ÇéÉ«ÎåÔÂÌì (ÇéÉ«ÎåÔÂÌì) recognizes that social media sites, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and many others, offer alternative ways to reach and communicate with community members and students. The responsible use of social media strengthens the college’s reputation within the community and expands public awareness of ÇéÉ«ÎåÔÂÌì’s varied educational options. Social media sites allow members of the college community to build stronger professional relationships with students, community members, industry experts, business partners and community organizations.
The absence of, or lack of explicit reference to, a specific site does not limit the extent of the application of these policies and procedures. Where no guidelines seem to exist, employees should contact the Advancement Team. The social media environment is continually changing; therefore, questions regarding social media or site developer obligations should be directed to the Advancement Team. Certain issues may be referred to legal counsel, human resources, or other departments depending on the nature of the concern.
Section 1: Content
- Social media site content must not replicate information that is available on the college web page hosted at www.wnc.edu. ÇéÉ«ÎåÔÂÌì does not allow the material/content from current ÇéÉ«ÎåÔÂÌì departmental pages (including but not limited to text, graphic and photographic content) to be copied verbatim for use on social media sites. All official ÇéÉ«ÎåÔÂÌì departmental pages are hosted at www.wnc.edu and are created using established guidelines.
- Use of the ÇéÉ«ÎåÔÂÌì name and/or logo must adhere to all ÇéÉ«ÎåÔÂÌì style guidelines.
The website administrator and the Advancement Team and/or proper enforcement authority reserve the right to enforce this policy by removing links to social media sites and/or requiring the site creator remove or change the site content as directed.
Section 2: Social Media Sites/Accounts used for a ÇéÉ«ÎåÔÂÌì capacity:
- Notify Advancement before developing a new social media site at pr@wnc.edu or 775-445-3006.
- Assign administrative rights to more than one contact at ÇéÉ«ÎåÔÂÌì after the creation of the site.
- Social media site developers and administrators are expected to know and follow the ÇéÉ«ÎåÔÂÌì Computing Services policies, Web Site policies, and Human Resources policies.
- All social media sites must comply with all ÇéÉ«ÎåÔÂÌì policies, including but not limited to FERPA, copyrighted materials, and Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity. Posting information that violates these policies is prohibited.
- Site developers and administrators are expected to: act with fairness, respect, honesty and integrity; respect the privacy and feelings of others; maintain decorum and respect when disagreeing with the opinions of others; and post information that is creditable and can be validated.
- Refer press/media inquiries to pr@wnc.edu.
Section 3: Social media sites/accounts used in a personal capacity:
- The focus of any social media account may contain personal information about faculty and students, such as posting personal blogs, personal information, teaching philosophies, assignments, etc. Because this information is personal in nature, ÇéÉ«ÎåÔÂÌì does not provide technical support in the creation of these websites.
- No personal site should be created that could be perceived as an official ÇéÉ«ÎåÔÂÌì site.
Personal blogs and social media sites should have clear disclaimers that the views expressed by the author in the blog are the author’s alone and do not necessarily represent the views of ÇéÉ«ÎåÔÂÌì.
- Information published on a personal blog or social media site should comply with ÇéÉ«ÎåÔÂÌì’s confidentiality, disclosure of proprietary data and FERPA policies. This also applies to comments posted on other blogs, forums and social networking sites.
- Do not reference or cite ÇéÉ«ÎåÔÂÌì faculty, staff, students, alumni or donors without their express consent. Contact Advancement for consent when referencing ÇéÉ«ÎåÔÂÌì.
- Respect copyright laws, and reference or cite sources appropriately.
- Adhere to the ÇéÉ«ÎåÔÂÌì graphic identity guidelines. ÇéÉ«ÎåÔÂÌì logos may not be used without consent.