Policy # 5000-
Title: Policies and Procedures for the Campus Web Site
Current Version Approved: (by Cabinet on May 19, 2004)
Approved: November 6, 2001
Primary Responsible Office: Information Services
Secondary Responsible Office: Legal Affairs
Purpose of the Campus Web Site
The campus web is a place to access official University information, to disseminate and extend knowledge and to foster the free exchange of ideas. Activity on the web should comply with already existing campus principles, policies and procedures.
Obtaining a Web Share (site, account)
Any UW-Green Bay affiliated department/organization or faculty/staff member is eligible for a campus web share. A web share is space on our campus web server where the web site is developed and maintained. Users are granted access to their web shares through their network/logon account.
A department or organization must apply for a web share by completing the web share application form. The application form certifies that the department/organization accepts responsibility for the content and upkeep of the web page(s) within the context of the campus web policies and procedures, and identifies a contact person in the unit who is authorized to maintain the web page(s). The Unit head and the person maintaining the web site must sign the form.
The University Webmaster reviews the application, and discusses it with the applicant. The applicant then develops web pages on a local computer or network share. When the site is complete, the applicant reviews it with the University Webmaster to ensure compliance with UW-Green Bay policy. When approved, the University Webmaster forwards a copy of the application to the web server administrator who establishes a web share for the applicant. The applicant will receive notice when the web share is created. He or she is then free to post web pages to the UW-Green Bay web server.
Faculty and staff may obtain a web share by contacting the University Webmaster. Students wishing to obtain a web share should contact the CIT Help Desk at 465-2309.
All departmental and recognized student organizational web sites must be housed on the University web server and are required to use the uwgb.edu domain. Other domain names such as .com, .net, or .org may only be used if approved by the Cabinet.
The first step in seeking approval is to meet with the University Webmaster. The Webmaster will offer a "marketing" URL with “host header name change” if the use meets the conditions (see Conditions for a Marketing URL below.) All host header name changes will be in the form: xxxxx.uwgb.edu. The marketing URL will only be a point of entry and will redirect the user to the department's permanent URL on the campus web site. The purpose of the “marketing” URL is to enable the department to market their programs/products and better meet their customer needs.
If the “marketing” URL will not meet the department’s need, the Webmaster will provide an application to request permission for a different domain name. The department will submit the application to its Area Leader: Chancellor, Provost, Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance, or Assistant Chancellor for University Advancement. If approved, the Area Leader will present the request to the Cabinet for final approval. If approved, the application will be forwarded to the Associate Provost for Information Services who will register the domain name and charge-back the department for the registration fee. Documentation of the registration will be maintained in the offices of Associate Provost for Information Services and University Legal Counsel. The Associate Provost for Information Services will be responsible for renewing the registration. The department is obligated to cover the cost of registration renewal.
Conditions for a UWGB Marketing URL
Conditions for a .com, .net, or .org URL
Production and Support of Campus Web Sites
The University Webmaster is responsible for the design, production, maintenance, and oversight of UW-Green Bay’s web site to further our mission of teaching and research. The Webmaster serves as the campus expert consultant on web publishing and the use of new technologies and innovations in the area of web development. This position works with academic departments, administrative offices, and student organizations to ensure the availability and professional presentation of information on the Web in accordance with our Campus Web Policy.
All individuals, departments, and organizations interested in contracting with a web developer not affiliated with UW-Green Bay must first offer their work order to the University Webmaster for consideration. This outside arrangement might be appropriate if the work cannot be done in a timely manner on campus or it involves technologies beyond those available to the University Webmaster. The work must be offered to outside web developers in accordance with state procurement rules. If the work is to be bid off-campus, the University Webmaster will play an active role in the communications with the off-campus developer. This will ensure that the off-campus developer abides by all campus web policies, that quality is maintained, and that the work is done in such a manner that ongoing support can be provided on campus.
The University Webmaster will enforce the policies and procedures stated in this document. Pages that do not meet the legal requirements of Federal and/or State regulations will be removed immediately from the web server until they comply with government regulations. Pages that do not meet the campus policy may be removed from the web server at the discretion of the University Webmaster. Those who need assistance in complying should contact the University Webmaster.
The Provost, with the advice of the Information Technology Council, will resolve disputes on issues or interpretation of policy.
Authentication and Reliability of Content Policy
To assist in the dissemination of information and create a structure that enhances the user experience, it is helpful to categorize the types of information the University makes available via the web. This document therefore refers to four types of information the University routinely houses on its servers and presents policies and procedures to best present each of these types of information to users.
All web sites must be current, accurate and consistent. Only recognized units, projects or programs may publish administrative information on the web. Sites presenting Department Information must conform to UW-Green Bay Design Standards as outlined in this policy. Instructional Support and Student Organization Information is for learning, teaching, research, public service, exploration and experimentation, and is protected as a basic element of the academic environment. Free expression of ideas and the pursuit of knowledge are central to the academic process. Therefore, faculty, staff, and students may publish freely and openly within the constraints of the University’s Acceptable Use policies, and state and federal law, including copyright law.
Faculty and staff may serve as host web service providers for affiliated professional organizations. Hosting Academic Support Information and Unofficial Information on web sites is subject to approval based on site maintenance, currency and server capacity.
Official information on the web requires the same scrupulous attention as does print publication. If the online document is not considered to be the official version, there must be an explicit disclaimer to inform users and a referral (link) to the official version of the text so that users may follow up with the appropriate source if so desired.
Instructional Support and Student Organization Information pages may reflect the creativity of the designer, but must have "University of Wisconsin-Green Bay" or " UW-Green Bay" prominently displayed. The content and presentation of these web pages are the responsibility of the creator/author.
Unofficial Information pages may not display the official campus logo or word mark. Users should be made aware that the content of the personal home pages does not represent the official views or policies of the University.
Design Policy
The campus tries to maintain a public image that best serves the academic and community service mission of the University. For the image to be effective and recognizable, it must be presented consistently across all media. To make the University web site easily identified to users, certain elements should consistently appear on all official administrative, academic, and student organization pages. To facilitate effective and efficient access to campus web information, certain navigation elements should be incorporated into the design of the web pages. This will help to improve the inter-connectivity of the various web pages and help users identify sources of information, move around within the site, and save time. All Administrative and Academic Department pages must conform to the design policy. It is recommended that Instructional Support and Student Organization Information pages follow these standards as well, although it is not required.
It is imperative that users can readily recognize that they are in the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Web site. Web pages should clearly identify that they are part of UW-Green Bay by using the UW-Green Bay word mark or logo and a link to the campus main page. The University graphic and link should be located near the top of each page and UW-Green Bay should be included in the footer/address information at the bottom of every page.
Web authors should select a graphic option available from the Web Image Gallery located at http://www.uwgb.edu/webdev/webgallery/and use it consistently throughout the site. Since people do not always enter the site from the campus home page and may come in from external sources, all department, instructional support, and official student organization pages must be easily identified as a product of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
All web pages must have a link to the UW-Green Bay home page. Each web page should have a link to the main department page for the department responsible for content. Departments should link to related University departments when appropriate.
Each web page should have a descriptive title that includes UW-Green Bay, the name of the originating department or organization and keywords indicating the type of content to be found on the page. This will greatly improve the search capability of search engines, including the campus search engine.
Each web page should identify the department and/or individual who is responsible for its information content. Contact information should appear on the bottom of each web page specifying how to contact the department, organization or individual via e-mail, phone numbers, or online feedback form. This allows users to contact the University for questions, clarification or feedback. Administrative and academic departments should provide an email address for a permanent staff member or the department, but not a student.
Academic departments are also required to have the following content areas:
- Program overview
- Faculty listing (including contact information, recent awards and publications, research interests, and links to their individual web sites and courses.)
- Link to the official Major and Minor requirements from the Course Catalogs.
- Link to the official Course Descriptions from the Course Catalogs.
- Advising information (with a link to Academic Advising)
- Internships and Scholarships
In addition to the required sections, academic departments may also include other information of interest such as information on careers in that discipline, graduate programs, projects by faculty and/or students, or departmental news.
Web authors should link to information not originating from their department rather than duplicating information whenever possible. This will help ensure that users will see the most current information. Examples include the Course Catalog and Student Handbook.
Web pages should be reviewed and updated as often as warranted and should include the modification date at the bottom of each page. Pages that do not require regular changes should be reviewed at least annually. This will give users a level of confidence in the information provided.
Text links that are clearly part of a navigation component on the page do not need to be underlined, but links within a body of text must be underlined. Web developers who feel they need an exception to this rule, due to unusual circumstances, must discuss their issue with the University Webmaster. Color of links should be set so that there is enough contrast between a link, the background, and text so they are easily identified.
Each web author is responsible for verifying links to other Internet sources. The links should be checked periodically to ensure they are working so as to reduce frustration on the part of users. Web authors are also responsible for notifying the University Webmaster of any major site structure changes that result in links needing to be updated on other department web sites.
Large areas of text should have a white background and black text. Limited use of background and text colors is allowed provided they meet the accessibility policy.
Large areas of text should use the Times New Roman or Arial fonts, and the text size should be 10pt or 12 pt. These fonts are on all computers, and 10 or 12 pt text provides ease of readability for most users. Other fonts or sizes may be used for elements such as headings and navigation links. Please keep in mind when selecting other fonts that some users may not have the font you select and will see your page in their default font (usually Times New Roman or Arial). When emphasizing text use bold or italic rather than underlining the text, which can be mistaken for a link.
HTML files should be no more than 60KB in size. Typical pages should be about 30K. Graphics files should be no larger than 30K. Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the University Webmaster.
Audio and video should be supplemental to information on web pages. Users should be able to get all information from the web without viewing audio and video files since they often require additional software to access. Be aware that audio and video files tend to be large files making download slow.
Animated graphics, marquees, or the "blink" tag should not be used since some users are unable to see these elements. Furthermore, they annoy a great many users and often present an unprofessional appearance. Flash components are acceptable, so long as there is an alternative version for those users that do not have the Flash plug-in.
Program specific files such as Shockwave, Flash, etc should only be used if the information contained in these formats is available elsewhere on the page. The information should be on the same page where the program is initiated or linked from that page. This ensures that the information is available to the widest possible audience.
Web pages should not use frames. Pages using frames cannot be indexed properly, and navigation to and from frame sets can be problematic. Frames also make web pages more difficult to access for those using assistive technologies.
All information should be complete, accurate, and spell-checked. Web pages should be checked on multiple browsers (Internet Explorer, FireFox, Opera, and Safari) and platforms (Windows and Macintosh) before posting it to the web to maximize accessibility.
Commercial Use and Advertising on the Campus Web Policy
For the complete policy, please see the University of Wisconsin System Policy on Advertising, Sponsorship and Links at http://www.uwsa.edu/fadmin/gapp/gapp43.htm.
University faculty, staff and students may not use the campus web for personal gain.
Advertising, as defined above, on a campus web page is not permitted. It is permissible to offer a simple text link to commercial web sites. Acknowledgment of sponsorship is also permitted within the limits set forth by UW System policy. Non-University advertising is prohibited except where the chancellor or his or her designee has determined that special circumstances exist which warrant granting an exception to the general prohibition on advertising.
Sponsorship will be limited to: the name of the sponsor, the purpose to which the sponsorship was directed, the sponsor’s location geographically and on the Web, non-comparative or value-neutral descriptions of the products or services, a sponsor’s institutional goals or a public service message, a sponsor’s brand or trade names including depiction of the same, a sponsor’s bona fide text or visual logo, the length of time the sponsor has been in business or the date its business commenced, and the sponsor’s telephone number. For additional information, please refer to the UW-System Policy on Advertising, Sponsorship and Links on the Web.
WebAccessibility Policy
Purpose
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay provides access to a wide range of web-based information and services including admissions, registration, student support services, course content and discussion groups, library services, and many business services. With the proliferation of web pages comes the responsibility to ensure that these resources are available to all users, including those with disabilities. The purpose of this document is to identify policy and design requirements for campus web developers to provide alternative means of communication/dissemination for persons with visual impairments, hearing impairments, and other disabilities. The Learning Technology Center will provide assistance to web developers in the form of style guides, orientation for designing accessible web pages, and assessment of web pages relative to the campus accessibility policies and standards.
Policy
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is committed to providing equal access to its web sites and web-based information for all users. This includes persons with disabilities accessing the web through disability software/hardware.
Each University Unit is responsible for coordinating and achieving compliance with this policy for both the unit-wide pages and those pages created by or for individuals in the unit. The UW-Green Bay University Webmaster may grant exceptions to this policy when compliance is not possible or requires extraordinary measures.
UW-Green Bay endorses the World Wide Web Consortium (www.w3c.org) guidelines as the standard for Web accessibility in compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (PL 93-112 Sec. 504, 29 USC 794), the Assistive Technology Act of 1998 (PL 105-394, 29 USC 3001), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (PL 101-336, 42 USC 1201). All web pages hosted on the UW-Green Bay campus web server must be in compliance with this policy. Use the following checklist to verify compliance.
General (W3C Priority 1) – must be satisfied |
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1.1 Provide a text equivalent for every non-text element (e.g., via "alt", "longdesc", or in element content). This includes: images, graphical representations of text (including symbols), image map regions, animations (e.g., animated GIFs), applets and programmatic objects, ascii art, frames, scripts, images used as list bullets, spacers, graphical buttons, sounds (played with or without user interaction), stand-alone audio files, audio tracks of video, and video. |
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508 (a) A text equivalent for every non-text element shall be provided (e.g., via "alt", "longdesc", or in element content). |
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2.1 Ensure that all information conveyed with color is also available without color, for example from context or markup. |
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508 (c) Web pages shall be designed so that all information conveyed with color is also available without color, for example from context or markup. |
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4.1 Clearly identify changes in the natural language of a document's text and any text equivalents (e.g., captions). |
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6.1 Organize documents so they may be read without style sheets. For example, when an HTML document is rendered without associated style sheets, it must still be possible to read the document. |
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508 (d) Documents shall be organized so they are readable without requiring an associated style sheet. |
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6.2 Ensure that equivalents for dynamic content are updated when the dynamic content changes. |
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7.1 Until user agents allow users to control flickering, avoid causing the screen to flicker. |
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508 (j) Pages shall be designed to avoid causing the screen to flicker with a frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz. |
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14.1 Use the clearest and simplest language appropriate for a site's content. |
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If you use images and maps. |
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1.2 Provide redundant text links for each active region of a server-side image map. |
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508 (e) Redundant text links shall be provided for each active region of a server-side image map. |
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9.1 Provide client-side image maps instead of server-side image maps except where the regions cannot be defined with an available geometric shape. |
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508 (f) Client-side image maps shall be provided instead of server-side image maps except where the regions cannot be defined with an available geometric shape. |
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If you use tables. |
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5.1 For data tables, identify row and column headers. |
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508 (g) Row and column headers shall be identified for data tables. |
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5.2 For data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers, use markup to associate data cells and header cells. |
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508 (h) Markup shall be used to associate data cells and header cells for data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers. |
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If you use frames. |
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12.1 Title each frame to facilitate frame identification and navigation. |
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508 (i) Frames shall be titled with text that facilitates frame identification and navigation. |
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If you use applets and scripts. |
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6.3 Ensure that pages are usable when scripts, applets, or other programmatic objects are turned off or not supported. If this is not possible, provide equivalent information on an alternative accessible page. |
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If you use multimedia. |
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1.3 Until user agents can automatically read aloud the text equivalent of a visual track, provide an auditory description of the important information of the visual track of a multimedia presentation. |
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1.4 For any time-based multimedia presentation (e.g., a movie or animation), synchronize equivalent alternatives (e.g., captions or auditory descriptions of the visual track) with the presentation. |
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508 (b) Equivalent alternatives for any multimedia presentation shall be synchronized with the presentation. |
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If all else fails. |
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11.4 If, after best efforts, you cannot create an accessible page, provide a link to an alternative page that uses W3C technologies, is accessible, has equivalent information (or functionality), and is updated as often as the inaccessible (original) page. |
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508 (k) A text-only page, with equivalent information or functionality, shall be provided to make a web site comply with the provisions of this part, when compliance cannot be accomplished in any other way. The content of the text-only page shall be updated whenever the primary page changes. |
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Standard (Section 508) – must be satisfied |
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508 (l) When pages utilize scripting languages to display content, or to create interface elements, the information provided by the script shall be identified with functional text that can be read by assistive technology. |
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508 (m) When a web page requires that an applet, plug-in or other application be present on the client system to interpret page content, the page must provide a link to a plug-in or applet that complies with §1194.21(a) through (l). |
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508 (n) When electronic forms are designed to be completed on-line, the form shall allow people using assistive technology to access the information, field elements, and functionality required for completion and submission of the form, including all directions and cues. |
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508 (o) A method shall be provided that permits users to skip repetitive navigation links. |
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508 (p) When a timed response is required, the user shall be alerted and given sufficient time to indicate more time is required. |
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General (W3C Priority 2) – should be satisfied |
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2.2 Ensure that foreground and background color combinations provide sufficient contrast when viewed by someone having color deficits or when viewed on a black and white screen. |
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3.1 When an appropriate markup language exists, use markup rather than images to convey information. |
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3.2 Create documents that validate to published formal grammars. |
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3.3 Use style sheets to control layout and presentation. |
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3.4 Use relative rather than absolute units in markup language attribute values and style sheet property values. |
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3.5 Use header elements to convey document structure and use them according to specification. |
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3.6 Mark up lists and list items properly. |
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3.7 Mark up quotations. Do not use quotation markup for formatting effects such as indentation. |
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6.5 Ensure that dynamic content is accessible or provide an alternative presentation or page. |
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7.2 Until user agents allow users to control blinking, avoid causing content to blink (i.e., change presentation at a regular rate, such as turning on and off). |
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7.4 Until user agents provide the ability to stop the refresh, do not create periodically auto-refreshing pages. |
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7.5 Until user agents provide the ability to stop auto-redirect, do not use markup to redirect pages automatically. Instead, configure the server to perform redirects. |
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10.1 Until user agents allow users to turn off spawned windows, do not cause pop-ups or other windows to appear and do not change the current window without informing the user. |
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11.1 Use W3C technologies when they are available and appropriate for a task and use the latest versions when supported. |
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11.2 Avoid deprecated features of W3C technologies. |
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12.3 Divide large blocks of information into more manageable groups where natural and appropriate. |
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13.1 Clearly identify the target of each link. |
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13.2 Provide metadata to add semantic information to pages and sites. |
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13.3 Provide information about the general layout of a site (e.g., a site map or table of contents). |
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13.4 Use navigation mechanisms in a consistent manner. |
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If you use tables. |
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5.3 Do not use tables for layout unless the table makes sense when linearized. Otherwise, if the table does not make sense, provide an alternative equivalent (which may be a linearized version). |
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5.4 If a table is used for layout, do not use any structural markup for the purpose of visual formatting. |
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If you use frames. |
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12.2 Describe the purpose of frames and how frames relate to each other if it is not obvious by frame titles alone. |
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If you use forms. |
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10.2 Until user agents support explicit associations between labels and form controls, for all form controls with implicitly associated labels, ensure that the label is properly positioned. |
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12.4 Associate labels explicitly with their controls. |
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If you use applets and scripts. |
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6.4 For scripts and applets, ensure that event handlers are input device-independent. |
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7.3 Until user agents allow users to freeze moving content, avoid movement in pages. |
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8.1 Make programmatic elements such as scripts and applets directly accessible or compatible with assistive technologies [Priority 1 if functionality is important and not presented elsewhere, otherwise Priority 2.] |
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9.2 Ensure that any element that has its own interface can be operated in a device-independent manner. |
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9.3 For scripts, specify logical event handlers rather than device-dependent event handlers. |
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General (W3C Priority 3) – may be satisfied |
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4.2 Specify the expansion of each abbreviation or acronym in a document where it first occurs. |
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4.3 Identify the primary natural language of a document. |
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9.4 Create a logical tab order through links, form controls, and objects. |
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9.5 Provide keyboard shortcuts to important links (including those in client-side image maps), form controls, and groups of form controls. |
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10.5 Until user agents (including assistive technologies) render adjacent links distinctly, include non-link, printable characters (surrounded by spaces) between adjacent links. |
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11.3 Provide information so that users may receive documents according to their preferences (e.g., language, content type, etc.) |
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13.5 Provide navigation bars to highlight and give access to the navigation mechanism. |
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13.6 Group related links, identify the group (for user agents), and, until user agents do so, provide a way to bypass the group. |
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13.7 If search functions are provided, enable different types of searches for different skill levels and preferences. |
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13.8 Place distinguishing information at the beginning of headings, paragraphs, lists, etc. |
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13.9 Provide information about document collections (i.e., documents comprising multiple pages.). |
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13.10 Provide a means to skip over multi-line ASCII art. |
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14.2 Supplement text with graphic or auditory presentations where they will facilitate comprehension of the page. |
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14.3 Create a style of presentation that is consistent across pages. |
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If you use images and image maps. |
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1.5 Until user agents render text equivalents for client-side image map links, provide redundant text links for each active region of a client-side image map. |
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If you use tables. |
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5.5 Provide summaries for tables. |
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5.6 Provide abbreviations for header labels. |
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10.3 Until user agents (including assistive technologies) render side-by-side text correctly, provide a linear text alternative (on the current page or some other) for all tables that lay out text in parallel, word-wrapped columns. |
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If you use forms. |
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10.4 Until user agents handle empty controls correctly, include default, place-holding characters in edit boxes and text areas. |
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Other Restrictions and Limitations
As a general principle, the web should offer the same freedoms and restrictions that apply in the non-web environment. Academic freedom exists on the web just as in the classroom and established University policies regarding hate speech and other restrictions apply equally to the Web.
All web accounts must comply with the UW System policies, Wisconsin laws and Federal laws as cited below. The full text of these documents is available in the Cofrin Library.
Web authors are responsible for understanding and observing these and all other applicable policies, regulations and laws in connection with their use of the University's information technology.
Last Updated:
December 6, 2007