The UIS Campus Web Policy was established to ensure a high quality, marketing- and service-oriented web presence, including a coordinated presentation of accurate and important information, directed to a wide variety of constituents.

INTENT

The UIS website is designed to be  a marketing tool for attracting new students, a presence representing the UIS campus, and a resource for faculty,staff and students.

SCOPE

This policy applies to any website that falls under uis.edu domain, social media accounts associated with the university, and any mobile application created for use by the University.

Publishing is important to UIS’s initiatives in education, service and economic development. Through quality publications, UIS builds and maintains a strong reputation and image. Electronic publishing, as with more traditional forms of publishing, must maintain high standards in content and presentation.

UIS recognizes the unique value of electronic publishing on the Internet, and so allows and encourages students, staff, and faculty to publish in digital formats. Units are encouraged to create home pages, personal pages, publications pages, or other pages on the Internet that carry out official UIS business in support of the System's missions. Contents of all electronic pages must be consistent with System policies and applicable laws, regardless of whether it is hosted on System servers.

WEBSITE GOVERNANCE

UIS division heads are responsible for appointing Web Liaisons who are responsible for overseeing all unit websites in their divisions, and for assuring the accuracy of all content in unit websites. Web Liaisons should complete the Request Permission to Edit a UIS Website form to formally request permission changes to websites.

Requests to edit an official unit website should be submitted to the appropriate Web Liaison. Please remember to include the name and NetID of the individual when the request is made.

STATEMENT OF POLICY

This policy addresses web and mobile content and applications related to: Accessibility, Compliance, Copyright, Links, Logos and Other Trademarks, Nondiscrimination, Personal Business, Security, Violations, and Privacy.

1. Standards:

All UIS webpages must reflect the visual identity standards for brand and style guidelines and the use of appropriate content, including the following:

1. Style Guidelines have been established by Creative Services and are explained under University of Illinois Springfield’s Publication Standards
2. The university’s name should appear on the homepage for all official department and program webpages.
3. Photos included on the UIS website should:
   1. Be representative of UIS
   2. Be small file size so can be downloaded quickly
   3. Show diversity and be representative of a worldview
   4. Conform to copyright laws
   5. NOT use photos of under-age children in the university’s electronic publications.
4. Appropriate content is defined as conforming to copyright law, privacy law, and no endorsements of commercial products or services.
    

• Accessibility:
  
  Accessibility ensures that UIS websites, information systems, and information technologies are accessible to people with disabilities. It is a state requirement for universities to adhere to the Illinois Information Accessibility Technology Act (IITAA) which establishes specific standards and encourages state universities to address accessibility proactively.

  1. Understand how IITAA and the 508 Standards apply to electronic content, systems, platforms, and frameworks;
  2. Examine resources and follow best practices for web and mobile applications;
     1. Section 508 - Guide to accessible web design and development
     2. W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) - W3C Accessibility Standards Overview 
     3. WAI-ARIA authoring practices
     4. WCAG - Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 
     5. Website Accessibility Under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
  3. Use automated tools, manual testing, and assistive technology-based testing;
     1. Functional Accessibility Evaluator (FAE) Validator
     2. W3C Markup Validator
  4. Links to other resources:
     1. Accessibility Basics - usability.gov
     2. Accessibility for Teams - information specific to different roles (Content Designer, UX Designer, Visual Designer, Front End Developer ) within an organization.
     3. WAVE - Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool plugin for Chrome or Firefox
     4. Understanding the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

   

  3. Copyright:

  Copyright laws apply to electronic publishing as well as to print publishing. UIS web publishers must have permission from the copyright owners to copy and display text, graphics, or photographs on their pages. Web publishers are encouraged to use UIS-created photographs, graphics, or music on their sites. In the alternative, publishers must have a reasonable basis for believing their use of the copyrighted materials of others constitutes fair use or that the materials are in the public domain.

  While creating a website or app, ensure that all necessary rights and permissions have been obtained by the requesting department/unit/college for the material they plan to include in the project. For all practical purposes, UIS copyright policies will be used in determining fair use of the content used in the app. “It is the policy of the University of Illinois at Springfield that faculty, staff and students shall comply with federal copyright law. The guidelines concerning the copying of copyrighted material for classroom use and scholarly research are provided to assist faculty, staff, and students in their efforts to comply with federal law.”

  4. Links:

  Links from a uis.edu page to any non-is.edu site must not imply UIS endorsement of the site's products or services. A disclaimer should be displayed if non-endorsement is not evident from the context. Units must deactivate links that violate this policy.

  5. Logos and Other Trademarks:

  Any appearance of the UIS logo must use the appropriate logo and follow the Creative Service Guidelines and Policies. All pages also must clearly communicate the name of the UIS organization publishing the page. All representations of UIS names, logos, or other trademarks

  must conform to official guidelines outlined by the UIS Publication Standards

  5. Nondiscrimination:

  All webpages must conform to the UIS campus policy on nondiscrimination.

  6. Security:

  UIS is committed to providing a secure web environment. All those who publish on uis.edu pages must comply with applicable law and System policies that protect the integrity of the UIS web and university networks.

  7. Violations:

  Violations of law or UIS policies governing the use of UIS web resources may result in restriction of access to UIS electronic resources. In addition, disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal, may be warranted under other UIS policies or collective bargaining agreements. Any restrictive action must follow standard UIS procedures that assure due process.

  8. Privacy:

  UIS is committed to protecting the privacy of personal information in accordance with applicable law. Please refer to the Web Privacy Notice  and the University Policy on Permanent Cookies for more information.

  9. Social Media:

  UIS social media communications are considered part of the University's electronic information and must comply with UIS policies.

   

  ESTABLISHING WEBSITES AND USER ACCESS

  Official UIS Websites

  If you wish to set up-or edit-an academic program, department, or unit website, please contact your division’s Web Liaison. Upon receiving a request from a Web Liaison regarding a new website, staff from the Office of Web Services will contact the designated editor of the website. OWS will arrange for any necessary training and upon completion, the editor will be given access to the department/unit website or application.

  Student Organization Websites

  Student Organization websites are governed by the Student Affairs division. Requests to establish or edit a Student Organization website should be submitted to the Student Affairs Web Liaison.

  Personal Websites

  If you wish to set up a personal-faculty, staff, or student-website, please contact UIS Tech Support to establish a personal web account on the UIS Student Server

  Outside Organization Affiliated with UIS

  The University of Illinois Springfield recognizes that our faculty and staff have opportunities to assume leadership and service roles with professional, academic, nonprofit organizations. A faculty or academic staff member with a leadership role in a recognized professional, academic, non-profit organization related to his or her discipline or professional responsibilities may request that UIS host that organization’s website.

  Any outside affiliated website is subject to the following policies:

  • Approval by the dean or division head; Download a sample request to establish an outside organization website on the UIS Web Server.
  • Approval based on evaluation of whether the organization meets the standard of a recognized professional, academic, nonprofit organization related to the faculty or academic staff member’s discipline or professional responsibilities;
  • The organization will take full responsibility for creating and maintaining the website. Only a UIS faculty, staff member, or student with a UIS NetID may publish to the website.
  • The organization will be required to sign an Agreement stating that the organization will assume liability for the site; will indemnify the University for any and all claims arising from its operation; will abide by all University and campus policies, as well as all state and federal laws; will limit the University’s liability by agreeing that the University will not be responsible for any level of hosting service, but rather will provide hosting service on an “as is” basis; and will provide that either party in its sole discretion may terminate this Agreement upon ninety (90) days prior notice.
  • The organization may request a particular website name and/or URL, but final determination will be made by UIS Office of Web Services.
  • At the point when a UIS faculty or staff member leaves the University, or no longer serves in an official capacity with the organization, the organization website must be moved (within 3 months) to another (off-UIS) server location. Three months after the UIS affiliation is ended, the hosted website (if not yet moved) will be removed from the UIS server.
  • All University of Illinois and UIS policies pertaining to appropriate use of information technology apply to these websites, including provisions related to prohibitions on commercial advertising, banner ads, and UI endorsements on University servers.
  • The organization will be required to comply with the University of Illinois Web Privacy Policy.

   

  UPDATING AND MAINTAINING CONTENT

  The Office of Web Services recommends that each department audit their website content for accuracy, accessibility, and compliance on a quarterly basis throughout the year. Web Liaisons, Editors, and Authors are responsible for keeping their site content current and up-to-date. By doing so, departments can organically improve their site rank and position in search engines, additionally lowering the costs associated with digital marketing efforts.

  The Office of Web Services conducts regular reviews of each official unit website to assess consistency with campus website objectives. The Office of Web Services may or may not request changes to websites based on the policies, standards, and objectives contained in this document.

  Failure to comply with UIS Policies, Copyright laws, or Accessibility Standards established within this document, can result in the removal of the website and the suspension of editing access.

  THEMES FOR OFFICIAL UIS WEBSITES

  Themes exist for websites that are designated as Official UIS websites. These websites are designed and developed by the UIS Office of Web Services and are used in the web CMS. The themes are not distributed to individuals or to departments and can only be used by approval of the Office of Web Services.

  LOCATION OF OFFICIAL UIS WEB DATA

  All unit website files, such as information and policy pages, databases, applications, photos, media files, etc. must reside in the unit web account or in an account designated by the Web Server Administrator. These files may not reside in Personal Web Accounts, eDocs/Box accounts, or on off-campus servers.

   

  TOOLS

  Image Editing Software

  We strongly advise the use of Adobe Photoshop for creation and editing of graphics for your website. All images should be optimized for the web and sized down to the exact dimensions you need and saved at a resolution of 72dpi. This will ensure that page content loads for Desktop and Mobile users. 

  This software is available in all campus computer labs. Free training and technical support is available from the ITS department. If you choose to use software and methods not supported by the UIS ITS department, you will not be able to receive technical support for your projects.

   

  MOBILE POLICY AND GUIDELINES

  The policies and guidelines outlined in this document are valid for all mobile development that is produced from UIS–by its colleges, divisions, departments, academic courses, organizations, and other units.

  Any apps developed for official university purposes need to contain the University of Illinois Springfield logo or wordmark.

  The Office of Web Services (OWS) does not monitor app development. However, upon monitoring or review of a UIS affiliated app, OWS reserves the right to remove file(s) that violate any university policies and procedures, and U.S. law upon consultation with the UIS Legal Counsel.

  UIS WEB SERVERS

  See the Information Technology Services Website for specific information about servers operated by the ITS department on the UIS campus.

  University of Illinois System Policies for Publishing on the Web

  The University of Illinois maintains policies regarding publishing on the internet and all UIS campus unit websites shall adhere to the policies outlined.

   

  SPECIFIC UIS POLICIES AND LEGAL NOTICES

  Electronic versions of documents or statements that appear on the website are for convenience and accessibility and are believed to be current at the time of posting. However, the official copies of such documents are kept in written format by the Board of Trustees at the Board office or at the appropriate campus office. In case of any discrepancy between the electronic version and the official written version, the official written version shall be deemed definitive.

   

  • The University of Illinois Springfield is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution.
  • University of Illinois Nondiscrimination Statement
  • Web Privacy Policy
  • UIS IT Policies

   

  Acceptable Use

  Access to campus website accounts is a privilege, not a right. Individuals who violate policies and procedures contained in this document or in other official university policies may have their web account privileges suspended or terminated.

   

  WEB CONTENT GUIDELINES

  A departmental webpage represents not only the department but all of UIS. It should be professional and consistent with the rest of the UIS website. Please refer to Web Content Guidelines when creating or editing a webpage. When in doubt, please contact the Office of Web Services for assistance.

  Roles/Definitions

  Campus Web Team: The Division Web Liaisons, the UIS Website Developer, the UIS Web Server Administrator, and a representative from the Campus Relations department compose the Campus Web Team, and govern all matters related to the primary UIS website.

  Official UIS Unit Websites and Webpages: These websites and webpages include any academic program or administrative support unit website or any other webpage designated by the Campus Web Team or the Office of Web Services.

  Authorized User: A person who has been appointed  a Web Liaison, a Website Editor, a Website Author, or a Web Server Administrator.

  Web Liaison: A person designated by the Vice Chancellor of each UIS division to oversee campus websites originating from their division. The Web Liaison is responsible for ensuring the accuracy of information on that division’s unit websites and for overall management of websites in his or her division. Web Liaisons will delegate responsibilities related to unit web accounts to website Editors and website Authors.

  Website Editor: A person who has been given technical “permission” to access a UIS Web server. Based on UIS Information Technology Services department policies, only full-time UIS staff or faculty members may serve as an Editor for an official unit Website.

  Website Author: A person who has been assigned the task of creating a campus department website. This person must “Send for Review” any pages he or she has created to an authorized Editor who will publish or update the changes made to the websites.

  UIS Web Server Administrator: A person responsible for technical maintenance of the primary UIS Web Server, and other Web servers.

  UIS Website Developer: A person responsible for creating and maintaining the campus home page and all top level pages on the campus website.

  Web Server: A UIS computer that contains the necessary software to link the accounts contained therein to the UIS World Wide Web presence, i.e., any website with a URL ending in “uis.edu.”