Lincoln University Acceptable Use Policy for
Computing and Network Services

Appendix C: World Wide Web Policies and Guidelines

A. Policies
Loss of account : Content Appropriateness : Course Pages :
Process for Obtaining a Web Account :
Process for External Entities to Obtain a Link from the University Root Web Pages

B. Departmental Web Development Guidelines
Responsibility of Department Heads : Responsibility of Department Developers :
The Web Integration Manager will… :

C. Web Page Style Guidelines
Guidelines for All Pages : Departmental Pages : Course Pages : Organization Pages :
Faculty & Staff Personal Pages : Official Links : Official Web site Banners and Graphics
Official Colors : Official Fonts

A. Policies

• The Lincoln home page http://www.lincolnu.edu is an official publication of the University. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials, including text and photographs, appearing on the home page or subsequent official home pages of specific departments are copyrighted and should not be reproduced without written permission from the University.
• Official web pages are a reflection of the University. It is important for all contributors to ensure that their information is well-organized, accurate, and timely.
• Web pages linked to the Lincoln web site may be created by academic departments, administrative departments, programs, centers or institutes, governance groups, and faculty and staff.
• Recognized student groups may create home pages that are linked to the Lincoln home page with the approval of the Vice President of Student Affairs.
• The Official Lincoln root web pages are the responsibility of  the Department of University Relations. Content for all root web pages must be submitted to the Department of University Relations for approval before being placed on the Lincoln home page. Content on subsequent Official Lincoln University pages, such as academic department pages, administrative department pages, pages for programs, governance groups, or centers or institutes, must be approved by the department head, director, or person in authority to speak for that entity, and must conform to Lincoln University guidelines for web page design. Course pages and faculty and staff personal pages must conform to Lincoln University guidelines for web page design.
• If a home page represents a recognized unit of the institution, it is considered official, regardless of the file location, and must follow University web design guidelines.
• A primary contact must be identified for the creation and maintenance of all official home pages. This person's name and e-mail address must be included on the page. The contact is responsible for periodically reviewing and updating the information.
• All official University pages should be evaluated and/or updated at least monthly. Periodically, the Office of University Relations will review the pages for content viability and/or adhesion to design guidelines.
• Each web account is limited to 5 Megabytes of storage space and 10,000 page accesses (hits) per month. This allotment can be raised with approval of ITS, contingent upon increased server capacity.
• Plagiarism of World Wide Web documents, graphics, or other resources is prohibited.
• Hosting material that is illegal or dangerous is strictly forbidden. Examples of such material include pirated or unlicensed programs or applications, viruses or material containing viruses, documents containing information that is intended to be used in the perpetration of illegal activities, unlicensed music, art or other copyrighted material, or any material that causes disruption of the University network.

Loss of account

Web pages will be pulled immediately for the following violations:

- pornography / sexually explicit material on pages
- sales/advertisements/ advertisements banners on pages
- threatening or malicious material
- illegal or dangerous material
- material opposite to Lincoln's mission or in anyway harmful to the University.
- sexual harassment

Content Appropriateness

Lincoln University reserves the right to monitor content housed on University servers and links to content residing elsewhere. All content will be reviewed for appropriateness periodically.

Course Pages

Web accounts for individual courses will be granted with the approval of the department head for the department that offers the course.

Process for Obtaining a Web Account

To obtain a web account on a Lincoln University web server, the person authorized to obtain the account must fill out a web account agreement form. Official Lincoln University pages, such as academic department pages, administrative department pages, pages for programs, governance groups, or centers or institutes, must be approved by the department head, director, or person in authority to speak for that entity, and must conform to Lincoln University guidelines for web page design. If assistance is required with setting up the account directory, or with the initial posting,  please check the  ITS knowledgebase or submit a service request for ITS web services help .

Process for External Entities to Obtain a Link from the University Root Web Pages

To obtain a link from the University pages to any other Internet URL, submit the proposed link by email to webmaster@lincolnu.edu. ITS Web Services will review the proposed link and, if deemed a valuable resource, the link will be added to an appropriate page or area on the Lincoln University Web site. All links are subject to review, and may be removed from the Lincoln web site at any time without warning.

B. Departmental Web Development Guidelines

Responsibility of Department Heads

• Determine who the department web developer(s) will be. Authorize individuals who you wish to have access to your department's web directory by filling out the web account agreement form.
• Determine the content, including links, of your departmental web pages. Keep in mind that you are responsible for the content, accuracy and timeliness of your pages.
• Make sure your web developers are following web policies and guidelines.
• If you have questions about web policies and procedures, please check the  ITS knowledgebase or submit a service request for ITS web services assistance.

Responsibility of Department Developers

• Make sure all of your pages conform to the web policies and guidelines.
• Ensure that all web content is current and accurate. Periodic review of page content is recommended. At minimum, content should be reviewed and updated once per semester.
• If you have questions about web policies and procedures, please check the  ITS knowledgebase or submit a service request for ITS web services assistance.

ITS Web Services will…

• Provide a directory on the web server ( www.lincolnu.edu) for your content.
• Provide short courses, documentation, and consultation on web page creation.
• Provide web page templates.
• Provide a link from the Lincoln University pages to your departmental home pages.
• Answer your questions regarding web page creation via email to webmaster@lincolnu.edu
• Set up and activate a scripts directory if requested.
• Provide links to official University graphics, style-sheets and information pages.

Other web related requests, such as customized scripts, forms, or graphics, or other tasks, that require ITS Web InServices assistance will be prioritized based on date submitted, work load and resource availability.

C. Web Page Style Guidelines

Guidelines for All Pages

• Be aware of the style guidelines that affect your pages. See sections below on "Departmental Pages, Organization Pages, Course Pages, and Personal Pages". All pages must conform to the web policies and style guidelines as stated in this document.
• Make sure each web page is individually understandable. Your web pages should not depend entirely on other pages to be meaningful. If a web page is part of a larger group of html pages, include relevant links between pages.
• Use the <title> tag to place a concise and unique title on every html document.
• Use "index.htm, index.html, or index.shtml" as your primary html file.
• Make linked text meaningful. Avoid links with "click here"; use highlighted words with content. For example, use " View Web Guidelines", rather than
  "To view web guidelines, click here!"
• Make your pages accessible to people with disabilities. Use descriptions on all graphics. Provide text summaries for charts or graphs. If a page is graphic dependent, provide a text only version.
• Limit the size and number of images to decrease download time. If you wish to include larger images, use a thumbnail image to link to the larger version, and warn readers of the size of the image.
• Add a link called " webmaster" that points to a form at the following address: http://www.lincolnu.edu/~oit/forms/comment_form.htm

Departmental Pages

Department pages are all web pages that represent the departmental units of Lincoln University.

• Departmental Pages must conform to all guidelines and policies contained in this document.
• Must have official web design banner which is kept at the location /common/graphics/banner.jpg or banner_seal.jpg and may be linked directly.
• Must have the official banner links to other main areas at the Lincoln University site.
• Must have a white background
• The width of the content of the page should not be greater than 750 pixels wide. 750 pixels represents the width of the official banner, and can be viewed properly with resolutions as low as 800x600 pixels.
• Must provide an appropriate link to the email address of the person responsible for maintaining the pages.
• Provide a link to the University home page ( http://www.lincolnu.edu).
• Must include a "last modified" or "last reviewed" line on your web page.
• Must provide copyright information where applicable.

Course Pages

Course Management pages are those pages which offer supplementary information about courses offered at Lincoln University, such as syllabi, selected readings, grading information, links to pertinent sites, etc.

On-line Course Pages are those pages that offer complete courses, including lectures, course materials and assessment, on-line. These pages represent courses that may be taken as part of a distance learning curriculum and in which the student need not be physically on campus to participate.

• Course Pages must conform to all guidelines and policies contained in this document.
• Must have official web design banner which is kept at the location /common/graphics/sci_banner.jpg and may be linked to directly.
• Must have the official banner links to other main areas at the Lincoln University site.
• The width of the content of the page should not be greater than 750 pixels wide. 750 pixels represents the width of the official banner, and can be viewed properly with resolutions as low as 800x600 pixels.
• Must provide an appropriate link to the email address of the person responsible for maintaining the pages.
• Provide a link to the University home page ( http://www.lincolnu.edu).
• Must include a "last modified" or "last reviewed" line on your web page.
• Must provide copyright information where applicable.

Organization Pages

Organization pages include home pages for University programs, governance groups, centers or institutes, and recognized student groups.

• Organization Pages must conform to all guidelines and policies contained in this document.
• Must have the organization's name clearly visible somewhere on the primary home page
• Organization Pages may ask for a custom banner to be made with their groups' logo and name. However, organizations may not use the official logos or banners of the University without written consent.
• When Organization pages are linked from official pages, the University requires that there be a clear and explicit indication at the point of transition from the official pages to the groups' web pages.
• A disclaimer on the organization's pages must explicitly state that any opinions, views or endorsements of any kind encountered on organizational pages are not those of the University. The University has provided a URL pointer to the boilerplate disclaimer at http://www.lincolnu.edu/common/docs/disclaimer.htm.
• Organization's home pages must contain the author's name and e-mail address.
• Authors of Web pages are expected to use good judgment with respect to the effect of their content on other members of the community. It is acknowledged that others may sometimes consider material of legitimate scholarly or artistic interest offensive. Ultimately, the posting of all materials is the responsibility of the approving department head.

Faculty & Staff Personal Pages

• Personal Pages must conform to all guidelines and policies contained in this document.
• Must have the words "Personal Pages" clearly visible somewhere on the primary home page. If the personal web space is used exclusively for information about the faculty member's courses, the words "course information" may be used instead of "personal pages".
• Personal pages may not use the official logos or graphics of the University, or in any other way imitate the official Lincoln University pages.
• When individual or personal home pages are linked from official pages, the University requires that there be a clear and explicit indication at the point of transition from official to personal Web space.
• A disclaimer on the home page must explicitly state that any opinions, views or endorsements of any kind encountered on personal pages are not the policy of the University. The University has provided a URL pointer to the boilerplate disclaimer at http://www.lincolnu.edu/common/docs/disclaimer.htm
• Personal home pages must contain the author's name and e-mail address.
• Authors of Web pages are expected to use good judgment with respect to the effect of their content on other members of the community. It is acknowledged that others may sometimes consider material of legitimate scholarly or artistic interest offensive. Ultimately, the posting of all materials is the responsibility of the approving department head.

Official Links

Personal Web Page Disclaimer:
http://www.lincolnu.edu/common/docs/disclaimer.htm

Policy on Sexual Harassment:
http://www.lincolnu.edu/docs/lu_policy/sexual_harassment.htm

Official Web Graphics

Official Banner: 
http://www.lincolnu.edu/common/graphics/banner.jpg 

Customized web graphics for Departments or Courses can be requested from the Web Intergration Manager.

Official Colors

Official Fonts