Web

Missouri State University is committed to providing current and accurate information to its students, faculty, and staff; and to the citizens of the global community. The University recognizes the use of the Internet and the World Wide Web as effective avenues for promoting interactive communications with its constituencies.

Taxpayers, students, and others providing funding for Missouri State technology resources expect that these assets will be used and offered equitably. Further, they expect use of these resources to support the University's purpose of developing educated persons and mission of public affairs.

To ensure compliance with these expectations, the University requires its authorized users of the information technology resources to follow the web policies outlined below. The Web Advisory Committee, reporting to the Information Technology Council, will periodically review and revise this policy to ensure that it continues to accommodate University needs.

Additionally, this policy is subject to all other information technology policies. Please review all the information technology policies.

Responsibility

The Web Coordinator oversees the organization, design, and functionality of the University's web site.

Each web site has a supervisor, as defined in the following sections. These web site supervisors are responsible for all aspects of their web sites' development, including the accessibility, timeliness, and accuracy of the information. Ultimately, the web page supervisors are responsible for ensuring compliance of their web sites with this and all other applicable University policies.

The University owns the central web pages, University unit web pages, and other content residing on any web server owned by the University, with the following exceptions:

• Course content that includes copyrightable materials created by faculty members solely on their own initiative, as described in the Creation of Intellectual Property Policy
• Copyrightable works prepared by students as part of the requirements for a University degree program, as described in the Creation of Intellectual Property Policy
• Third-party works purchased or licensed for use by the University

Definition of official web sites

Official web sites are those sponsored by Missouri State University. This category includes sites stored on the University's central or distributed web servers or sites outsourced to other providers.

Official web sites may contain only official Missouri State web content, which helps ensure that the Missouri State search results do not include personal content. See the Unofficial Web Sites section for information about storing unofficial content, such as personal web pages.

Official web sites are divided into four types: central, University unit, course, and sponsored organization. For procedural information on obtaining or using these web sites, please refer to the Web Development Resource Center.

Central

Central web content are top-level web pages and content that either consolidate information from several departments or are developed through the Office of Information Technology. Examples include the University homepage and My Information.

Central web pages must follow the Web Style Guide and standard format of the top-level pages, as developed by the Web Advisory Committee.

University Unit

Divisions, colleges, departments and other University units are encouraged to have a presence on the University web. The administrator of the University unit is the supervisor of the web site and responsible for all aspects of the web page development, including the accessibility, timeliness, and accuracy of the information.

University unit web sites must follow the Web Style Guide and are encouraged to follow the standard format of the top-level pages, as developed by the Web Advisory Committee.

Unit web sites may include general information about the unit, including, but not limited to, services offered, contact information, faculty/staff names, and links to reporting units.

Course

Missouri State instructors are encouraged to post course materials online. The instructor is the supervisor of the course web site and responsible for all aspects of the web development, including the accessibility, timeliness, and accuracy of the information.

Course web sites may include information related to the course or instructor's role at the University, including, but not limited to, course syllabi, assignments, instructor biographies and research.

Sponsored Organization

Organizations sponsored by the University may publish official web sites. The supervisor of the web site is the president of the organization and is responsible for all aspects of the web  development, including the accessibility, timeliness, and accuracy of the information.

Sponsored organization web sites may include information about the organization's role at Missouri State University, including, but not limited to, membership, meeting times, and links to external affiliations.

Definition of unofficial web sites

Unofficial web sites are those hosted but not sponsored by Missouri State University. Unofficial pages do not constitute official University business or statements, and the University does not endorse or actively monitor the content of these Web pages. The views expressed on these pages are strictly those of the individual authors or groups.

Missouri State University does not regulate the contents of these sites except for the guidelines for all web sites included below; however, the University will investigate all complaints involving unofficial web pages and reserves the right to remove or block material that violates federal or state law or University policy.

Unofficial web pages may not be used--explicitly or implicitly--for course delivery or for the delivery of any official Missouri State information. Developers of unofficial web sites are encouraged, but not required, to follow the guidelines for official web pages.

Unofficial web pages are divided into four types: personal, recognized/bona fide organization, external organization and staging. For procedural information on obtaining or using these web sites, please refer to the Web Development Resource Center.

Personal

Missouri State University allows creation of personal web sites on University equipment as a service to the University computing community. Personal web sites are considered unofficial web sites and are not part of the University's official web site.

The web developer serves as the supervisor of his or her personal web site. As such, this developer bears sole responsibility for the content and maintenance of his or her personal web site.

Recognized/bona fide organization

Missouri State University allows recognized student organizations or bona fide University organizations to create web sites on University equipment as a service to the University computing community. These organizational web sites are considered unofficial web sites and are not part of the University's official web site.

The organization's president serves as the supervisor of the organizational web site and bears responsibility for the content and maintenance of the organization's web site.

External organization

As a public affairs service, Missouri State University allows qualified external organizations to create web sites on University equipment. To qualify, an external organization must be a non-profit, professional or academic organization/committee that's appropriate to the University's overall mission.

A current Missouri State staff or faculty member, who is also a current member of the external organization, serves as the supervisor of the web site and assumes responsibility for the content and maintenance of the external organization's web site.

If an external organization changes and no longer meets the qualifications or does not have a valid supervisor for its web site, Missouri State will remove the external organization's web site from Missouri State equipment.

Staging

All Missouri State web sites, except personal and external organization sites, are eligible for a staging site. Staging sites allow web developers to create and test web content on a non-production web server. Staging sites may not be used as production sites--as such, these sites should not be used for course delivery or referenced within any web sites or other publications.

Guidelines for All Web Sites

All official and unofficial University web sites must adhere to the following content guidelines:

Commercial activity

It is not acceptable to use any official or unofficial University web site for commercial activities without an approved exemption from the Information Technology Council. See the Commercial Activity policy for details.

Media

Audio and video published within University web sites must also comply with applicable Media Policy requirements.

Usage of Missouri State Seal and Logos

Web developers must follow the guidelines regarding the proper use of logos and the university seal set forth in the Office of Publications' Graphics Procedure Manual.

Works Subject to Copyright

The University reserves the right to identify copyrightable materials on University-owned resources. The University also investigates reported copyright violations.

Works subject to copyright require written consent prior to publication on the web. Providing notice and obtaining consent are the responsibilities of the web site supervisor requesting publication. A record of the consent must be maintained as long as the content is online. Consent obtained by electronic means will be considered adequate. See the Missouri State Copyright web site for more information.

Guidelines for Official Web Sites

All official web sites must also comply with these guidelines:

Appropriate Use of Web Space

The University's computing and networking resources are limited, thus official web pages may only contain current web content that supports University functions or programs. University web developers may not store personal web pages or non-web files, such as backups, in any space designated for official web pages.

Domain Names

Official web sites must be in the University's official domain: missouristate.edu. Missouri State will not host outside domains, such as those ending in .com or .org, without an approved exemption by the Office of Web and New Media.

Supervisors of official web sites may request a unique host name, or prefix, for use within the missouristate.edu domain. The resulting addresses would provide a concise method for accessing and publicizing official web sites. Examples of addresses using unique host names include ozarkswatch.missouristate.edu and www.news.missouristate.edu.

Outsourcing

Before outsourcing all or part of an official web site to an external provider, web supervisors must contact the web coordinator for approval. The web coordinator will review design, accessibility, hosting, and linking requirements with the web supervisor to develop an appropriate plan of action.

Privacy

Images, voices, likenesses, and other information require written consent before publication in official web sites. See the Privacy Policy for more information.

Registration of Distributed Web Servers

Official web pages should be indexed as part of the Missouri State University search feature. To ensure this feature is active, administrators must register their distributed web server(s).

Accessibility

In accordance with the Accessibility Policy, Missouri State University strives to ensure all users, regardless of disability, can access official university web sites. As such, all official University web pages, except private course web pages, must comply with the Web Accessibility Guidelines.