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UH Hilo Social Media

UH Hilo Social Media Policy

Approved: October 27, 2020.
Published: September 2020.
Draft Published June 2011.
Updated November 2014.

I. Purpose

The UH Hilo Social Media Policy shall apply to all units within the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, hereinafter called “UH Hilo.” This policy only applies to social media accounts created to represent UH Hilo groups, departments, programs, entities, etc., and does not apply to private individual accounts.

UH Hilo employees and students are subject to the same laws, professional expectations, and guidelines when interacting online and in-person with students, parents, alumni, donors and the media. These guidelines are broad in nature. As social media technology and practices evolve, no policy and/or procedure can address all the particular situations and circumstances that may arise.

This policy is intended to ensure that any and all social media interactions on behalf of UH Hilo, represent the university's best interests and to assist university employees, students, and affiliate organizations in effective online communication. It is also designed to help campus account managers leverage the power of social media and provide guidelines and "best practices" when posting using social media venues.

II. Related University Policies

III. Definitions

Social Media Management

Web and Graphics Services, a unit of the UH Hilo Office of Administrative Affairs, is defined as UH Hilo's designated administrative office that is responsible for the authorization, security, and accessibility of all campus social media accounts. The office also assists with postings as needed and on an emergency basis. The Institutional Marketing Office under the Office of University Relations, is primarily responsible for content generation, social media strategy and marketing, and social media postings that occur on a regular basis. Institutional Marketing also convenes the UH Hilo Marketing and Social Media Advisory Group and its Social Media Committee, comprised of faculty, staff and student representatives who offer consultative direction and guidance.

Social Media

Social media are websites and applications that allow end users to create and share content, while engaging in multi-directional conversations and social networking.

Social Media Platforms

Social media platforms—mobile and/or internet-based software—enable users to build and facilitate user-generated content. These platforms provide users with the ability and tools to create and publish their own micro web sites or webpages.

Social Network

A social network is a website, or network of websites, specifically established to allow end-users to communicate directly with each other on topics of mutual interest. These social networks have three (3) defining characteristics:

  1. The majority of content is user generated.
  2. There can be a high degree of participation/interaction between users.
  3. Social Media content can easily be integrated with other websites.

By this definition then, social media networks include but are not limited to blogs (e.g., Blogger, WordPress, Typepad), social networking (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn), news sharing (e.g., Digg, Yahoo!, Apple News) and photo and video sharing sites (e.g., Flickr, TikTok, Vimeo and YouTube).

Account Administrator

The Account Administrator is a faculty or staff member who oversees the Account Manager(s) and provides access and guidance as needed. Web Services, as UH Hilo’s Social Media Manager, has the authority to intervene and become the Account Administrator in the event of dormant accounts or inappropriate postings.

The Account Administrator may also assume the role as an Account Manager.

Account Manager

The account manager is the person or persons who hold and/or actively use the login credentials for the administrative access to a social media account—also known as a social media presence.

IV. Responsibilities

  1. The social media sites that represent UH Hilo must:
    1. Abide by UH Executive Policy E2.210. Included in the policy is information on Responsible Use, Confidentiality, Copyright, Private Gain, and Privacy of Student Information (including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act or FERPA).
    2. Abide by the UH Hilo Media Relations Policy and Procedures, including use of a model release form for all videography and photography requests.
    3. Be aware of and in alignment with the Student Death Protocol policy.
    4. Become familiar and in alignment with Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Office Policies and Procedures.
    5. Follow the Social Media Standards (Attachment 1) for setting up and maintaining the online account.
    6. Submit a Social Media Brief (Attachment 2) to be registered with Web and Graphics Services prior to setting up the account.
    7. Have at least one UH Hilo faculty or staff member as an Account Administrator at all times. UH Hilo employees and students who are Account Managers are held responsible for managing and monitoring content of their officially recognized accounts. Account Administrators are responsible to remove content that may violate any of UH Hilo's and the University's Policies.
    8. Provide administrative access to all sites representing UH Hilo to Web and Graphics Services. An individual or social media account, designated by Web and Graphics Services will be added as an administrator or provided administrative login information. This is required for several important reasons: if an employee leaves or relocates to another office, the administration of the site can be maintained and transferred if necessary. It also provides a back-up administration account manager. Content will not be censored and no adjustments to existing posts will be made without prior consultation. Furthermore, Web and Graphics Services will not forward the administrative access credentials (login and password) to anyone other than designated replacement account managers in the event of account transference or to persons or agencies as required for law enforcement.
    9. Create a UH Hilo social media work account (if applicable). It is recommended that Account Managers set up a work account for the purposes of administering platforms such as Facebook. These can be titled “Your Name at UH Hilo.” The separation of your personal and professional identities is important to help maintain the proper image for both UH Hilo and yourself.
  2. Web and Graphics Services will work with account managers to ensure each social media presence meets the standards set forth in this policy.
    1. Web and Graphics Services will not perform the role of Account Administrator for any social media account except in the following circumstances:
      1. Web and Graphics Services is itself the Account Administrator;
      2. Web and Graphics Services is asked to assist by the Aaccount Administrator or officially designated replacement Account Administrator;
      3. It is reasonably clear that the social media account has been abandoned by the Account Manager for a period greater than 90 days;
      4. After consultation with Web and Graphics Services, the Account Administrator and/or Manager still refuses to remove content which violates those policies of the social media network, UH Executive Policy E2.210, UH Executive Policy E2.213, and/or this policy.
    2. Web and Graphics Services will designate an individual to serve as its social media coordinator authorized to be added as an administrator or provided administrative login information for all UH Hilo social media accounts.
    3. Web and Graphics Services will consult with account managers to ensure social media pages are set up properly according to each social network’s policies. If there is a dispute in determining compliance, Web and Graphics Services will consult with UH Hilo and University of Hawaiʻi System Administration and the social network as necessary and render the final decision.
    4. When a social media presence contains content which violates this and/or related policies as described in this document, Web and Graphics Services reserves the right to enforce this policy by requesting the account manager remove links to third-party websites or change the site content as needed and/or by acting as the account manager to perform same actions.
  3. For instructional use of social media sites, faculty do not need to use the official presence on various social media sites and can use these tools freely to support teaching and learning activities.
  4. Official Chartered Student Organizations and Registered Independent Student Organizations (i.e., chartered student organizations and registered independent organizations as provided in, and in conformity with Section 7-2 and Section 7-3 of the Board of Regents policies) may create an official social media presence in consultation with the respective organization's advisor. These social media sites shall also be registered through Web and Graphics Services. Use of images, pictures/graphics and posted content should clearly relate to the particular group or activity. This policy, including the Social Media Standards (Attachment 1) should be followed by all designated Account Managers.

V. Attachments