Guidelines
Brandeis University recognizes the importance and benefits of communicating through social media. Social media is a powerful vehicle through which Brandeis may disseminate relevant news to its community, listen to voices and perceptions of Brandeis, connect with our audiences online and build goodwill. Social networks and other online media are great tools for engagement and two-way communication, but there is the potential for significant risks associated with inappropriate use. Existing legal responsibilities and university policies remain in place when Brandeis employees use social media.
These guidelines are intended for all students, faculty, staff and other official personnel who manage or contribute to official Brandeis University social media channels, which are defined as channels that speak on behalf of the university and have some oversight by university staff. These include, but are not limited to, channels for schools, academic departments and offices at Brandeis. Social media channels can include blogs, wikis and social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Tumblr and LinkedIn.
These guidelines DO NOT pertain to student groups or to the personal use of social media by students, staff and faculty members.
Guidelines for Official Brandeis University Accounts
These guidelines ONLY apply to Brandeis students, faculty and staff who are authorized to speak on behalf of the university through social media. This includes anyone managing or contributing to a social media channel on behalf of a school, academic department, office or other official entity at the university. Social media channels can include blogs, wikis, social networks (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc.) and other media yet to be developed in a dynamic communications field. These guidelines only apply to those individuals when they are posting on such official sites and/or when they otherwise speak as an authorized representative of the university. It does not apply to other social media communications and postings that such individuals may make on personal social media sites so long as such communications do not indicate that the individual is speaking on behalf of Brandeis.
This is intended to be a living document, which will reflect Brandeis’ current needs and may adjust to future changes in social media.
Authorized Communications
Before creating any official social media account at Brandeis University, you must contact the social media manager to discuss social media policies at the university as well as strategy, goals, messaging and best practices. All official social media accounts at Brandeis University, with the name and contact information for the account manager, must be registered with the Office of Digital Communications. You should only post on behalf of Brandeis or its affiliates in an official capacity where you have been explicitly authorized to do so. You should only create an account in the name of a recognized Brandeis entity if you are authorized to represent that entity. Discuss with your supervisor whether you are empowered to respond directly to users and when you may need approval to respond, or when you have questions about the appropriateness of content for posting. Take a moment to think about what you are posting before you hit the publish/post button.
Confidentiality
Do not post confidential or proprietary information about Brandeis, or Brandeis employees, students, affiliates, or alumni that would violate such persons’ rights to privacy under applicable federal and state laws and regulations such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act (FERPA) and university policies. Non-disclosure agreements that prohibit the university from disclosing information also bind its employees from disclosing such information.
Privacy
Do not post anything to an official social media channel that should not be shared publicly. In particular, do not discuss a situation involving named or pictured individuals on a social media site without their knowledge or permission. This does not include photos from the Brandeis Archives and Special Collections or photos in which individuals are not clearly recognizable. Keep in mind that for reasons of privacy or security some students may not want it publicly known that they attend Brandeis. Never share Social Security numbers, addresses or other private information. Remember that whatever you share may be public for an indefinite period of time, even if you attempt to modify or delete it.
Responsibility
Use of social media on an official Brandeis channel must be managed responsibly because it reflects on the university, its faculty, its students, its alumni, and its employees.
HIPAA/FERPA Violation: Social media account managers should take steps in advance to prevent the exposure of confidential medical or student information. Confidential information should never be posted online. Photos should also be inspected closely before publication to make sure no confidential, personal information, such as Social Security numbers, addresses, or academic records, can be seen. Never publish a name or photo without that individual’s permission.
Student Groups: Student groups may have different interests, attitudes and opinions than official Brandeis social media accounts. Before retweeting or sharing content posted by student groups on official university channels, be careful that such content is accurate and reflects the university’s position.
Fake Accounts: Employees should never create fake social media accounts (i.e., an account that seems to be the work of a third party) or share false or misleading information through a university account.
Correcting Information: If you unintentionally post something online that is incorrect, correct it visibly and publicly as quickly as possible. Doing so will earn you respect in the online community.
Crisis and Emergency
In the event of an emergency or crisis situation, social media account managers must share only official information provided by the main Brandeis social media accounts and shared in official university messages. Sharing information found elsewhere or not approved by Brandeis may lead to false or confusing information reaching the community and spreading online. When in doubt, contact the social media specialist with questions before posting.
Transparency
To both protect the Brandeis name and build trust with users, social media such as blogs, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, etc. that are established on behalf of Brandeis entities should be explicit regarding the nature of the relationship of such media to Brandeis. Similarly, in keeping with Brandeis’ non-profit status, social media should not be used for any private business or financial transactions including revenue from advertising, nor should any staff with administrative responsibilities realize any personal monetary profit from Brandeis-related social media. Social media may be used for fundraising as long as a transaction does not occur on the social media platform itself.
Pages or accounts that an official Brandeis social media channel likes or follows should reflect the mission and values of that Brandeis entity. Official Brandeis accounts should refrain from liking or following sites or feeds that reflect personal interests or that may be in conflict with Brandeis’ mission or values.
Use of the Brandeis Name
In addition to meeting the requirements set forth in the Branding Guidelines on the use of Brandeis’ names and insignias, there are unique challenges associated with using the Brandeis name in social media, such as the potential need to abbreviate a program or entity name for a Twitter account.
Use of the Brandeis seal or wordmark as a profile photo on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media account is not allowed except for university-wide accounts.
Be as clear as possible when naming your social media accounts, while keeping in mind character limits. Avoid using acronyms that may not be universally recognized.
Copyright Infringement
All intellectual property, including photos and videos, posted online should either be your own original work or approved for use by the owner and properly credited.
Photos posted online should be your property, in the public domain, or posted with permission by and credit to the photographer.
Using copyrighted music without permission in videos or other online materials is not permitted.
Terms of Service
Official social media accounts at Brandeis University must follow the Terms of Service set forth by the social media channels they are using.
Best Practices
Brandeis University has created best practices and guidelines for the most popular social media platforms. Official channels should follow the best practices for each platform. In some cases, deviation from best practices is warranted, but failure to follow best practices to the detriment of the university may result in, but not be limited to, exclusion from official Brandeis social media lists or platforms, lack of promotion from the main Brandeis University channels, and possible deactivation or deletion of the offending account. Deactivation and deletion will be carried out by contacting and working with the school’s communications director or the highest ranking officer of the department.
Inactive Accounts
Social media channels at Brandeis University must be continually updated and monitored. Accounts that have been inactive for more than one month may be subject to deactivation or deletion. Deactivation and deletion will be carried out by contacting and working with the school’s communications director or the highest ranking officer of the department.
Accessibility
Brandeis University is committed to ensuring effective access to communications materials for all members of the university community, including individuals with disabilities.
Visually impaired individuals and those with other disabilities may confront significant barriers when accessing certain information through social media. Accordingly, individuals who maintain social media on behalf of the university should take steps to reduce barriers to access for individuals with disabilities. For example, enabling screen reader compatibility, captioning and descriptive tags on images can help reduce barriers to accessing information for individuals with disabilities. Most major social media platforms provide access solutions for individuals with disabilities, including application programming interfaces (API) that enable the creation of applications that enhance accessibility of content.
Personnel Recruitment
While social media continues to evolve and develop as an effective tool for advertising jobs at the university and for recruiting candidates, it does not replace or otherwise eliminate the need to use the university’s existing recruitment systems and processes for posting positions, collecting applications, conducting background checks, making offers of employment and other related activities. Offers of employment should only be extended through existing and accepted processes, and should not be communicated through social media.