CAES Web Publishing Policy

The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) Web Publishing Policy is intended to ensure that all official CAES websites are clearly identifiable as CAES web properties, represent CAES in a positive light, remain in compliance with pertinent laws, regulations, and policies while in use, and are removed in a timely fashion when no longer needed.

Official College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences websites are those that are developed by or in association with any CAES or UGA Extension department, unit, program, project, activity, etc., and which contain information attributable to the college or any of its departments, units, programs, projects, activities, etc. All official CAES websites must adhere to the college’s mission and must be solely non-profit in nature.

This policy was written by the CAES Web Team under the authority of CAES senior administration.

 

Guidelines for Official CAES Websites

Site Planning and Hosting

Initial plans for any new site or site redesign should include the CAES Web Team.

Sites for all CAES or UGA Extension departments, units, centers, commodity teams, and official programs/initiatives must be hosted by the CAES Web Team. It is strongly encouraged that all sites for faculty, labs, and their individual programs and activities be hosted with the CAES Web Team as well. Sites that are developed in collaboration with other universities or outside agencies are considered official and must adhere to the guidelines as set forth in this document.

Site owners are subject to the rules and guidelines set forth by the site’s host. For sites hosted by the CAES Web Team, the Web Team retains control over all technical aspects of the site. This includes code, plugins, and other executable aspects of a site. The Web Team is under no obligation to host systems or code written by third parties or others outside of the Web Team purview.

To convey plans for a website, for more information about developing sites with third parties, or to request hosting services, contact the CAES Web Team.

Identity, Style, and Branding Guidelines

The CAES web presence will have a standard look and predictable navigation achieved by the use of standard college templates for all CAES sites.

Any use of University of Georgia and College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences logos or other identifying marks must meet the requirements and specifications set forth in the university’s Brand Style Guide, as well as the CAES Office of Marketing and Communication’s Brand Management guidelines.

All websites, regardless of who created them and where they are hosted, must include UGA headers and footers according to UGA brand guidelines and in consultation with the CAES Web Team to determine correct usage. Headers and footers will include appropriate links to the UGA home page and the CAES home page. Headers and footers must include UGA logo in accordance with the university identity policy and the college identity policy, respectively. All pages must have contact information listed in the footer to assist the user in contacting the individual or group responsible for the material.

Content Creation, Review, and Approval

[The policy stated in this section is repeated verbatim from the ONLINE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT POLICY, developed in collaboration with the UGA Office of Legal Affairs and officially adopted by CAES in December 2022.]

Pursuant to the University of Georgia Policy on Ownership, Control, and Use of Institution Online Resources, the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) (the “Unit”) has adopted the following Unit-level policy regarding the creation and management of online resources under its control. This Policy provides for the method of establishing the Unit’s Institution Online Resources, the Unit’s management of existing Institution Online Resources, and the deletion of Institution Online Resources no longer needed. This Policy also sets the process for review and approval of content created on or posted to the Unit’s Institution Online Resources.  

For any type of action requiring approval under this policy, including the posting or removal of content, the approving individual or office may adopt a written set of standards to govern such type of action, and provided that an action complies with the applicable written standards, the action shall be considered approved. Such standards could include, among other things, descriptions of acceptable content and processes for the creation and management of webpages or social media accounts. 

The Unit maintains an inventory of its Institution Online Resources and updates the inventory on a regular basis. The Unit’s Institution Online Resources are managed according to type, as follows: 

Internet domains and pages:

Domain Management. The purchase, acquisition, or divestiture of Unit web domains must be approved in writing by the IT Web Team Manager. All Unit web domains are maintained and managed by the CAES Web Team. 

Webpage Management. The creation, management, and deletion of Unit web pages must be approved by Web Team Web Support Specialists. Approval authority may also be delegated to another designated employee in the Unit for all web pages or for specific projects. Delegation will be documented in writing, which may be through an email sent to the designee at the time that permission is granted to the web content management system(s) used to publish web content. All Unit webpages are maintained and managed by the Web Team, provided that management and maintenance may be delegated as appropriate. 

Approval of Content. Content created on or posted to the Unit’s internet domains and/or webpages shall be in furtherance of a legitimate institutional purpose and shall comply with all applicable University policies. Responsibility for content approval shall reside with the Web Team or their designee. 

[The section on Social Media Accounts contained in the ONLINE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT POLICY is omitted from this Web Publishing Policy as out of scope for this document.]

Removal of content/resources:  

Obsolete Resources. The Unit will periodically review its inventory of Institution Online Resources and delete or take offline those that are no longer needed in accordance with any applicable records retention policies and procedures.  

Unapproved Resources and Content. Unapproved or improperly created or posted resources and/or content shall be removed by the individual and/or office with responsibility for approving such type of category of resource and/or content.  

For any questions regarding the creation, review, and approval of web content, including requesting a web domain or pages, changing existing web pages, or removal of any outdated or incorrect web content, contact the CAES Web Team.

 

Web Accessibility and Other Applicable Laws and Policies

All content published to the web is subject to:

• Federal, state, and local laws, ordinances, and guidelines.
• University System of Georgia policies and procedures, including web standards and accessibility standards.
• University of Georgia computing policies.
• Intellectual property, copyright, and fair-use laws and policies.

The College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is committed to ensuring accessibility of its websites for people with disabilities. All CAES websites should conform to Section 508 and University System of Georgia accessibility standards.

 

Noncompliance

Site owners and maintainers are expected to self-regulate their own sites. If websites are identified as out of compliance with this policy, the CAES Web Team will contact the site owner, notify them of the issue, and provide them with a timeline towards expected compliance, as well as assistance as possible. If the site continues to remain out of compliance, the site and links to it will be removed by the CAES Web Team or the individual and/or office with responsibility for approving such type of category of resource and/or content. 

 

Policy created in 2008, last reviewed March 2024