Website Policy

I. College Web Pages

The design and content of active public web pages accessible through the np.edu domain are subject to review and approval by the Director of Marketing. Each NPCC academic department and administrative office with an active public web page(s) accessible through an np.edu domain must review the page(s) before the beginning of each semester or summer session to ensure the information is accurate and up-to-date. Academic department chairs and administrative office heads are responsible for certifying each review, which may be conducted by a staff member or committee appointed for that purpose. Academic department chairs and administrative office heads are also responsible for appointing a trained staff member to make the corrections and/or updates recommended as a result of each review, or consult with the webmaster to make the changes. Failure to follow this policy may result in action from the Website Committee which could include the suspension or removal of the web page(s). Information found outside of official College web pages is unofficial information and cannot be claimed as official College policy.

II. Website Committee

The College Website Committee will be responsible for overseeing, interpreting and revising current website policy. The College Website Committee will be responsible or adding new policy necessary to respond to new technology or emerging issues pertaining to website operation in general or to the College website in particular. The committee will meet as necessary to resolve any questions, problems or grievances submitted in writing concerning website policy, management or other issues that may arise concerning the websites maintenance and operation. The Website Committee approves requests and reviews project development. The Webmaster position is funded through the Marketing Office. The Computer Services Office collaborates with the Marketing Office to develop guidelines and overall communications strategy for all College-related web pages. Although the guidelines are a work in progress, each web page developed for College communications must fall within the parameters of a common look, feel and flow. Though each web page may have unique content, it must fit within the overall style defined by the Website Committee (See Web Design Standards). New web pages must go through a formal review from start to finish by the Website Committee. At this time, it is placed on the project list with a general description, including timelines and content provisions. The Website Committee will review each project before it goes live. Members of the Website Committee are appointed by the President and include:

• Web Development:
  • Webmaster
  • Special Projects Coordinator
• Marketing Department
  • Director
  • Graphics Designer
• Business Division:
  • Web Design
• Computer Services:
  • Director
• Institutional Reporting
  • Registrar
• Additional Representation
  • As needed

III. Web Page Levels of Content and Responsibility

Web pages are classified as College, Departmental, Instructional pages, and Student Organization Pages:

1. College web pages are considered official web pages of the College. They contain official College information and are in direct support of the College’s mission. Examples include but are not limited to the view book, catalog, faculty/student handbook, university directory and information about the campus, financial aid, admissions and other areas.
2. Departmental web pages are considered official web pages of the College. They include information encouraged by the College but maintained by the respective College departments. All departmental web pages are in direct support of the College’s mission. Examples include but are not limited to academic departments, student services, campus events, administration, and other informational resources. These pages are maintained by Information Content Providers (ICP) in each department with technical services support as needed. Information on these pages is the responsibility of the department head/chair and their ICP. Departments are required to conform to applicable College web design standards. Heads of Academic Departments and administrative and service functions will designate one person, whose name will be notified to the Webmaster, as having responsibility for maintaining that Department’s/functional area’s web page(s). The nomination of a backup person is strongly advisable. Each Head of Department/functional area will be responsible for the legal compliance, accuracy and completeness of the content of their web page(s). All pages must meet the technical and design aspects of the College's Web Design Standards.
3. Instructional web pages are considered unofficial web pages of the College. They are sponsored and maintained by members of the College faculty. Information on these pages is the responsibility of the faculty member. Faculty members are required to conform to applicable College web design standards. Information on Instructional web pages is solely generated and maintained by the author. The College may remove web pages if the Faculty members are no longer affiliated with the College, or if the page is not maintained according to College standards.
4. Student Organization web pages are considered unofficial web pages of the College. They are sponsored and maintained by members of the College faculty, or their student contributor. Faculty sponsors are required to conform to applicable College web design standards. Information on Student Organization web pages is solely generated and maintained by the author. The College may remove web pages if the organization’s members are no longer active, or if the page is not maintained according to College standards.

IV. Use of College Web Pages

College and departmental web pages must be informative and consistent with the mission of National Park Community College. College policies and regulations must be adhered to. The College web servers may not be used for any activity prohibited by law. Any person or group authoring Web pages must be aware of and follow College policies regarding confidentiality, harassment and computer usage. College ICPs cannot use copyrighted images, text, or software without permission. College and departmental pages are intended to communicate information about the College and must not represent the personal views of an individual. Appropriate material for inclusion in these pages includes:

• policy documents, reports, procedures;
• course descriptions, schedules and syllabi;
• instructional materials;
• tutorials;
• computing and library guides;
• campus calendars and announcements of events;
• descriptions of available services and resources.

Instructional and Student Organization pages must conform to College policies contained in this document. Use of Instructional or Student Organization pages for illegal and/or commercial purposes is prohibited. Faculty members and student contributors are expected to comply with relevant College policies, state and federal law, and any relevant licensing agreements. Material may not be included on College, departmental, instructional, and student organization web pages if it:

• Is in violation of federal and state law;
• Is derogatory or libelous to groups or individuals;
• Is of a confidential nature;
• Infringes upon the rights of another person;
• Is abusive, profane, or sexually offensive;
• Includes information which may injure someone else and/or lead to a lawsuit or
• criminal charges including pirated software, destructive software, pornographic
• materials, libelous statements or terrorist restrictions;
• Includes advertisements for commercial products, enterprises or services not
• pertaining to National Park Community College.

V. Web Site Access and Security

A system of permissions will be established by the CMS and used to protect the security of the College website. Those with full permissions to administer the site will be limited and will be designated by the Marketing Office as necessary to maintain the site. The webmaster and staff, marketing staff and Computer Services staff may be the only employees with full permission to the official College website. Permissions for ICP’s will be limited to their areas of responsibility on the website. Permissions to author on the site will be given by the Website Committee. All employees with full or limited permissions to the College website are responsible for taking all reasonable precautions to protect both the public and developmental web site areas from vandalism, hacking and accidental alteration. This includes not sharing computer account information or passwords with others at the College and carefully monitoring access to personal computers in shared work areas.

VI. Links from Web Pages

The College reserves the right to disable and/or remove the Web page links as well as publishing capability and privileges on College-managed servers of anyone who uses the Internet to violate College policy or to conduct or promote activities which are illegal or violate College obligations. These links and publishing privileges may be reestablished following a review process by the Website Committee.

1. College Official Pages
   • National Park Community College has only one official College Home Page, with links to official College Web pages.
2. Departmental Web Pages
   • Each department has only one departmental Home Page, with links to other departmental Web pages.
   • Links from the departmental Home Page and departmental Web pages are the responsibility of the department chairperson and/or the departmental ICP. Each departmental Home Page must have a link to the departmental disclaimer. The bottom of each Departmental Home Page must contain a link to the College’s Official Home Page and a mail-to address link. The bottom of all other departmental Web pages must contain the following three links:
   • to the Departmental Page Disclaimer,
   • to the Departmental Home Page, and
   • a mail-to address.
3. Instructional Web Pages
   • Departments wishing to include instructional Web pages must include a directory with the instructional page disclaimer.
   • The top of the instructional home page must contain the Instructional Page Disclaimer in full text. The bottom of the instructional home page must contain a link to the department’s home page, or the College’s official home page if a departmental home page does not exist, and a mail-to address link. A directory of instructional home pages will be maintained within the official College Web pages. This directory has the College Web disclaimer at the top.
4. Student Organization Pages
   • A directory of student organizations will be made available. This page will contain the instructional disclaimer at the top and all subsequent pages will also contain the instructional disclaimer. Student organizations must have a faculty or staff advisor who will be responsible for the information published. Official student club or organization web pages may only contain information about the student organization or club and its sponsored activities.
5. External Links to Commercial Web Sites
   • NPCC official Web pages may provide a text link to a commercial site if the College has a contractual relationship with the business, or if the site provides a service to the College's primary community (existing or prospective faculty, staff, students) that is consistent with the College’s mission (e.g., links to http://www.act.org/ or http://www.fastweb.com/ from the Admissions site; links to lending institutions from the Student Financial Aid Office Web site).

VII. College Disclaimers

All disclaimers and links to disclaimers must be readable by a text-only browser.

1. Official College Web pages do not require a disclaimer. Official College Web pages will contain a logo or other marking to indicate their official status.
2. The alphabetical listing of departmental pages (A-Z index) will have the following Departmental Page Disclaimer at the top: It is the policy of the College to abide by and follow federal and state laws. Although individual departments provide the information found on these pages, the College reserves the right to ensure that such information is consistent with its stated mission.
3. All alphabetical directories of Instructional Web pages have a disclaimer at the top stating the following Instructional Page Disclaimer: It is the policy of the College to abide by and follow federal and state laws. The instructional pages of NPCC’s faculty represent individual views and do not necessarily reflect the views and/or policies of the College. The College is not responsible for the content of these pages or any links that you may follow from this server beyond this point.
4. All alphabetical directories of Student Organization Web pages have a disclaimer at the top stating the following Student Organization Page Disclaimer: It is the policy of the College to abide by and follow federal and state laws. The instructional pages of student organizations represent individual views and do not necessarily reflect the views and/or policies of the College. The College is not responsible for the content of these pages or any links that you may follow from this server beyond this point.

VIII. DEFINITIONS

Home page

The home page is an initial, entry, identifying page of a collection of pages for the College, individual department, or instructional pages. It acts a portal to our web site sections and other web applications.

Internet Content Provider (ICP)

An individual selected to be responsible for authoring Web pages for a College department, program or organization using our CMS.

Departmental Page Disclaimer

This is a standard disclaimer statement that must appear at the top of each College departmental home page.

Instructional Page Disclaimer

This is a standard disclaimer statement that must appear at the top of each instructional home page.

Student Organization Page Disclaimer

This is a standard disclaimer statement that must appear at the top of each student organization home page.

Web Pages

Pages developed by College staff and faculty and linked directly or indirectly to a home page.

Content Management System (CMS)

A web application that provides the web development office and all departments on campus an easy to use interface to maintain the content for our website without the need for IT or web design specific skills. It allows for the distribution of tasks and responsibilities in connection with our website maintenance, growth, and change.