WEB PAGES AND ELECTRONIC MAIL
Web Page Policies
The content of Middlebury College's web sites results from contributions by institutional, departmental, and individual content providers who are responsible for the content of their postings. In some cases, the College's web sites provide access to personal information posted by individual members of the College community.
College Communications and Web Services provide oversight of the College's web sites by assuring a high level of accuracy, quality, and timeliness of information and ensuring proper use of the College's brand identity. In addition, the design and organizational structure of web sites are monitored so that these online presences reflect positively upon the College. To advance the use of the web as a resource for people seeking information both on and off campus, College Communications and Web Services encourage and remain aware of other groups who develop courseware content and academic, administrative, and library applications, and work to support and guide them in these efforts. Departmental/Institutional web pages are created and maintained by academic and administrative departments and programs on campus, in coordination with College Communications. These pages provide official representation of Middlebury College and are expected to comply with the guidelines in this document and related policies available from College Communications and Web Services.
Curricular web pages are created by faculty and students with assistance provided by LIS. These pages are used in conjunction with courses taught at the College to encourage innovation in teaching and learning.
Personal web pages are created by individual members of the College community (students, faculty, and staff), and by student organizations. Further guidelines for personal pages are provided below.
Guidelines for All Web Pages
1. Materials and information created and posted on Middlebury College Web sites are the intellectual property of institutional, departmental, or individual information providers. These providers must comply with copyright and fair use laws such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 and all relevant College policies, including those governing use of computing resources, nondiscrimination, harassment, use of College facilities and services for commercial purposes, and student and employee conduct.
1a. Any use of Middlebury College's Web sites for illegal or inappropriate activities or harassment is prohibited. Illegal activities shall be defined as a violation of local, state, and/or federal laws. Inappropriate use shall be defined as a violation of the intended use of the College's computing resources and policies, and/or the purpose and goals of the College Web site. Harassment is defined and addressed in the Middlebury College Harassment/Discrimination Policy Statement found in the College Handbook .
1b. Unauthorized use of Middlebury College's Web sites for commercial purposes is prohibited. Personal or institutional Web pages may not be used for direct advertising for personal profit or gain. Direct links to non-College commercial entities, unless directly related to research or the curriculum, are prohibited unless approval is granted by College Communications.
1c. Unauthorized use and/or distribution of others' intellectual property (including but not limited to text, images, sound, and software) violates College policies and the Honor Code, and is prohibited. Middlebury College intends to comply fully with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998.
1d. Exploiting Middlebury College's Web sites for malicious purposes is prohibited. Discovered exploits should be reported to webmaster@middlebury.edu , immediately. Public disclosure of means to exploit the College's web sites is prohibited and is subject to disciplinary action.
2. As stated in the Middlebury College Harassment/Discrimination Policy Statement, Middlebury College recognizes that the protection of free and open speech and the open exchange of ideas are essential to any academic or artistic community and crucial for the activity of scholars and artists. Free, honest intellectual inquiry, debate, and constructive dialogue are vital to the academic mission of the College and must be protected, even when the views expressed are unpopular or controversial.
2a. Middlebury College also recognizes that contents of electronic publications or electronic communications can be used specifically to intimidate or coerce and to inhibit genuine discourse, free inquiry, and learning. Such abuses are unacceptable. As an educational institution, Middlebury College is committed to maintaining a campus environment where bigotry and intolerance, including discrimination on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, physical ability, or age have no place, and where any form of coercion or harassment that insults the dignity of others and interferes with their freedom to learn or work is unacceptable.
Guidelines for Departmental/Institutional Sub-Sites
1. www.Middlebury.edu is the College's offical on-line presence. This web site is an integrated-information system which provides information about the College to external audiences and enables access to institutional services and resources for research and scholarship for faculty, staff, and students.
2. All appropriate departments at Middlebury College must have a presence in the College's www.Middlebury.edu web site. Departmental sub-sites will conform to the design and content standards as defined by College Communications.
3. Each department or office must designate a single individual who is the liaison to College Communications and Web Services, and who is primarily responsible for the content of that department's or office's sub-site. The liaison, generally referred to as Content Provider, must be a current member of the faculty or staff. The liaison may designate additional faculty, staff, or students that may be given appropriate security permissions necessary for editorial access to the files of that department or office only. College Communications and Web Services will review and process requests for editorial access on a regular and timely basis.
3a. The liaison is named on the department sub-site, along with e-mail and phone contact details. Suggestions for changes, additions, and corrections to the content of the sub-site should be sent to the Content Provider.
3b. Liaisons are responsible for keeping the contents of sub-sites current and accurate. Departmental sub-sites must be reviewed at least annually, prior to the beginning of the academic year or current program.
3c. Liaisons are also responsible for keeping departmental sites that do not live under www.Middlebury.edu current and accurate, such as those hosted under cat.Middlebury.edu and web.Middlebury.edu.
Guidelines for Student Organization Sites
[updated August 17, 2007]
1. Currently registered student organizations may publish their own Web pages upon approval by the Center for Campus Activities and Leadership (CCAL). Each student organization must annually name a currently enrolled Middlebury College student as Web editor for its Web site. Pages shall be posted on the Web server designated by Library & Information Services.
1a. Pages are solely the responsibility of their creators as authors and publishers. Middlebury College will not regularly monitor or edit these pages.
1b. Middlebury College assumes no responsibility, legal or otherwise, for the content of student organization pages. Any claims asserted against a student organization or the Web editor of the student organization site for material contained student organization pages shall be the responsibility of the organization.
1c. Student organization sites may not be used for electronic commerce, nor as sites for personal political campaigns.
1d. The College will review complaints, questions, and concerns regarding allegations of copyright infringement, misuse of intellectual property, harassment, use of College Web resources for commercial purposes, and other legal issues. If the complaint is valid, the College will contact the student organization's Web editor and request immediate revision of the Web page and/or removal of inappropriate materials in compliance with College policies, intellectual property law, and guidelines for responsible use of computing resources. The College may shut down the Web site if there is inadequate or no response from the student organization. Illegal, irresponsible, or unethical activities may result in loss of privileges or penalties consistent with the judicial procedures and policies of the College.
Guidelines For Personal Pages
1. Middlebury College provides faculty and staff and currently enrolled students the opportunity to publish Web pages.
1a. These personal pages are solely the responsibility of their creators as authors and publishers. Middlebury College will not regularly monitor or edit these pages.
1b. Middlebury College assumes no responsibility, legal or otherwise, for the content of personal home pages. Any claims asserted against an individual author for material contained in his or her home page shall be the responsibility of that individual author. In general, the owner of a personal Web page may be contacted via e-mail. The username of the author is embedded in the URL of their Web page; e.g., jdoe@middlebury.edu is the mailing address for the owner of a Web page with the address http://community.middlebury.edu/~jdoe
1c. Faculty, staff, and students who are candidates for public office may not use their personal Web pages as campaign sites. Members of the College community who are seeking public office should arrange with other Internet service providers to host campaign Web pages.
1d. The College will review complaints, questions, and concerns regarding allegations of copyright infringement, misuse of intellectual property, harassment, use of College Web resources for commercial purposes, and other legal issues. If the complaint is valid, the College will contact the individual creator of the Web page and request immediate revision of the Web page and/or removal of inappropriate materials in compliance with College policies, intellectual property law, and guidelines for responsible use of computing resources. Illegal, irresponsible, or unethical activities may result in loss of privileges or penalties consistent with the judicial procedures and policies of the College.
Electronic Mail Policies
Electronic mail as official Middlebury College communication
E-mail is considered an official method for communicating with students at Middlebury College. Official e-mail communications are intended to meet the academic and administrative needs of the campus community. The College expects that such communications, many of which are time-critical, will be received and read in a timely fashion. To enable this process, the College ensures that all students are issued a standardized college e-mail account through their academic years at Middlebury College. Students who choose to forward e-mail from their College e-mail accounts are responsible for ensuring that all information, including attachments, is transmitted in its entirety to the preferred account.
Guidelines for Appropriate Use of All Campus Electronic Mail Messages
1. E-mail messages may be sent to groups comprising all faculty, all staff, and/or all students.
1a. Faculty and staff members may send e-mail messages to all faculty and all staff groups. Students may do so only upon receiving special permission from appropriate College administrative staff members.
1b. Electronic mailings to all students are possible only with permission of appropriate College administrative staff members. Contact LIS for guidance in seeking appropriate permissions.
2. These guidelines simply reflect common courtesy to help everyone's use of e-mail be most efficient:
2a. Messages must relate directly to College business. Announcements of non-college events should be handled through other channels (such as local newspapers). Advertisements for personal items may be accomplished through the staff and student newsletters or newspapers.
2b. E-mail messages should be avoided for College events already listed on-line or in publications, unless there is significant supplemental information or last-minute changes in location or time.
E-mail Retention Policy
Library and Information Services (LIS) creates electronic mail backups daily, solely for the purpose of restoring the entire electronic mail system in the event of a disaster. Backups are retained for a period of 60 days, and then the content is destroyed.
Backups are not available in order to retrieve deleted messages nor do they serve as a record for the purpose of retention. If you wish to retain a copy of a message, you should file the message in a folder under your electronic mailbox.
Each department should make provisions for retaining messages in accordance with departmental needs and craft appropriate departmental policies.