Policy

Contents of all digital pages must comply with Lamar University and Texas State University System policies and all local, state and federal laws. This includes links or automatic refreshes to other pages or computers; therefore, a page is non-compliant if it contains links or automatically refreshes to another page in violation of the policy. 

All personnel responsible for any portion of the Lamar University website should be familiar with university policies.

Standard

All pages shall:

• Follow the visual standards included in the University’s Visual Standards Manual. Use only images which accurately represent Lamar University. These should be images taken from Level I sites or images taken on the Lamar University campus or of Lamar University students who have given consent.
• Include date of last revision and contact information for the individual responsible for the content and maintenance of the page, including a name, physical location, and phone number or email.
• Comply with all LU policies and laws, including those governing copyright and accessibility.
• Be reasonably attractive and quick to load.
• Be accurate and timely in content. Sites must be updated - including checking link functionality - at least once each long semester and once in summer.
• Adhere to WC3 standards and validators. (What is WC3?)
• Contain display names and file names that are the same for optimal search engine performance.

All pages shall not:

• Use derogatory or libelous materials or materials that infringe on the rights of others.
• Use materials which violate policies or laws.
• Use confidential materials including records protected by the Family Educational Rights and Protection Act.
• Use materials that are abusive, profane, threatening or sexually offensive.
• Include advertisements for commercial products or enterprises.
• Use animations except where clearly linked to academic or intellectual content.
• Misrepresent the content of Lamar University’s pages or misinform users about the origin or ownership of Lamar University’s web site.
• Link to external web site graphics or tables.

Level I Official Pages

These are pages that represent the university as a whole and do not represent a particular unit, department or college. Most of the pages in www.lamar.edu, lamar.edu/faculty-staff and events.lamar.edu are Level I pages.

The Official Lamar University Home Page, www.lamar.edu, supports the mission and purposes of the university by providing an online channel for distributing information about LU to the world. The page contains a wide range of information of interest to the public and to members of the Lamar University community. The Office of Marketing Communications designs and maintains this page, and all pages linked to it should serve as a means of advancing Lamar University’s Mission and Core Values.

LU Connect is a portal for Lamar University students, faculty, and staff and provides a common space to access digital services such as LU Email, LU Learn, evaluations and registration and payment. It and all pages linked to it should foster Lamar University’s mission and core values.

Examples of appropriate material for Level I pages:

• News and announcements
• General information about Lamar University
• University calendars and events
• LU Homepage

Level II Official Pages

Subsites of the Lamar University website that represent individual departments, units or colleges. Each department develops and maintains these pages, and each department is responsible for content, timeliness and adherence to these policies.

The university encourages all academic and administrative departments to maintain pages. All Level II pages must link to the lamar.edu website and/or to luconnect.lamar.edu (LU Connect). Vice presidents, deans, department chairs and directors shall have authority over content for websites within their administrative domains.

Design standards for Level II pages:

• Administrative department websites must follow the standard used in the creation of the site located at: https://www.lamar.edu/faculty-staff/academic-affairs/ That is, the style and placement for:
  • masthead (header)
  • footer
  • primary navigation
  • sidebar
  • top bar
  • breadcrumbs (the secondary navigation that tells users where they are in the site)
  • fonts and font sizes
  • colors
• Academic department websites must follow the standard used in the creation of the site located at: https://www.lamar.edu/engineering/mechanical/.
  That is, the style and placement for:
  • masthead (header)
  • footer
  • primary navigation
  • sidebar
  • top bar
  • breadcrumbs (the secondary navigation that tells users where they are in the site)
  • fonts and font sizes
  • colors

• See Section 3.9 for navigation requirements.

Level III Official Pages

Professional pages for individual employees with content directly related to the faculty or staff member's official capacity at the university. Employees develop and maintain these pages individually with the support of the department, and each employee is responsible for content, timeliness and adherence to these policies.

Official Lamar University professional pages directly related to the individual faculty or staff members’ official capacity at the university may be linked to the lamar.edu website using the text "Official Faculty Site[Page]" . Vice presidents, deans and department chairs shall have authority over these websites.

Design standards for Level III pages:

• Academic department websites must follow the standard used in the creation of the site located at: https://www.lamar.edu/engineering/chemical/faculty/clayton-jeffryes/index.html.
  That is, the style and placement for:
  • masthead (header)
  • footer
  • primary navigation
  • sidebar
  • top bar
  • breadcrumbs (the secondary navigation that tells users where they are in the site)
  • fonts and font sizes
  • colors

Examples of appropriate material for Level III pages:

• Instructional materials including syllabi, lecture notes, tutorials, laboratory information, etc.
• Research interests
• Professional memberships, information and publications
• Photograph, resume or curriculum vita
• Office hours and contact information

See Section 3.9 for navigation requirements.

Please note that advertisements for commercial products or enterprises are not appropriate.

Level IV Official Pages

Official pages of registered student organizations recognized by the Division of Student Engagement. Each student organization develops and maintains these pages, and they are subject to the authority of the student engagement division through the OrgSync system. Each organization is responsible for content, timeliness and adherence to these policies.

Student organizations recognized by the Division of Student Engagement must maintain their official web sites using the system managed by that office. These sites may link to the www.lamar.edu website. The vice president of student affairs has authority over these websites. Pages must comply with general university standards as previously stated.

The following disclaimer must appear on all Lamar University student organization websites on the entry page:

"The views and opinions expressed in this document are strictly those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the State of Texas, the Regents or officials of The Texas State University System, the Lamar University Administration, Lamar University colleges or departments or any recognized Lamar University organization. Comments on the contents of this document should be directed to the author(s)."

Please note that advertisements for commercial products or enterprises are not appropriate.

All Class IV pages must follow the design standards established by the Division of Student Engagement through the use of the OrgSync system.

Level V Unofficial Pages

Individual faculty, staff and students may create personal pages, the content of which may be unrelated to those individuals' professional roles or duties at the university. Their respective owners are responsible for their location, content, timeliness and adherence to these policies.

The university expects, and, in an effort to foster creativity and individuality, encourages unofficial web pages. Such pages may link to www.lamar.edu using the text "Unofficial Personal Site[Page]" and opening said link in a new window.

The individual is responsible for the design and content of the page and for any confidential information he or she may post on the website. The site author should obtain permission from the content owner for any use beyond fair use and only use such materials in accordance with any limitations requested by the owner. General standards previously stated apply to these pages.

The following disclaimer must appear on all Lamar University student organization websites on the entry page:

"The views and opinions expressed in this document are strictly those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the State of Texas, the Regents or officials of The Texas State University System, the Lamar University Administration, Lamar University colleges or departments or any recognized Lamar University organization. Comments on the contents of this document should be directed to the author(s)."

Pages may NOT use either a Lamar University official header or footer or any variation thereof, nor may they include the statement “Member The Texas State University System.”

Examples of appropriate materials:

• Original works of art and other graphics
• Information about hobbies, interests and pursuits
• Original writings
• Resumes and biographical materials
• Research results, data and/or discussion