The University of Montana Western

Web Policy

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Introduction:

The University of Montana - Western has established an official presence on the Internet using the World Wide Web (WWW) delivery system and recognized by the Uniform Resource Locator (URL). The UM-Western Information System (UMWIS) represents a unified presence of campus resources that include campus and program information, Banner Web for Student and curricula support via The University of Montana – Western WebCT System. This centralized strategy provides for a more timely and accurate dissemination of UM-Western information while minimizing maintenance. This document identifies the scope of the UMWIS, its organizational structure, and the operational procedures for management and maintenance.

The UMWIS provides a wide range of information of interest to members of the UM-Western campus community and to the general public (such as prospective students). Management of the UMWIS complies with all official policies of the University of Montana, including non-discrimination, confidentiality of records, and appropriate use of computing facilities. All information presented on the UMWIS home pages is considered to be public information except in those areas (primarily Banner Web and WebCT) that require a validation login.

Policies:

Each UMWIS home page is UM-Western’s official representation on the WWW, therefore all information presented there must be in compliance with existing university policies and laws specifically:
- Acceptable Use Policies for MUSEnet/Summitnet and NorthWestNet/Vario
- Student Conduct Guidelines, Faculty Handbook & Personnel Manual
- Sexual Harassment Policy
- Western Graphics Identification Program
- The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974
Information appearing on the UMWIS is the responsibility of the originating department, office, or organization which provided it. It is also the responsibility of that department, office, or organization to ensure that the information it posts is in compliance with all the UMWIS standards and is reviewed monthly for accuracy.
Departments, offices, organizations, and individuals will be required to complete the Application Form for Information Provider (Appendix I) before being permitted to provide information on UM-Western servers or before operating a server. Each area within the UM-Western campus organization (Appendix II) will be eligible to provide an Information Provider. The application form is available at the bottom of this page in PDF form. This form will require the appropriate signatures from:
The content, layout, and design of information included in the UMWIS is subject to review and coordination by the Office of News and Publication and the Vice Chancellor for University Advancement.
Types of inappropriate information listed below or any direct link to another page containing such information should not be included in any UMWIS home page. ITS reserves the right to remove any page in violation of this UMWIS policy. Appeals can be made to the Office of Institutional Advancement.

Materials are inappropriate for the UMWIS if they:
The establishment of additional Web servers on campus, and their role in providing information to be part of the UMWIS, will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. ITS will not support any additional Web servers on campus and those servers become the sole responsibility of the department or organization hosting them.

Note: Web servers on campus may not be established to serve the needs of any business enterprise. Web servers residing on student computers are not allowed.

Procedures

Who Can Provide Information To UM-Western’s UMWIS?

Academic departments and programs, administrative offices or departments, and recognized student organizations of The University of Montana - Western may provide information to the UMWIS. Additions to the UMWIS may be made by individuals only under the auspices of these departments, programs, or organizations. Each contributing unit or organization should designate a UMWIS contact person [provider] who will be responsible for the content of the information provided. Information resources should be reviewed by this person on a regular basis to ensure accuracy and currency.

Information Provider Contract

An information provider will maintain a group's information on the Internet, serve as liaison to ITS administration, and act as the contact point for the UM-Western and Internet community.

Information providers are requested to perform the following functions:

Coordinate within their group the gathering of information for Internet publication.
Decide how the information will be organized.
Decide within their group how often their information is going to change and how often their information will be updated.
Integrate Internet publishing into their group's publication cycle.
Convert information from its current form to the HTML format (using approved editors) or submit that information to ITS.
Use email for transmission of data.
Verify that their information is up-to-date on the Internet.

It is important that one individual in each group be responsible for its information. For example, if a user notices incorrect information in a file, or has a suggestion for other information that might be useful, the user should be able to email the designated information provider to correct or suggest this.

Information Structure of UMWIS

The WWWIS is the delivery system to official, affiliate, and independent types of information as defined below. Refer to Appendix III for a diagram of this structure as it relates to the UMWIS. Each page type has an associated approval requirement that must be maintained and will be controlled by permissions granted to certain areas of the UMWIS WEB server.

Official Institutional Information
General information about The University of Montana - Western; campus maps, directory listings, location finders, and data searches including: Page type A-1
Most of these pages are automatically generated. Changes to all A-1 pages require Chancellor, Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, and Registrar approval.
NOTE: All Board of Regents approved degree requirements and course descriptions for all departments will be maintained by designated ITS staff. This information should not be included in individual departmental home pages but should be linked to the designated area. Similarly, links to other pages of the A-1 type should be included in departmental areas where appropriate to reduce duplication of material and simplify maintenance.
Affiliate InformationPage type A-2
Page type A-2
These pages require initial approval of Information Provider specified by the responsible area. Access to maintain information will be provided only to the Information Provider.

Independent Information

Page type A-3
All A-3 type pages are provided for posting information relating to the campus and corresponding agencies.

Faculty, staff, and students personal home pages
Related non-campus events
Departmental speciality pages
Campus relate WEB servers

Maintenance:

ITS is responsible for maintaining Internet access including Wide Area Network connectivity, on campus data infrastructure, and client/server support.
Maintenance of information referred to on the central home page and associated campus home pages must be monitored by an identified person in the area posting that information. The Office of University Advancement will manage the review and updating of this information.
Each Information Provider is responsible for monitoring and maintaining the corresponding area. All identified errors or updates will be submitted to the appropriate individual for processing.
All Web documents must be kept current. They must be signed with an email address and dated.

Note: For more information on the form and responsibilities, see Appendix I.

Content:

All pages should use standard Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) as defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3.org). Page authors should be aware of cross-platform and cross-browser incompatibilities and avoid special tags or extensions.
In order to ensure quality and provide a consistent look and tone, the design of official home pages must conform to the following standards:

Header: This must contain the sanctioned UM-Western logo and sidebar. Also, the page must provide a table of contents at the beginning.
Footer: This must contain the following:
(clickable) Return to UM-Western Home Page
(clickable) Maintainer's name and email address
Last Updated: month/date/year (e.g., March 12, 2005)

Maximum disk space for each Independent area is limited. To conserve space, reduce the number of images on the page. Images on pages should be kept to 70k or smaller to ensure faster display of the pages.
Links to Internet resources may be included on the page. These resources may vary widely in scope, format, and content and should be selected with the following criteria in mind:
- Perceived quality of the source
- Relevance to the purpose of the UMWIS and the University of Montana
- Availability of instructions for access and use
- Evidence of stability and ongoing maintenance
Every page must contain:
- A navigational link or button that returns the viewer to the UM-Western home page
- The name and electronic mail address of the data maintainer
- The last date when the home page was updated
- Distinctive file names so viewers can easily download pages
- Program descriptions (no abbreviations or acronyms which might confuse the viewers)
- A description, copyright notice, origin, and authority of the data (if appropriate)
Assistance in Developing Home Pages: Any department, office, or organization wishing to develop a home page should contact ITS (7462). The originating department, office, or organization will identify an Information Provider, whose responsibility is to ensure the accuracy of the information and to keep it updated.

Appendix I

Information_Provider_Application.pdf

Policy Effective August 2000