Introduction and Purpose

California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) supports and encourages freedom of expression and an open environment for the pursuit of knowledge. However, the contents of all web pages under university jurisdiction must comply with local, state and federal laws and university policies, rules, and regulations.

The service to students and community of CSUDH, as well as the University's image and reputation, is determined, in part, by the quality of information it publishes electronically. The university's web presence will be, for many, their first and only view of CSUDH.

Therefore, the purpose of the university's web policy is to ensure the accuracy, consistency, integrity, usability and accessibility of university web content by providing a set of minimum standards and guidelines.

General oversight of the university's web servers and web pages, and policies governing the use of these resources, is the responsibility of the Web Access Management Committee (WAM), Chief Technology Officer, and the office of University Communications and Public Affairs.

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Scope

California State University, Dominguez Hills' ("Cal State Dominguez Hills," "University" or "CSUDH") World Wide Web pages are considered university publications, subject to the guidelines set forth by the office of University Communications and Public Affairs.

The Web Access Management Committee (WAM) and its subcommittee(s) oversee the structure and development of the California State University, Dominguez Hills website (rogmkd.gafmacademy.com).

The WAM Committee and subcommittee(s) are appointed by and report to the President. The Office of Administrative Information Systems (AIS) within Information Technology provides the computer hardware and access to the CSUDH main web server, in addition to providing various web-based services.

This policy governs any electronic documents made available via standard web protocols which represent an official unit or activity of the university, are hosted on university resources, or bear marks, logos, or symbols that might imply endorsement by the university regardless of where they are hosted.

This policy applies to all members of the CSUDH community, and governs all networked World Wide Web storage and communications systems utilizing university networks or name space, regardless of ownership, whether individually controlled or shared.

Organizational units have broad discretion in establishing additional reasonable and appropriate "conditions of use" for web information resources under their control. Such policies shall be consistent with this policy although they may provide more detail, guidelines, and/or restrictions. Such policies supplement this policy but do not supercede or replace it.

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Definitions

1. Website is a collection of web pages, or collection of related websites, that has a coherent purpose and is managed by one person or group. A web page is a unit of information delivered to a user in a format intended for display in a web browser or web appliance.
2. Web Homepage is any web page that serves as the primary portal, table of contents, or designated entry point for a website.
3. Website Owner is any person or organizational unit serving as the primary provider or publisher of a website.

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Official University Web Pages

Official CSUDH web pages are any electronic documents that satisfy both of the following conditions:

1. authorized by an administrator of a CSUDH division, office, school, department, unit or program
2. housed on a University server, on a server rented by the University, or within the University's Internet domain ("gafmacademy.com")

Any CSUDH web pages that contain official university information or are directly connected with the university's mission, including faculty, staff and university approved student organization pages and any pages that provide classroom or coursework materials, are considered official pages. All main departments, colleges, and programs are considered official web pages and must adhere to the CSUDH guidelines for official pages.

Ongoing web site maintenance of official pages is the responsibility of the division, school, department, unit or program, which are considered the web page publishers. Each web site must be assigned to a web representative. As with all of the University's external print publications, the President or designee has the right to review the official websites for their adherence to CSUDH Web Policy and the CSUDH Mission and Goals. Web representatives will meet regularly to discuss web-related issues and contribute to the ongoing effort for a consistent look, developing user-friendly navigation and addressing web access issues.

Web page owners and publishers are required to review and understand their duties as posted in the "Web Roles" section of the WAM site.

If pages are not kept current, the department/office will be contacted with a deadline date for refreshing the information. If not refreshed by the deadline, the web page(s) will be removed by the webmaster. This includes all available links to the web page(s).

Official CSUDH Web Page Requirements:

1. The University's complete name –"California State University, Dominguez Hills" –must appear at or near the top of every web page as text or as a graphic image. When the CSUDH logo or word mark is used, the image must be a link to the CSUDH home page located at rogmkd.gafmacademy.com. The web page publisher must include the text alternative, "California State University, Dominguez Hills home page."
2. A "CSUDH Home Page" link.
3. Every web page must include a descriptive title for indexing/search purposes. The page publisher should refer to the Web Style Guide located in the WAM site.
4. The web page publisher must provide the following, or similarly formatted, contact information on the top-level page of a department or unit web site:
   
   Department Name -- E-mail: department_name@gafmacademy.com 
   Open Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 5 p.m. (or appropriate department hours) 
   xxx Campus Building Name 
   California State University, Dominguez Hills 
   1000 East Victoria Street, Carson, CA 90747 
   Telephone: (310) 243-xxxx Fax: (310) xxx-xxxx
5. The web page publisher must note the date the page was created or updated. If more than one person is maintaining the page, the publisher may want to include the name or initials of the person who made the last modification, i.e. “Last updated Thu. Jan-30-03, 09:21, by -Owner Name-”. The web page owner name should be a "mailto:" link to that person's email address.
6. The top-level page of every department or unit site must link back to the California State University, Dominguez Hills home page at http://rogmkd.gafmacademy.com. Every "lower level" web page must provide a link back to the department or unit home page.
7. The web page publisher must respect the copyrights of text, sound, and graphic material, remembering that the appearance of material in print does not indicate that California State University, Dominguez Hills holds permission for use beyond that appearance.
8. University academic and administrative units may acknowledge corporate sponsorships through text and/or the display of corporate logos or trademarks, which may link to sites beyond the gafmacademy.com domain. (For example, a department’s web page publicizing a performance or special event may display information and provide links to sponsors that underwrite the activity.) For these pages with links beyond the gafmacademy.com domain, either with or without sponsorship, must include a link to the centralized disclaimer page in the footer.
9. The link for any information on your web page that exists in original form elsewhere on the website (e.g., class schedule, campus map, directions to campus) must be linked to that original source, rather than copying it. This reduces duplication and helps ensure consistency and accuracy.
10. When using official University graphic images/logos on your web site, use the standard versions supplied by the off ice of University Communications and Public Affairs. Note: the official University seal or logo cannot be altered in any way.
11. The following disclaimer: The statements found on the (departments/college/auxiliary) web page are for informational purposes only. While every effort is made to ensure that this information is up to date and accurate, official information can be found in the University Catalog and Class Schedule.
12. Web page owners and publishers must adhere to the web accessibility standards as set by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board as part of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The standards, and information on how to implement them, are outlined on the CSUDH Web Accessibility Information site located at http://rogmkd.gafmacademy.com/access/.
13. If the web page is not ready to launch, it should not be linked to the CSUDH homepage and/or Department main page, thus eliminating “Under Construction” pages.
14. All online forums must be secured by requiring login authentication. Open public posting on forums is not allowed.
15. All new website design and/or reorganization of website content must be submitted to the Office of Communications and Public Affairs for approval prior to development. These elements will be reviewed:
    • Technical
      • Usability and accessibility
      • Good coding (is there a better way to say this?)
    • Design
      • Adherence to the university strategic branding
      • Consistency of website layout with university website style
      • Appropriate use of color, fonts, feature photographs, department headers
    • Content
      • Consistency with strategic university messaging
      • Adherence to university editorial guidelines
      • Organization and clarity of content
      • Ease of navigation

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Unofficial University Web Pages

Unofficial CSUDH web pages are any electronic documents that satisfy both of the following conditions:

1. not formally acknowledged by an administrator of a CSUDH division, office, school, department, unit or program.
2. not housed on a University server, on a server rented by the University, or within the University's Internet domain ("gafmacademy.com")

Student, faculty, and staff personal pages, and student organizations web pages are considered unofficial web pages.

While the university encourages the authors of these unofficial web sites to adhere to standards of civility, professionalism, and university discourse, unofficial web sites are the property and responsibility of those who create them.

CSU Dominguez Hills does not undertake to edit, screen, monitor, or censor information posted on non-administrative web sites and does not accept any responsibility or liability for such information. Errors on these pages are not a university obligation or prerogative, even if an unofficial web site is housed on a university server or within the university’s Internet domain name (“gafmacademy.com”).

Although CSU Dominguez Hills is not responsible for unofficial pages, the University does reserves the right to remove from any CSUDH web server any page that is found to be in violation of the law or university policies or interests or that is detrimental to performance of the web server or the network.

Unofficial CSUDH Web Page Requirements:

The following statement must appear on any CSUDH web page that provides links to unofficial CSUDH pages:

"The views and opinions expressed on unofficial pages of California State University, Dominguez Hills faculty, staff or students are strictly those of the page authors. The content of these pages has not been reviewed or approved by California State University, Dominguez Hills."

The disclaimer statement must be placed immediately preceding links to unofficial pages.

The content of a student organization's web page must relate specifically to the activities of that organization. Organization pages must include the campus address and phone number of the organization or the name of a responsible officer.

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