1.0 Statement of Purpose

At Augusta State University, a centralized World Wide Web (WWW) server supports World Wide Web pages with domain names of aug.edu. This policy applies to this or any other WWW server associated with Augusta State University officially or unofficially as defined in the following sections of the policy.

Augusta State University provides a WWW server to:

• Support the Vision for the University System of Georgia and the Mission of Augusta State University
• Promote new methods of instruction
• Promote research
• Encourage efficient administration
• Enable alternative forms of communication within Augusta State University
• Provide information about and encourage communication with the university
• Promote Augusta State University as an educational institution
• Organize clearly the university's information and networked resources
• Encourage creative and individualistic publication

Any Augusta State University administrative department, academic department, institute, center, student organization, class or other officially recognized unit or organization, as well as any individual faculty, student, or staff member, may publish on Augusta State University's World Wide Web server. All Augusta State University WWW publishers must comply with the guidelines described in this document. Those who wish to use the primary server at Information Technology Services must also comply with the application requirements for an official or unofficial home page.

Publishing access on the primary server is available first to officially recognized Augusta State University administrative and academic units and student organizations. Access for individuals is extended on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to resource availability. Resources for home pages on the primary Web server will be allocated based upon policies defined by Information Technology Services. Every attempt will be made to accommodate anyone who wishes to publish on Augusta State University's Web server. If restrictions should become necessary due to resource constraints, they will be implemented as uniformly and as fairly as possible.

3.0 Definition of Official and Unofficial Home Pages

Any information published by an officially recognized Augusta State University administrative department, academic department, student organization, center, institute or other such unit is considered &official" Augusta State University information that must conform to the university's designated editorial and design standards. However, printed versions of official documents, such as class schedules, unit policies, etc., will retain precedence in matters of dispute. Faculty and staff may have official home pages as components of a unit's official home page, subject to the guidelines for official home pages.

Individual faculty, staff and students may have "unofficial" home pages. Individual students' home pages may be subject to resource availability. Faculty and staff unofficial homepages, separate from any official presence they may have on the Web under the aegis of their university, department, institute, center or project, are subject to resource availability.

Information published by individual faculty, students and staff on unofficial home pages must carry a disclaimer of Augusta State University's responsibility as described in section 4.2. General guidelines apply to both official and unofficial home pages. All network publishers are required to read, understand and abide by these guidelines and policies. Any exceptions to this policy on publishing of unofficial pages may be applied for in writing to the WebMaster.

4.0 General Augusta State University Network Publishing Guidelines

• 4.1 Publisher Identification
  Each official home page must include the following components at the bottom of the page, per the template approved by Public Relations:
  • a rule separating the content of the page from the information below
  • contact information for the group or person responsible for the information, containing an e-mail address for questions or requests for further information.
  • the date the document was last updated and the initials of the person who performed the update(s)
  • a linked icon allowing return to the Augusta State University Home Page
  • a series of links allowing jumps to an Augusta State University search tool, an AC directory, help, and a "what's new" page.
• 4.2 Disclaimers
  

  All unofficial home pages and links from official home pages to unofficial Augusta State University home pages must carry a clickable disclaimer stating: " NOTICE: This is not an official Augusta State University home page. " The text, which is located at http://www.aug.edu/disclaimer.html , following this clickable disclaimer should read as follows:

  "The material you are attempting to access is not officially licensed or sponsored by Augusta State University. While Augusta State University recognizes rights of free speech, it does not endorse the content of any unofficial home page and hereby disclaims all liability for any data, information or opinions contained therein. The Augusta State University official home page is located at http://www.aug.edu/ "

• 4.3 Desirability of original content
  

  Readers of WWW pages seek information on your department, organization or class. The most important contribution provided is content found nowhere else. Collections of links to other sites may have value but may also ultimately frustrate researchers.

• 4.4 Avoiding Duplication
  

  Publishers should avoid duplicating documents appearing elsewhere on the network. Instead, it is preferable to create a link to that information electronically. This helps to prevent errors or contradictions which can occur when duplicating information, and helps to ensure that the original source's name, date updated and continuing updates will appear on the document. As examples, class schedules, enrollment statistics, admission standards and club membership rules, etc., should be published only by the unit involved in generating them. Other units or individuals wishing to refer to these sources of information should provide a link to them in place of reproducing them. If duplication is required, written approval from the creating unit should be obtained. (See 5.7 )

• 4.5 Creating Links
  

  When creating a link to another network document at Augusta State University or elsewhere, it is best to link to that information in its fullest form, or at the highest level (on a Gopher or Web server) that is logical, in order to give fullest credit to the original publishers and to maintain their organization of the information. Neither Augusta university nor any individual Augusta State University network publisher is responsible for the content of information maintained outside of the Augusta State University server(s).

• 4.6 Compliance with Copyright Laws
  

  All network publishers should be aware of United States copyright laws. Any violation of copyright or any other law is the sole responsibility of the publisher(s) of the particular information in question. It is safest to assume that copyright laws that apply to printed material also apply to online publishing. Read more at the Library of Congress Copyright section or at Cornell University . Examples of items requiring approval from the creator of the intellectual property include icons, photographs, poems, texts, musical scores, audio clips, video clips and software. Written consent must be gathered from any individuals appearing in photographs or on audio or video clips.

• 4.7 Compliance with Other Federal and State Laws
  

  Federal and state laws regulate unauthorized access to computer facilities and software. Users of Augusta State University computing facilities are responsible for compliance with these laws as well as with all laws regulating the usage of computers.

• 4.8 Ban on Commercial Use
  

  No use of official or unofficial Augusta State University home pages for profit or commercial purposes (other than official Augusta State University business) is permitted.

• 4.9 Ensuring Currency and Utility
  • Publishers should check their documents and links at least once a month to ensure they remain up to date and are functioning properly.
  • All publicly accessible pages should be usable at all times, or they should be clearly marked as "Testing Only."
  • Publishers of web pages containing information for which Public Information might have to answer questions must notify that office of significant changes.
  • All Web Publishers must delete their unofficial pages upon leaving the university, with possible exceptions noted in the Guidelines.
• 4.10 Questions
  

  If there is any doubt or question about these policies, publishers should contact the WebMaster before publishing. The WebMaster will be the official contact point for questions about Web publishing; it is expected that individuals within units will develop expertise as a matter of interest and will serve as additional contacts for coding and procedural questions.

• 4.11 Noncompliance with This Policy
  

  All publishers of home pages must comply with the Augusta State University Computer and Network Usage Policy, the Augusta State University Web Publishers Guidelines and with all other applicable Augusta State University policies.

  It is not the intention of Augusta State University to edit, monitor or censor personal home pages or those of student organizations, but to provide guidelines for the community. If a conflict with any Augusta State University policies is brought to the attention of the WebMaster, the author of the home page will be notified and asked to take appropriate action. In cases of overriding legal, security, or operational concern, the WebMaster may remove the pages first and notify second.

  Refusal to comply with these policies will result in action by the administration in accordance with student and employee policies. Penalties for refusal to comply may include suspension or loss of privileges to use Augusta State University computer resources and facilities and/or other sanctions published in the Student, Faculty and Staff handbooks. See the Augusta State University Computer and Network Usage Policy for specifics of disciplinary actions.

• 4.12 Appeals Process
  

  Step 1:

  Cases not covered by the Student, Faculty and Staff handbooks rules and procedures, specifically cases relating to opinions of what constitutes objectionable material, will be initially examined by the WebMaster, who will review the issue in light of current Augusta State University policies and procedures.

  Step 2:

  • If a complainant wishes to carry the issue further concerning a student-generated page, the complainant will forward a written complaint to the Student Judicial Board, whose decision will be final.
  • If a complainant wishes to carry the issue further concerning a staff-generated page,the complainant will forward a written complaint to the Staff Council, whose decision will be final.
  • If a complainant wishes to carry the issue further concerning a faculty-generated page, the complainant will forward a written complaint to the Faculty Policies Committee, whose decision will be final.

5.0 Publishing Policies for Official Augusta State University Home Pages

Official Augusta State University home pages represent the university. Policies regarding the appearance and content of official pages are aimed at maintaining consistency in design and content.

• 5.1 Responsibility
  

  Each Augusta State University administrative department, academic department, institute, center or other official unit producing an official home page will be responsible for their own home pages and must designate one or more individuals as the network publisher(s) for that unit. Each designated publisher must arrange with the WebMaster to publish a home page. (See the Web Publisher's Guidelines) While the unit heads have official responsibility for the content and form of information on the unit's home page(s), the designated publisher is responsible for complying with the specifics of the Augusta State University's Network Publishing Policies and Guidelines.

  Specifically, unit heads are responsible for the approval of editorial content and visual design for the unit's WWW pages, excluding official home pages for faculty and staff. Individual faculty and staff Web Publishers are responsible for their own content and visual design. Each Web Publisher (whether publisher for the unit's pages or an individual publisher) is responsible for judging the value of multiple-browser compatibility. Each publisher is also responsible for spelling, content, copyright, policy agreement, and maintenance of their official pages. The unit Web Publisher will also serve as a contact with Information Technology Services for dissemination of information.

  The Web Publisher's name and a contact e-mail address must appear on each official Augusta State University home page. In addition, official home pages will provide links to other official Augusta State University home pages, to other Augusta State University sites clearly specified as unofficial and accompanied by the disclaimer quoted in this policy's section on "Disclaimers," and to sites outside of Augusta State University. If any question arises about either the content or links appearing on an official home page, the person named on the particular home page should be contacted. No one at Augusta State University can accept responsibility for the content of information maintained at another site.

• 5.2 Ownership
  

  Unit and individual official home pages are considered "work for hire" with ownership assigned to the university.

• 5.3 Derivative Works
  

  Should a web publisher relinquish publishing responsibilities, the university retains the right to use, modify and maintain all official pages created for the unit. The former web publisher retains the right to produce derivative works based on the pages they published so long as no official connection with Augusta State University is stated or implied.

• 5.4 Consistency of Design and Official Template
  

  All official home pages must comply with editorial and design standards published in the Web Publisher's Guidelines. In addition, all publishers of official Web home pages must be sensitive to the public relations value of their product. Information contained in and the style of web pages reflect the organization. Unit home pages will be approved by the unit head.

• 5.5 Distinction of Links as Official and Unofficial
  

  Links from official Augusta State University pages to other Augusta State University information should be to other official home pages. If links are to be included to unofficial Augusta State University home pages, however, the links must clearly specify that the ensuing page is "Unofficial" and must carry the disclaimer given in the section of this policy on "Disclaimers."

• 5.6 Official Sources of Information
  

  Publishers generally should not duplicate documents appearing on other parts of the server or elsewhere on the Internet. Augusta State University units generally should not publish information for which another entity is the official source. (See also 4.4)

• 5.7 Approval of Reproduced Information
  

  If it is necessary to reproduce Augusta State University information for which a particular unit is not the source, it is essential to check the accuracy and appropriateness with the source before publishing and to acquire written approval from the source.

• 5.8 Graphic Images
  

  Any "clickable images" must be accompanied by a link version readable with a text-only client such as Lynx.

• 5.9 Procedures
  

  It is the responsibility of the publisher to ensure adequate security for pages containing confidential information (such as student grades or payroll information). The publisher must take the necessary steps to ensure the protection of such confidential information.

6.0 Publishing Policies for Unofficial Augusta State University Home Pages

• 6.1 Responsibility
  

  Unofficial information may be posted and maintained by individual Augusta State University students, faculty, staff members. Augusta State University does not undertake to edit, screen, monitor or censor information on these unofficial home pages. The publishers are solely responsible for the content and organization of information posted by them, even if such information is accessed through Augusta State University servers.

  The Augusta State University Network Publishing Policies and the Augusta State University Computer and Network Usage Policies apply to publishers of unofficial home pages, and all network publishers are required to read, understand and abide by these guidelines and policies. Publication of material on Augusta State University's WWW servers implies the publisher's consent to abide by these guidelines.

  Augusta State University wishes to allow the academic community the greatest possible freedom to use these resources creatively and responsibly, but also wishes to avoid confusion between information officially disseminated by Augusta State University and its various units and information published by individuals that is not the official position of the university.

  Corrections of out-of-date or incorrect information should be sent to the individual listed as responsible on the unofficial home page. Questions concerning conflicts with Augusta State University policies may be addressed to the individual responsible for the particular page and to the Augusta State University WebMaster.

• 6.2 Disclaimer
  

  A link to the disclaimer quoted in the section of this policy entitled "Disclaimers" must be included on all unofficial pages. The disclaimer is located at http://www.aug.edu/disclaimer.html .

• 6.3 Identification
  

  All unofficial pages must include in a clearly visible manner, the name and e-mail address of the person responsible for the information on the page. The date on which the document was last updated must also be included at the page bottom.

7.0 Future Policy Changes

Future changes to this document which are minor in nature (changes to specific URLs, etc.) may be made by the WebMaster, with a copy of the changes forwarded to the Public Information office and to the Information Technology Committee. Substantial changes to this document must be made by the Information Technology Committee.

After any substantial changes, notification will be placed in the "What's New" section of the AC web pages.

These policies are based on Web Publishing Policies primarily from Georgia State University, but also include ideas from Harvard University; University of Texas, Austin; Seattle Pacific University; and, Willamette University.