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Web Policies

Note: These policies have been approved by the Internet/Website Advisory Committee and apply to all websites that represent the University of South Alabama or any of its associated organizations. Webmasters, please ensure that your website is in agreement with these policies.

Introduction

These policies govern the management of those electronic documents accessible on the World Wide Web that represent the University of South Alabama (USA). USA encourages contributions to its World Wide Website, and these policies are intended to guide the preparation and management of such contributions.

For many people, the USA Home Page (www.southalabama.edu) and its associated web pages are the first point of contact with the University. The quality of electronic information published by USA is important in maintaining the strong reputation and image of the University. Thus, information on the USA Home Page is subject to the same policies and standards as print publications. These policies set minimal standards that are meant to ensure that information published electronically is accurate, visually appealing, clearly presented and follows the same high standards as other forms of published information.

The development of the USA Home Page and official pages (see definitions) are governed by the University Brand Guidelines published by the Office of Marketing Communications.

The USA Home Page is maintained by the USA Computer Services Center (CSC) Web Services group. The USA Home Page includes the top-level pages that provide general information about the University, a site index, directories, search engines and menu pages with links to departmental or organizational unit pages.  While certain faculty and staff will be responsible for editing, adding or removing content from departmental and organizational unit pages, the entire site remains the property of the University.

The Internet/Website Advisory Committee is charged with the development and enforcement of Web Policies provisions. Questions concerning the application of Web Policies should be referred to this committee.  

Official Pages

Official pages must abide by all applicable laws and USA policies and standards regarding nondiscrimination, libel and copyright, offensive material and visual identity. A page may be considered offensive simply by containing a direct link to another page that may be maintained by other individuals or organizations that presents offensive material.

Do not publish the work of others in web pages without their express permission. And do not use trademarked logos, musical selections, images or graphics belonging to another organization or individual without permission.

Musical backgrounds or selections on official pages are discouraged unless they are directly related to and identifiable with the USA unit. In any event, proper copyright clearinghouse permission must be obtained before the music can be used.

The USA web server (www.southalabama.edu) is intended for use as web server only. The server is not to be used for storage of data that would otherwise be stored offline or on a departmental LAN server or a workstation. Very large files (those over 1MB) should be not be stored on the USA web server unless they are an integral part of the website itself. Very large files will be deleted by the USA Web Services staff if the organizations webmaster does not voluntarily remove these files. Any files not accessed in 24 months are subject to being archived after notification. Official organizations are limited to a total of 50MB of disk space without the express permission of the USA Webmaster.

Official organizations may purchase and use a domain name other than southalabama.edu if it is in the best interest of the University. All domain names will be approved in advance by USA Web Services before they are registered. It is the desire of the University to utilize the southalabama.edu domain name wherever it is practical and in the best interest of the University. Domain names such as library.southalabama.edu and admissions.southalabama.edu are encouraged instead of names such as www.usalibrary.com and www.southalabamaadmissions.org.

Except where it would be inappropriate, all official pages of the University will include:

Applies to All pages (CMS and Non CMS)

  • Official University of South Alabama logo and/or watermark
  • Name and E-mail link to the person or USA unit responsible for maintaining the page

Applies to Non CMS pages

  • The link should be formatted: USA Home Page or selectable through the use the USA logo or watermark graphic.
  • Date of last update, recommended format: MM/DD/YYYY
  • URL address of the page
  • Link at the bottom of the USA unit's home page to the University of South Alabama Home Page at https://www.southalabama.edu.