised by academic deans; the University Senate and its committees; Staff Senate and its committees; and University committees.  Official pages are created and maintained by these entities to disseminate information deemed contributive to the accomplishment of the goals and objectives of such entities.  The NDSU webmaster and designees facilitate web page creation, maintenance, evaluation, and updating.
    3.2  Affiliated
    The following WWW pages are affiliated: organizations such as NDSU Development Foundation, NDSU Alumni Association, NDSU Research Foundation, and Tri-College University and student organizations officially recognized by North Dakota State University.  Only student organizations officially recognized by NDSU can have a NDSU WWW page.  Affiliated pages are created and maintained by these entities to disseminate information deemed contributive to the accomplishment of the goals and objectives of such entities.
    3.3  Professional
    The following WWW pages are professional: academic units/departments supervised by academic deans; course residential, course distance, scholarly, and outreach.  Course residential pages are for the purpose of facilitating and/or augmenting a specific course provided at the campus of NDSU.  Course distance pages are for the purpose of providing content of a specific course where the majority, if not the entirety, of the accompanying contact between and among the faculty and students is or at a distance.  Scholarly pages are where faculty and staff present their expertise within their respective academic fields.  Outreach pages are institutional pages for which the specific purpose is to provide education and information to the community.
    3.4  Individual
    Individual WWW pages of faculty, staff, and students are created to present the professional and/or personal interests of individual faculty, staff, and students.
  1. The responsibilities for WWW page development

    2. 4.1  The development and maintenance of NDSU home page information and graphic displays will
      be the responsibility of the Web Advisory Board of NDSU or another entity so assigned by the President.
    4.2  Lines and extents of responsibility for initiating and maintaining WWW pages are the same as
      those currently in place for other NDSU-related activities.  These responsibilities include compliance with requirements specified for the pertinent class(es) of WWW page(s).
           
    4.3  The President is responsible for official WWW pages created for his or her office;
      the University Senate and its committees and the Staff Senate and its committees; the University Committees; and the administrative units and committees he or she directly supervises.
      4.3.1
        Vice presidents are responsible for the official WWW pages created for their offices and the administrative units and committees they directly supervise.
      4.3.2
        Administrative unit directors are responsible for the official WWW pages created for their offices.
           
      4.3.3
        Academic deans are responsible for the official WWW pages created for their offices and the administrative
        units/departments they supervise.
             
      4.3.4
        Administrative unit/department chairs are responsible for the official WWW pages created for their offices.
             
    4.4  The President, each vice president, each administrative unit director, each academic dean, and each
      administrative unit/department chair will, in cooperation with the NDSU webmaster, maintain a process by which the NDSU webmaster is informed of the names of the contact persons of the WWW pages of the entities directly supervised.
               
    4.5  Non-student organizations maintaining affiliated WWW pages will, in cooperation with the
      NDSU webmaster, maintain a process by which the NDSU webmaster is informed of the contact persons of their WWW pages.
               
      4.5.1
        The vice president for student affairs will, in cooperation with the NDSU webmaster, maintain process by which 1) the NDSU webmaster is informed of the names of the contact persons of the affiliated WWW pages of officially-recognized student organizations and 2) officially-recognized student organizations are informed of how to conform their WWW pages to NDSU WWW requirements.
                     
    4.6  Individuals and/or unit entities responsible for professional outreach WWW pages will, in
      cooperation with the NDSU webmaster, maintain a process by which the NDSU webmaster is informed of the names of the contact persons of  these institutional pages.
      4.6.1
        Individual faculty and staff are responsible for their professional course and/or scholarly WWW pages in the same manner and to the same extent they are responsible for their other NDSU-related activities.
    4.7
      Individual faculty, staff, and students and affiliated organizations are responsible for their
      individual or affiliated WWW pages, respectively, in the same manner and to the same extent they are responsible for their other NDSU-related activities.

  2. System Policies

    3. SBHE Policy 1901.2 on Computing Facilities and ND Higher Education Computer Network Policies and Procedures in support thereof apply to anyone using a North Dakota State University WWW account.
           
  3. Non-University mission use of NDSU WWW site by WWW authors, server administrators, and users

    4. SBHE Policy (1901.2) states, in part, that, "Use of computing facilities and data bases shall be limited to the purpose(s) for which access is granted.  Use of computing facilities or data bases for political purposes, for personal or private use or for profit unless such use is specifically authorized, or for other purposes not related to the employee's or other user's duties or purposes for which access is granted, is prohibited." (see http://www.ndus.nodak.edu/ndus_pol/policies/19xx/19012.htm)
           
  4. The Higher Education Computer Network Policies and Procedures state in section IV.  PROCEDURAL GUIDELINES FOR ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS that , "Subject to the prior restrictions, HECN or institutional electronic communication services may be used for incidental personal purposes provided such use does not:
                    5.  
    7.1  Interfere with NDUS operation of information technologies or electronic mail services,
         
    7.2  Burden the NDUS with incremental costs, or
         
    7.3  Interfere with the user's employment or other obligations to the College, University or NDUS."
      (see http://www.nodak.edu/hecn/policy/)

  5. Additional WWW page requirements and/or suggestions of individual units, committees, and organizations

    6. Permanent administrative units and committees and officially recognized student organizations may adopt additional requirements and/or suggestions for their WWW pages.  These additional requirements and/or suggestions must comply with NDUS and HECN policies and procedures previously referenced above and NDSU WWW Administrative Policies and Requirements, Rationale, Help Resources, and Suggestions (Appendix 1).  Units, committees, and organizations considering  additional requirements and/or suggestions are encouraged to consult the Web Advisory Board to ensure that their additional requirements and/or suggestions are in compliance with those of the University, HECN (see  http://www.nodak.edu/hecn/policy/, and NDUS (see http://www.ndus.nodak.edu/ndus_pol/policies/19xx/19012.htm).
               
  6. Consequences of policy and requirement non-compliance

    7. Failure to comply with policies, procedures, and/or requirements can result in removal of pages, modification or loss of  access to systems, or appropriate administrative and/or legal actions. If a dispute arises over interpretation of these policies and requirements, a decision can be appealed to the Computer Planning & Goals (CPG) Committee of the University Senate. The recommendation of the CPG Committee will be forwarded to the University Senate Executive Committee for its consideration and recommendation, which will be forwarded, along with the CPG recommendation, to the President of the University.
               
  7. Intellectual property ownership

    8. North Dakota State University owns the copyright and/or trademark rights of any content of official and professional outreach WWW pages.  Copyright and/or trademark rights of any content of affiliated WWW pages are determined by the affiliated organizations.  Unless otherwise officially documented, individual faculty, staff, and students who are provided an individual WWW page account by the NDSU webmaster are the copyright owners of any content created strictly for such pages.  If an individual WWW page is contracted by a non-NDSU organization, copyright is negotiated between the individual and the contracting non-NDSU organization.Intellectual property and copyright ownership will be assigned according to NDSU Policies 340 (Copyrights) and 341 (Patents).
               
  8. Official graphics/trademarks

    9. University trademarks can be used on official pages without formal permission.  Recognized student organizations and employees must obtain permission from the Licensing Office.  Individual students will not normally receive permission to use University trademarks on their individual WWW pages.
               
  9. Course syllabi

    10. A professional residential or distance course WWW site will include the course's syllabus.  Course syllabi are to contain the minimum information for syllabi listed by the University Senate Academic Affairs Committee.  This is for pedagogical, federal regulation, and legal reasons.  A course web page template will be made available by the NDSU webmaster.
               
  10. Time frame for meeting North Dakota State University WWW requirements

    11. All NDSU WWW pages will meet University WWW requirements within nine months of the date of any implementation or modification of such University WWW requirements.
               
  11. Organization of NDSU WWW links

    12. The NDSU webmaster approves all WWW links and their location within the NDSU Main WWW Server backbone.  Some locations may have more than one link.  The decisions about link locations and numbers will be made in consideration of the goals and objectives of the WWW site and the scope of the information.
               
  12. Necessary links

    13. "It is the deconstructed nature of the [WWW] that any page can be visited in whatever order and by whatever fashion the reader chooses.  Thus, many pages may be read outside the intended context of the author.  Therefore, every page intended to fit within some arbitrary hierarchy should include [navigation devices such as] buttons or text to return to the author's intended [beginning and/or] previous page or pages as well as the [NDSU] homepage.", where possible. The author's intended beginning page should have a link to the NDSU homepage. (http://www.uvm.edu/webmaster/Style.html, accessed March 1999, par. 9).
     
               
  13. NDSU WWW Style Requirements and Rationale

    14. The NDSU Style WWW Requirements and Rationale can be found in (http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/wab/StandardsTable.031799.gm.pdf) Appendix 1. The style requirements apply to all official pages and to authors' intended beginning pages for affiliated, professional, and individual classes of pages. To comply with the style requirements, a page must contain the "Required" elements and must not contain the "Not allowed" elements.
     
  14. NDSU WWW design update

    15. The NDSU webmaster will, in consultation with a representative from University Relations and the Web Advisory Board, consider design changes for the NDSU WWW each year.  The NDSU webmaster and the representative from University Relations will consider navigational improvements and graphic design themes used by the University.  New graphical and/or navigational updates will begin with the University homepage and extend through all official WWW pages.  Changes will be consistent with themes and approaches of Official University recruitment.
             
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