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Communications and Marketing Procedure - Website and Social Media Platforms

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Section 1 - Purpose

(1) This procedure supports the Communications and Marketing Policy and sets out the processes and responsibilities for the management, development, maintenance and use of the University’s web environment, including its social media presence. 

Scope

(2) This procedure:

  1. does not apply to activities, applications or platforms specific to the conduct of learning and teaching and the development and maintenance of learning technologies or learning resources
  2. does apply to:
    1. all staff and students who publish University content to websites or who are responsible for making decisions relating to University content published on websites, including authorised partners of the University
    2. published web content that contains official University material or material relating to the University, including content published to third-party web infrastructure, applications or platforms
    3. all staff, students and other parties who manage, create or maintain official social media channels for University use.
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Section 2 - Policy

(3) See the Communications and Marketing Policy.

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Section 3 - Procedure

Part A - University website 

Management and approvals

(4) Authorities and responsibilities for the University website are stated in Delegation Schedule D - Facilities and Information Technology and the Communications and Marketing Policy.

(5) The University's web environment is viewed as a single entity to ensure a consistent and coordinated environment, governed by the Web Steering Committee.

(6) Where there is a case for a major strategic initiative that seeks exemption from this procedure in any way, a request for consideration must be submitted to the Web Steering Committee. This may include developments supporting the University Strategy or other strategic initiatives which require early notice to the Web Steering Committee for consideration.

Publishing to the University website

(7) The Web Office has overarching responsibility for the management of the University website and will ensure that:

  1. it is of high quality and projects a positive image of the University that aligns with our strategic vision and purpose
  2. it remains innovative, agile and responsive to user needs
  3. it is accessible across standard browsers and multiple platforms and devices
  4. Australian and international law and the University’s rules and policies are complied with
  5. it continues to meet minimum WCAG 2.0 AA  accessibility standards (refer to the Website Accessibility Guidelines) and that due consideration is given to the needs of the diverse range of users who access the site, including those with disabilities
  6. the use of University brand and tone of voice is consistent with the Communications and Marketing Procedure - Brand Governance, Brand Guidelines and Editorial Style Guide.

(8) Responsibility for web content is devolved across the University. Custodianship of content is distributed to heads of organisational units and delegated approvers, who must nominate web content editors to publish and maintain the organisational unit’s content and ensure information is current and accurate.

(9) Web content editors must have training for, at minimum, web content editing, writing for the web and accessibility in order to perform their duties. This training is provided by the Web Office. Brand and tone of voice training is also provided by Brand and Performance Marketing.

(10) All official University content must reside on sites that have been approved by the appropriate delegated approver and adhere to the minimum standard set out under the Web Strategy.

(11) Official University content for online access must be published on the University website.

(12) All official University content on www.csu.edu.au must be published within the enterprise content management system unless prior approval has been provided by the Operations Manager, Web Office.

(13) Requests for:

  1. major strategic web initiatives are submitted to the Web Steering Committee for consideration via the web development request process
  2. all other web-related matters are logged with the IT Service Desk.

Website standards

(14) The University websites and content must adhere to:

  1. the web style guidelines, available from the Web Office, unless an exemption is approved by the Senior Manager, Web Office
  2. the University's Brand Guidelines
  3. the Editorial Style Guide, with regard to requirements for tone of voice, grammar and writing conventions.

(15) Web content editors must not make changes in the design of a template or undertake the significant alteration of the information architecture of a site. 

(16) All official University content must:

  1.  be able to be read by standard and commonly used web browsers and be responsive across multiple platforms and devices such as mobile, tablet and desktop computers. Exemptions can be sought from the Operations Manager, Web Office and must be for special and extenuating circumstances
  2. comply with W3C standards including meeting WCAG 2.0 AA standard at a minimum and should not have any functionality inhibited when used by any commonly accessed browsers, devices or platforms.

(17) Confidential information must not be published on any University website without prior approval of the person responsible for the information. Confidential information approved for publishing must be protected by username and password security.

(18) When publishing to the site, users must refer to, and comply with, all copyright requirements under the Copyright Act 1968. The University Copyright Officer can provide advice on copyright matters, or see the Copyright website.

(19) The Web Office will designate ‘single source of truth’ content in the University's web environment, to avoid duplication and ensure accurate, consistent and non-conflicting information. The content owner/custodian will be responsible for maintaining this content and other areas will link to the content directly or embed it into any other pages or sites where the information is required.

(20) Where third party systems or other applications are approved by the Senior Manager, Web Office for inclusion in the University's web environment, they should be compliant with these website standards, unless otherwise reviewed and approved by the Web Office.

Domain names

(21) The csu.edu.au domain is the official top-level domain for the University website and is managed and maintained by the Web Office.  

(22) The Senior Manager, Web Office must approve new URLs based on the University’s domain and the Web Office maintains the University’s official domain name register. This applies to:

  1. high-level domain names with the format, www.csu.edu.au/xxx
  2. virtual or sub-domain names with the format, xxx.csu.edu.au/
  3. standard forms of domain name such as www.csu.edu.au/division/xxx 
  4. vanity URLs used for marketing purposes.

(23) Organisational units requesting or using a URL are responsible for any associated licensing costs. Web Office will centrally manage domain name registrations and renewals and charge associated costs of registrations and renewals to the relevant budget centre.

(24) Requests for URLs for CSU websites are made via the IT Service Desk

Advertising and sponsorship 

(25) Links to commercial entities should not be displayed on the University website unless they form part of an authorised engagement between the University and one of its partners. Specific exceptions may be approved by the Web Steering Committee if the links support the University's mission and/or provide an essential service to the University.

(26) Approval of paid advertising on the University website will only be granted in exceptional circumstances by the Web Steering Committee. Approval must be obtained prior to paid advertising being placed on the website.

(27) Publication of sponsorship on the University website may be approved provided the sponsorship arrangement does not reflect poorly on the reputation of the University. The sponsorship acknowledgment must take the form of a small logo and/or a short statement of acknowledgment. All sponsorship acknowledgments must be approved by the Web Steering Committee on advice from the Division of Customer Experience.

Part B - University social media channels 

Management and approvals

(28) Authorities and responsibilities for the University's social media channels are stated in the Communications and Marketing Policy.

(29) The Media Manager, Public Relations and Communications has responsibility and oversight for the development and management of the central accounts and platforms. Central accounts are listed in the Communications and Marketing Social Media Guidelines.

Official social media accounts  

(30) Official social media accounts must be authorised by the Media Manager and the relevant organisational unit head or deputy (e.g. Band 6 or 7 approval authorities).

(31) Request for an official social media account must be submitted on the New Social Media Account/Platform Request form. Requests must detail a governance and resource model and indicate how the proposed channel meets the strategic directions of the University.

(32) The Social Media Strategist and Social Media Coordinator can assist with developing account governance models, social media strategies and using analytics.

(33) Accounts intended for prospective student marketing activities will also be submitted to the Executive Director, Customer Experience for approval.

(34) The Social Media Strategist will keep a social media register containing the list of approved official social media accounts.

(35) Any accounts created without approval will be subject to review by the Media Manager and may be amended or removed.

Maintaining official social media accounts

(36) Account owners must ensure official accounts adhere to the Communications and Marketing Policy and its associated procedures and guidelines. 

(37) A sufficient level of quality content and meaningful engagement must be maintained, or the account may be amended or removed by the Media Manager. Refer to the Communications and Marketing Social Media Guidelines for further detail regarding this expectation.

(38) All official social media accounts must state that the account is managed by the University and must display relevant University contact details including a phone number and, where possible, an email address.

(39) Accounts must be proactively moderated, in adherence with the University's Social Media User Guidelines.

(40) The University's central accounts must feature the University's name and logo. Other official accounts including those representing faculties, schools, divisions, offices and centres should use artwork that adheres to the Brand Guidelines and content that adheres to the Editorial Style Guide.

Reviewing and monitoring official social media accounts

(41) All official social media accounts will be reviewed by the Media Manager regularly to ensure adherence with relevant policies, the Web Content Strategy and the Web Strategy under the Web Improvement Program.

(42) The Media Manager may edit or remove any account or content that breaches the Communications and Marketing Policy and its associated procedures and guidelines.

(43) The University accepts no responsibility for the content of external social media platforms that are followed, tagged or referenced by/on an official University social media platform. Following, tagging or referencing does not constitute endorsement by the University. It is the responsibility of the user to make their own decision about the accuracy, currency, reliability and correctness of the content of external social media platforms and linked websites.

(44) Information posted on the University's social media platforms by external users will be moderated as proactively as practicable and content that does not adhere to the University's Social Media User Guidelines will be removed. However, a failure to identify and/or remove content does not constitute endorsement by the University.

(45) See the Communications and Marketing Procedure - Media, Engagement and Public Comment for rules regarding the public and personal posts and comments made by University staff.

Advertising and sponsorship 

(46) Links to commercial entities should not be displayed on the University website or official social media accounts unless they form part of an authorised engagement between the University and one of its partners. Specific exceptions may be approved by the Web Steering Committee if the links support the University's mission and/or provide an essential service to the University.

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Section 4 - Guidelines

(47) See the Communications and Marketing Social Media Guidelines.

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Section 5 - Glossary

(48) This procedure uses terms defined in the Communications and Marketing Policy as well as the following:

  1. Central social media accounts - means the public-facing social media accounts that are owned and managed by Charles Sturt Media’s social media team and represent the University as a whole. These are identified as being named Charles Sturt University or charlessturtuni and play an essential role in achieving the University's strategic ous.
  2. Delegated approver - means an officer or body authorised to approve functions under a delegation conferred by University Council.
  3. Official social media accounts - means all University social media platforms and accounts, including any account established by a University staff member in the course of their work duties. 
  4. University website - means the collection of webpages structurally coming under the csu.edu.au domain.