Topics Map > Policies
Topics Map > Campus Services > Web

University of Wisconsin-Platteville Website Policy

Questions regarding this policy should be directed to the Web Development office.



University of Wisconsin-Platteville Website Policy

Web pages will be consistent with existing state and federal laws, as well as other governing policies.
Pages within the www.uwplatt.edu domain is stewarded by the University of Wisconsin Marketing Department.
Policies governing official pages that directly represent the university and its offices, divisions and departments.
Continued oversight is important as the web grows in functionality and ability.
Ensure accurate, moderated, positive presentation on the web.
The standards of appropriateness by which pages must comply.
Departments and faculty must have a minimum amount of information available on the web.
Because web content is so visible and valuable, it's going to take an investment of time on the part of many.
All Web pages published on the UW-Platteville web server(s) must comply with the criteria identified below for each category of user. In addition to these criteria, web pages will be consistent with the following existing laws and policies (non-inclusive):
Any content within the uwplatt.edu domain is representative of the university, and therefore must follow standards of appropriateness. There are three primary levels in which content may be published: University of Wisconsin-Platteville WWW website pages ( located at https://www.uwplatt.edu/ ), University of Wisconsin-Platteville News ( located at https://www.uwplatt.edu/news ), University of Wisconsin-Platteville Events ( located at https://www.uwplatt.edu/events )

Official pages directly represent the university and its offices, divisions, and departments to the university's various audiences—potential students, current students, employees, friends, visitors and casual visitors—are considered University Pages. University Pages are not owned by departments or units; rather, they are stewarded by them as content experts. Therefore, these pages must conform to the design styles adopted by the university to give the site unity, coherence, functionality, and readability. They must also conform to specific levels of professionalism and appropriateness.

Continued oversight is important as the web grows in functionality and ability. To help manage the changing needs of the university’s website, a Website Advisory Group ( WAG ) shall be established to manage, advise, and oversee the overall appearance and functionality if the web.

The primary purpose in establishing divisional editing, publishing, and auditing policies is to ensure an accurate, moderated, positive presentation on the web. We strongly encourage each division and college to enact some simple yet effective procedures to internally curate and manage online content while following university standards. As a marketing and educational tool, the web is our best way to communicate the achievements and positive aspects of the university in a consistent and appropriate fashion. As such, standards are necessary in providing a structured and consistent voice and message set by the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Marketing Department.

Whether manipulated or original, images and video should portray a positive image of the university and its intended actions, of its programs and activities, and of the faculty, staff, and students, and promote appropriate and tolerant behavior. Images should not be suggestive of discrimination (as defined in the university discrimination and harassment policy) or illegal activities; nor should they promote, endorse, or construe sexual or drug-related behavior by the campus population or alcohol-related behavior by students.

Like images and video, text content should portray the university and its constituents in a positive manner. Similarly, content stewards should be mindful to avoid innuendo, double meanings, and other potential accidents that could be harmful to the image of the university.

Non-University Programs should be associated, in partnership, or in collaboration with a related program at UW-Platteville. Non-university program content should be appropriately weighted against UW-Platteville content on the same page. Educational domains (.edu) are not permitted to sell advertising space.
Social media links must direct to university-affiliated accounts. Those accounts must have an active presence, and must maintain the above content standards to present the university in a positive light.

Links are considered a type of content. Therefore, links must be in some way related to the purpose of the office or department and in no way for promotion. Linking to an off-site page is in essence a way of vouching for another page’s content. Consider carefully what you are “vouching” for, and review links regularly in case off-site content changes.

Departments must have a minimum amount of information available on the web.
  1. Hours of operation
  2. Staff directory with contact information
  3. A “department” page with general information about the department.
  4. Contact information (phone, e-mail, office location)
Because web content is so visible and valuable, it is strongly suggested that each department invest time and energy into its representative content.
Failure to update necessary pages at a minimum will result in additional communication and potentially the removal of content.

Space on this resource is a privilege, and all users are expected to follow established website policies.
  • If faculty or staff have information on their personal pages that is for instructional use, then that material must be available upon request in a compliant format according to the W3C Accessibility guidelines. It is recommended however that course-specific instructional material be placed in the instructor's Canvas course management account.
  • Board of Regents Policy on Copyrightable Instructions Materials Ownership, Use and Control (G27):
  • The posting of intellectual property on a personal page does not void copyright.
  • Content of a political or religious nature, either positive or negative, is prohibited unless for use in documented, curriculum-based instruction. In such instances, it is recommended that this material be posted on the instructor’s Canvas course management account.
Official student organizations that wish to have a web presence will do so preferably through PioneerLink ( CampusLabs ) or Microsoft SharePoint under the general stewardship of the Pioneer Involvement Center, which oversees all student organizations. As such, web standards for student organizations are identical to standards for general university pages (see 4.1.3. Standards for University Pages).

The subdomain is permitted under one of the following instances:
  • The web site resides on a physical server other than the primary web server, contains content or applications that cannot be hosted on the primary web server, and the content must be made available to the University community.
  • The subdomain name is for one of the University's audiences. Because of the challenge and expense involved in managing large numbers of individual subdomains for every department, Individual departments or programs should not have their own.
  • All subdomains must be approved by the CIO.
  • Subdomain names should be reviewed annually by the Office of Information Technology Services. Subdomains no longer in use should be retired each year.
  • All subdomains must use the *.uwplatt.edu domain name.


1. General Provisions

1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Web accounts are provided for the purpose of academic, administrative, and personal use. University computing resources are property of the state of Wisconsin and, as such, commercial use outside the mission of the university is prohibited.

Web developers should design pages that are compliant with the W3C WCAG 2.x, minimum compliance Level A Accessibility standards, https://www.w3.org/ including preparing pages that are compatible with screen readers. Developers are also encouraged to create pages that are low bandwidth sites, to allow users without the latest technology and low bandwidth to use the site. For information regarding W3C Accessibility standards, please visit the W3C web site on Accessibility. The Web Style Guide is also available for reference.

Back to top.

2. OWNERSHIP

Back to top.

2.1. University Pages

Back to top.

2.1.1. University oversight

The Website Advisory Group shall be made up of individuals from Communications; ITS; the Faculty, Academic Staff, and Student Senates; and administration.

This group shall meet as needed to evaluate the current state of our website and address requests and needs of university constituents.

Back to top.

Back to top.

2.1.2. Standards for University Pages

2.1.3. Images and Video

For consistency, images used on the University of Wisconsin-Platteville website(s) must come from by the University photographer or purchased from a University approved image resource website.

All video displayed on the University of Wisconsin-Platteville website(s) will be delivered from a University of Wisconsin-Platteville YouTube account.

Back to top.

2.1.3.b. Text

Back to top.

2.1.3.c. Advertising Non-University Programs

Back to top.

2.1.3.d. Social media

Back to top.

2.1.3.e. Links to Other Websites

Consider fair representation when listing products, groups, or businesses.

Back to top.

2.1.4. Minimum Required Pages and Information

It is recommended that faculty also use a professional homepage (not a Personal Page) directly linked to their staff listing.

Back to top.

2.1.5. Content Managed by Invested Individuals

The Steering Committee strongly encourages each area to have a content steward. Such individuals recognize the value of a web presence and can dedicate sufficient time in making that presence meaningful.

If a department doesn’t have the necessary resources or skill sets, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Marketing department will work closely with content stewards to ensure minimum content and design standards are met.

Back to top.

2.1.6. External Auditing Process

If standards defined in this policy are found to be lax, the content manager will contact the appointed content steward or department and suggest possible alternatives to current content. If standards are grossly abandoned, Marketing or ITS, and the content manager have the authority to remove such content without first communicating with the content steward or department.

Back to top.

2.2. Personal Pages

The purpose of personal pages is to freely express ideas, share educational information, etc. Creating content on the uwplatt.edu domain constitutes paid work, just as any use of the university property constitutes work. As such, content is subject to university standards. While these pages are personal in content, they do reside on the university web server(s) and reflect an image of the university, and therefore can be audited for inappropriate content.

“UW System institutions are often directly involved in the development of copyrightable instructional materials, because they provide substantial public resources to support the creation and production of these materials. Institutional involvement is likely to expand substantially with the increased use of information technology in the creation of multimedia instructional materials and distance education course offerings.

“The UW System does not assert a property interest in materials which result from the author’s pursuit of traditional teaching, research, and scholarly activities. The creation of materials such as theses, scholarly articles, journal articles, research bulletins, monographs, and books occurs, in most circumstances, as an integral part of the author’s position as a UW System employee. In those cases where substantial institutional resources are provided to support the development of instructional materials, however, the UW System may assert ownership or other property interests that should be addressed through specific agreements with the authors and producers of the materials.”

For the full policy, see UW-System Administration

Back to top.

2.3 Student Organizations

Any student organization may establish its own web presence outside of the UW-Platteville domain, but as an official student organization, the off-site web presence must adhere to the same university standards as on-site pages.

Back to top.

Subdomains for uwplatt.edu

Because of certain underlying principles supporting subdomains, subdomains may only be implemented if the web site meets the following criteria.

  • The web site resides on a physical server other than the primary web server, contains content or applications that cannot be hosted on the primary web server, and the content must be made available to the University community.
  • The subdomain name is for one of the University's audiences. Because of the challenge and expense involved in managing large numbers of individual subdomains for every department, Individual departments or programs should not have their own.
  • All subdomains must be approved by the CIO.
  • Subdomain names should be reviewed annually by the Office of Information Technology Services. Subdomains no longer in use should be retired each year.


  • All subdomains must use the *.uwplatt.edu domain name.



Keywords:Web Policy   Doc ID:72027
Owner:Bryan M.Group:UW Platteville
Created:2017-03-24 14:00 CDTUpdated:2022-03-07 14:31 CDT
Sites:UW Platteville
Feedback:  0   0