Colby Web Policy

By its very nature, the World Wide Web is a diverse and complex resource with great potential to enhance acquaintance with the broad knowledge that is the basis of the liberal arts and lifelong learning. Colby's Web Server will be used by faculty, students, and staff to facilitate the teaching, learning, research, and administrative functions that take place both on campus and off. It will be used as a channel for the distribution of information about the college, its programs, and activities to the world at large. Finally, it will be used to enhance a campus environment in which our students, faculty, and staff are able to participate in a free and open exchange of ideas and views in creative and responsible ways.

General oversight of the web pages and procedures governing the use of these network facilities will be the responsibility of the Web Management Group. Recommendations and advice by this group for web page development can be found at "www.colby.edu/web".

Only officially approved groups may have designated space on Colby’s web server. Official clubs, organizations, and departments may have directories off of the "www.colby.edu" address (e.g., "www.colby.edu/career.serv/" for Career Services). Other directory creation requests will be granted at the Web Management Group’s discretion.

Departments and other entities have broad discretion in the creation and management of web pages as long as they meet the guidelines and responsibilities outlined here. Each entity must have a designated sponsor who will coordinate efforts to develop the web pages and who will have write privileges to those areas of the web server. Academic department sponsors must be members of the faculty.

• Sponsors will be responsible for ensuring that the content of the material is accurate, current, and appropriate for online use.
• Out of date or incorrect information may result in web pages being removed. It is expected that in most cases information on the web pages will be updated at least annually, although more frequent updates may be required.
• Sponsors will agree to both create and maintain their sections of the web regardless of staff and student changes.
• Sponsors may designate a contact person to gather, organize, format, update, delete and manage the group’s documents. If this function is not performed for any significant length of time, a sponsor's access privileges may be revoked and the group’s pages may be removed from network access.

All arrangements with freelance or other contract web development services outside the College must be arranged through the Department of Communications. In no case will write-access permissions be given for contracted web work to anyone that is not a current student, faculty, or staff member. The Code of Ethics for Information Technology at Colby College (included in the student, faculty, and staff handbooks, as well as available online at "www.colby.edu/info.tech/policies") prohibits any student, faculty, or staff account holder from sharing his or her account password with anyone.

A portion of the server is set aside for the creation of individual home pages by students, faculty, and staff. Pages of this type would be expected to meet the same legal and policy guidelines as the official pages. Personal pages are removed when the person’s user account is closed. Limitations on the size and number of these pages are imposed through a storage quota.

While the responsibility for the preparation of web pages will reside with each sponsoring entity or individual, the Library, Information Technology Services, and the Department of Communications will provide workshops, documentation, style guides, templates, and other resources to aid in the creation of high quality web pages. Colby's Web Server may not be used in any manner prohibited by law or prohibited by licenses, contracts, or College regulations. Groups or individuals creating or sponsoring web pages are accountable for the information they "publish" and should be aware of College policies regarding confidential information, harassment, and the Code of Ethics for Information Technology at Colby College. Areas of concern include but are not limited to:

• Unauthorized use of copyrighted items such as images, audio or video recordings, text, or software.
• Use of pages for the purpose of private financial gain not relevant to the mission of the College.
• Presenting obscene or threatening messages.
• Use of pages to intimidate or single out individuals or groups for denigration or harassment.
• Use of pages to engage in any illegal activity.
• Violation of confidentiality laws and College policies on the release of personal information, especially those related to FERPA.
• Posting of personal photographs of individuals, except from a public venue, without the permission of the individual subject(s).

In cases where there is a violation of these guidelines or related regulations or laws, a page may be removed from network access while the matter is referred to the appropriate College disciplinary authority. Instances of external reports of copyright violations will be handled under the College policy implementing our registration under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (available online at "www.colby.edu/info.tech/policies/DMCA.html"). Anyone who is uncertain whether a particular use is appropriate should consult with an advisor before creating the page. The Director of Information Technology Services or the Director of the Department of Communications will help anyone to identify the appropriate advisor, who in most cases will be the employee's supervisor or department chair or, in the case of students, a representative of the Dean of Students.

While College policies protect individuals’ rights to privacy, including a prohibition on tracking web page access within the Colby network and elsewhere on the Internet, individuals should be aware that any access to web pages outside the Colby network may be monitored by outside entities, including law enforcement, business marketers, and malicious individuals. Care should be exercised in accessing web sites on the Internet.
The College disclaims all responsibility for servers that may emerge on campus other than the Colby Web Server. No such server may use Colby's name, logo, or other symbol identified with the college, or purport to speak for the College or any of its departments, or imply an association with or sponsorship by the College.

Revised and approved by the Information Technology Committee, March 20, 2002

Approved by the Information Technology Committee, May 5, 2003