Publishing on the UTSWeb Policy

1. Policy intent

The purpose of this Policy is to manage the integrity of the information published on the UTSWeb, so as to ensure that the information is both accurate and complies with relevant legal requirements. The range of information that is permitted to be published on the UTSWeb, as well as the conditions that must be observed, are defined by this Policy document.

The proactive adoption and support of consistent and professional web management practices will enable UTS to maximise the benefits of the web, as well as ensure that the UTSWeb continues to portray a positive public image of the University.

2. Policy objectives

2.1 Establish protocols, standards and practices for the management of information published on the UTSWeb

2.2 Establish responsibilities and accountabilities for authoring and publishing information on the UTSWeb

2.3 Establish quality assurance methodologies and audit practices to ensure that all information published on the UTSWeb complies with UTS policies and relevant Commonwealth and State government legislation

3. Policy scope

This Policy applies to all information published on the UTSWeb. In acknowledgement of the need for academic freedom of expression, information within the UTSWeb has been classified into a category system that enables a clear distinction to be made between the different types of information generated from time to time that may need to be published.

3.1 Classification of information

Category 1 – core UTS information

Refers to the official authoritative source of UTS information regarding the UTS Act, By-law, Rules, policies, legislative compliance, Council and its committees, and courses and subjects.

Category 2 – UTS business information

Refers to all information relating to the official business of UTS's executive, divisions, units, faculties, institutes and centres.

Category 3 – UTS teaching and research information

Refers to all materials that have been recorded on the UTS Digital Resource Register, which UTS staff are authorised to use for teaching purposes.

Category 4 – UTS staff and student information

Refers to all information published on websites or webpages by UTS staff and students that relates to their role and /or area of teaching, research or study at UTS.

Category 5 – UTS controlled entities information

Refers to all information associated with the official business activities of UTS controlled entities that is published on websites of controlled UTS entities or within Category 2 information.

Category 6 – other organisations associated with UTS information

Refers to all information on any of the organisations that the University has agreed to host their websites or webpages on the UTSWeb.

4. Definitions

4.1 UTSWeb includes all websites that contain the domain name uts.edu.au, or other names as registered by UTS from time to time.

4.2 Owners of Information refers to all persons who have delegated authority to both author and approve the content of information that is to be published on the UTSWeb.

4.3 Authorising Officer refers to all persons who have delegated authority to publish preapproved information on a webpage or website housed within the UTSWeb.

4.4 UTS Web Standards refers to the agreed standards that will be used to ensure the practices associated with the publication and management of information on the UTSWeb are undertaken in a consistent and standardised way to enable compliance with legal requirements and UTS policies. The standards will be used as a single reference point to check compliance.

4.5 UTS Web Standards Coordinator refers to the University staff member appointed by the University's Registrar to undertake the coordination responsibilities for agreed UTS Web Standards.

5. Policy provisions

This Policy should be used in conjunction with the UTS Web Standards developed from time to time to operationalise the implementation of this Policy.

5.1 Authority to publish on the UTSWeb

5.1.1 Publication of Category 1, 2 and 3 UTS information

The Vice-Chancellor, VCMG members, Deans and Directors are both the Owners of Information and the Authorising Officers for the creation and publication of information on their relevant area of responsibility. These Officers can, where appropriate, delegate approval to staff members within their area of responsibility to author, approve the content of information, or publish information that is to be stored on the UTSWeb. Details of all staff allocated authority to author, approve the content of information, or publish on the UTSWeb, must be registered with the Web Standards Coordinator.

5.1.1.1 Identification of Category 1, 2 or 3 UTS information

All websites or webpages containing Category 1, 2 or 3 UTS information, must conform with the UTS Web Style Guidelines and Standards established by IML from time to time for the publication of Category 1, 2 and 3 UTS information.

5.1.2 Publication of Category 4 information

UTS staff members and students are permitted to publish on the UTSWeb subject to the following conditions:

• information published by a staff member or student must be associated with their area of teaching, research or study at UTS;
• the staff member or student is considered both the owner of the information and the Authorising Officer, and must comply with the relevant conditions for the publication of information as documented at clause 5.2; and
• the staff member or student must include an appropriate disclaimer statement on their site and, furthermore, must not use the UTS logo or emblems unless special approval has been granted.

5.1.3 Publication of Category 5 information

UTS controlled entities are permitted to publish on the UTSWeb subject to the following conditions:

• information published within a UTS controlled entity's website must be associated with the official business activities of the UTS controlled entity;
• the published information must not expose the University to the risk of a legal liability or contradict UTS policies;
• the Chief Executive Officer of the UTS controlled entity, or their nominated representative, must approve all information prior to publication on the UTSWeb;
• the entity must include a disclaimer statement on their site, which states the views expressed on their site are the views of their organisation and do not reflect the views of UTS and, furthermore, must not use the UTS logo or emblems unless special approval has been granted; and
• UTS controlled entities must comply with the relevant conditions for the publication of information as documented at clause 5.2.

5.1.4 Publication of Category 6 information

The Executive Director Organisational Support, or nominee, may approve the hosting of external organisations' websites or webpages on the UTSWeb. Approved external organisations must comply with the same terms and conditions as for Category 5 information as documented at clause 5.1.3.

5.2 Conditions for publication of information

5.2.1 Category 1 – core UTS information

An authoritative source of information regarding UTS legislation, By-law, Rules, policies, course fees, and courses and subjects will be stored within the UTSWeb. This core information can only be displayed on other sites or pages within the UTSWeb via the inclusion of a link to or feed from the authoritative source.

5.2.2 Inclusion of links to external websites

Links to external websites can only be included within a website on the UTSWeb, if the information contained within these sites clearly relates to the core business activities of the University, or a staff member's or student's area of teaching, research or study at UTS. The Authorising Officer for a website or webpage is responsible for approving the inclusion of links to external websites within that page. A link to the UTSWeb homepage disclaimer statement, which includes a provision regarding external links, must be included in the footer of all pages containing external links.

5.2.3 Compliance with legal requirements and UTS policies and Rules

All information stored on the UTSWeb must be published in accordance with legal requirements and UTS policies and rules. Particular attention should be paid to the following:

5.2.3.1 Copyright

The Owners of Information are accountable for ensuring compliance with copyright legislation.

5.2.3.2 Privacy

The Owners of Information are responsible for ensuring the principles of the NSW Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 are adhered to during the compilation of information. The UTS Privacy Statement must be included as a link in the footer of all websites containing Category 1, 2 or 3 UTS information.

5.2.3.3 Anti-discrimination

Category 1, 2 or 3 UTS information published on the UTSWeb must be prepared in accordance with the Guidelines for the Use of Non-Discriminatory Language at UTS. All information published on the UTSWeb must observe the principles of the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act 1999.

5.2.3.4 Record keeping and archiving

The UTSWeb is considered an official record of the University and as such must be treated in the same way as an official paper-based record. The authorising officers for Category 1, 2 or 3 UTS information are responsible for establishing an appropriate version control register to record updates to the information they publish on the UTSWeb. The UTS Record Keeping and Archiving Web Standard should be consulted.

5.2.3.5 Accessibility

All websites created on the UTSWeb must be designed and structured in accordance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines established by IML from time to time.

5.2.3.6 Disclaimers

The Owners of Information for all categories of information permitted to be published on the UTSWeb must ensure the appropriate disclaimer statement is provided for inclusion in the footer of relevant websites, as detailed in the UTSWeb Disclaimer Web Standard.

5.2.4 Responsibility of Owners of Information

The Owners of Information are responsible for ensuring that:

• information conforms with relevant legislation and UTS policies and Web Standards;
• confidential material is stored in a safe location and is only made available to those people who have approval to access the information;
• the accuracy and currency of the information is maintained; and
• an internal quality assurance process is implemented within their area for the review of information prior to making it available for publishing.

5.2.5 Responsibility of Authorising Officer

The Authorising Officer for each website or webpage is responsible for ensuring that:

• information published is not duplicating information published elsewhere on the UTSWeb;
• their website conforms with relevant legislation and UTS policies and Web Standards;
• information of an offensive or illegal nature is not contained within their site;
• appropriate security control mechanisms (passwords, etc.) have been put in place to manage access to information published on the UTSWeb, in particular confidential information, or restricted access information stored on their website; and
• regular audits are conducted on the information published on their site.

5.3 Authority for approving amendments to information

The Owners of Information must approve all amendments to the information prior to the publishing of the changes on the UTSWeb.

5.4 Authority for removal of information

The University of Technology, Sydney reserves the absolute right to remove any information published on the UTSWeb, if it considers the information is offensive, illegal or contravenes UTS policies and/or its legislative obligations. The Registrar has authority to issue instructions for the removal of any illegal or non-compliant information published on the UTSWeb.

5.5 Advertising and sponsorship

The UTSWeb must not be used to promote an external organisation's advertising material that is not clearly related to the core business activities of the University. Approval must be sought from the Vice-Chancellor or nominee before a paid or unpaid advertisement from an external organisation is published on the UTSWeb.

6. Enforcement of the Policy

The Registrar has overall accountability for ensuring information published on the UTSWeb is compliant with legal requirements and therefore, is responsible for enforcing the University's Publishing on the UTSWeb Policy.

7. Breaches of the Policy

The Registrar is responsible for taking corrective action to rectify all breaches of the University's Publishing on the UTSWeb Policy and must also report any illegal activities to the appropriate authorities.

7.1 Reporting breaches

All suspected breaches of this Policy should, in the first instance, be reported to the UTS Web Standards Coordinator. Suspected breaches of a serious nature should be reported directly to the Registrar. All reports received will be treated with appropriate concern for the law and privacy.

7.2 Penalties for breaches

Punishment for breaches of this Policy will be administered in accordance with Rules of the University relating to staff and student discipline and any codes of conduct issued from time to time. Staff and students should be aware that they might also be subject to criminal or civil proceedings for publication of material considered illegal or offensive.

8. Exclusions to the Policy

External websites cited within information published on the UTSWeb are excluded from this Policy. Only websites within the UTSWeb are covered by this Policy.

Associated web standards

Category 1 — Core UTS Information Web Standard

Disclaimer Web Standard

Footer Web Standard

Related rules, policies, management plans and guidelines

Student and Related Rules

Section 16 — Student Discipline and Appeals

Schedule 4 — Guidelines Relating to Student Misconduct and Appeals

Schedule 5 — Guidelines on Determining an Appropriate Penalty for Instances of Student Misconduct

General Rules

G4 — Rules Relating to Staff Discipline and Appeals Committees

Policies

Acceptable Use of Information Technology Facilities Policy

Code of Conduct — Staff

Equal Opportunity and Diversity Policy

Intellectual Property Policy and Directive

Information Technology Security Policy

Policy on the Prevention of Harassment

Policy on Management and Protection of Personal Student Information

Records Management Vice-Chancellor's Directive

Management plans

Privacy Management Plan (217kb PDF)

Guidelines

Guidelines for the Use of Non-Discriminatory Language at UTS

Copyright at UTS

Privacy at UTS

Application for use of UTS logo

To apply for approval to use the UTS logo, complete and submit the UTS Corporate Symbols – Application for use of UTS logo (381kb PDF).