DSU World Wide Web Policy

Mission of the DSU Web 

The Dakota State University web provides online access to university information and resources that support administration, marketing, learning, teaching, and research of the university.

DSU Web Administration 

1. DSU Computing Services will provide and maintain the hardware and software necessary for DSU’s web servers. The E-Communications Coordinator will have day-to-day responsibility for DSU’s website. The E-Communications Coordinator and staff will provide assistance and training in creating web content and managing websites.

2. The DSU homepage is at http://www.dsu.edu/. No other website shall portray itself as representing the University as a whole. The design and content management of the DSU homepage and the links it contains to other sites and pages shall be the responsibility of the E-Communications Coordinator.

3. Maintenance of the lists of faculty, staff, and student personal homepages and the allocation of space for personal homepages shall be the responsibility of the DSU Computing Services Staff (contact via email at CompSvsWebSite@dsu.edu ).

 Official Web Content 

All DSU departments and offices are expected to have web presence. All web content posted on department and office websites are considered official. They must be under the administration and supervision of the University president or the appropriate vice president, dean, director, or department chair of each respective unit. Web content created by students or by faculty and staff members, and posted on personal homepages, is not considered official and is not monitored by University staff.

 Personal Web Space and Personal Homepage 

1. Each faculty and staff member is encouraged to create and maintain a personal homepage under the www.homepages.dsu.edu domain. A personal web space will be made available for a new employee upon notification from the respective department. When an employee leaves Dakota State University, the related department should notify the E-Communications Coordinator so that the web space of that person can be taken down from the DSU website. Special consideration may be given upon request and an extension may be allowed with the approval of the Chief Information Officer.

2. Each student is encouraged to create and maintain a personal homepage under the www.students.dsu.edu domain. A personal web space will be made available for each new student after the new student is assigned a DSU domain user account. The availability of the personal web space is contingent upon the student’s active enrollment status at Dakota State University. The personal web space of a student can be taken down shortly after the student graduates or leaves DSU. Special consideration may be given upon request and an extension of no more than two years may be allowed with the approval of the Chief Information Officer.

3. Personal use of the DSU network must not cause excessive usage of DSU computer network resources and must not absorb excessive bandwidth. Content owners of personal web space must observe the related policies set by Dakota State University.

4. Postings to the personal homepages by individual staff members, students, and student organizations reflect the opinions of the site creators. The postings do not implicitly or explicitly represent official positions and policies of Dakota State University. By posting information on their personal homepages, individuals and organizations assume responsibility and liability for the content of their pages. Individuals and organizations are solely responsible for obtaining appropriate permission to include copyrighted material or images on their pages. Dakota State University assumes no responsibility for individual failure to fulfill this responsibility. Any comments and feedback should be addressed to the owner of the page. For further assistance, contact CompSvsWebSite@dsu.edu. 

 Compliance with Laws and Policies 

1. DSU web content, including personal homepage content, must comply with local, state, and federal laws, as well as the policies and procedures of Dakota State University, the South Dakota Board of Regents, and the Council of Higher Education (COHE), including, but not limited, to laws and policies regarding copyright, harassment, libel, violence, or obscenity. Although a complete list of relevant policies is not possible here, web content owners are responsible for complying with the following DSU policies: Use of United States Copyright Act (01-70-00), Logo Usage (01-63-00), Computing Privileges (03-61-00), and Sexual Harassment (02-81-00).
2. Web space provided by DSU should not be used for business advertising, solicitation, or business operations. For course-related projects that require the creation of pseudo-commercial advertising content, a disclaimer should be placed on the page stating the course-related nature of the page, along with reference to the relevant course.
3. Web space, including personal web space, may not include any direct or indirect promotion of or reference to the use or distribution of tobacco products, alcohol or drugs.

4. All official DSU web page content must be compliant with Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act and be accessible to people with disabilities, particularly those with visual impairments.

 Content Ownership and Responsibility (Official Content)

The DSU web relies on a distributed system of information ownership, with the following characteristics:

1. Each department or office that publishes information on the website has full responsibility for content accuracy and currency of the information.
2. As described in the DSU Web Authoring Style Guide (http://departments.dsu.edu/webstyleguide/), all official documents published on the DSU Web should provide clear ownership information. Feedback and response to those documents should be directed to the appropriate contact person.
3. The University exercises no overall editorial control over documents published on each department or office website, beyond the guidelines described in the DSU Web Authoring Style Guide.
4. When a department or office does not have web authoring expertise but needs to maintain a web presence, the E-Communications Coordinator and staff will provide development assistance, and help train the staff of the respective department or office in web content maintenance.
5. Web content should be kept current and updated in a timely manner.  All content should be reviewed annually.  Content owners will be contacted and a schedule for reviewing the content will be determined. If no review or update can be scheduled in a timely manner, the page or related site could be temporarily taken down from the DSU website at the discretion of the editorial review team.

 DSU Web Authoring Style Guide

While acknowledging the value in its diversity, Dakota State University is also committed to its existence and image as "one university.” It is important that University web pages, despite their diverse origins, clearly convey their relationship to the whole University. It is also important that such pages adhere to standards of quality and professionalism appropriate for an institution of higher education. Finally, attention to accessibility and user-friendliness is critical to effectively carry out the University's mission.

Please refer to The DSU Web Authoring Style Guide for requirements, recommendations, and resources that are intended to promote the goals described above. The E-Communications Coordinator and staff will provide assistance for department and office authors in following and implementing the DSU Web Authoring Style Guide.

 Web Policy Governance

The Computing Resources Advisory Committee (CRAC) will assist the E-Communications Coordinator in drafting DSU web policy for CRAC consideration and approval, recommending strategic missions for DSU web, and encouraging contributions by all campus units and individuals. (See DSU Policy 04-55-00)