Official and Unofficial Web sites at IU Kokomo
1. What is an official IU Kokomo Web site?
According to the IU Kokomo Web policy, a University Web site or page is considered official when it is published by (and representative of) the university itself, department, or official administrative unit of the university. The personal Web sites and pages of individuals—including faculty, staff and students and student organizations—are NOT official IU Kokomo Web sites. Personal and individual Web pages are available, and are hosted on the mypage server.
The IU Kokomo Web site and its components, including design, images, written content and all other content, are copyrighted by the Trustees of Indiana University and may not be copied, modified, used on other sites or re-purposed without express, written permission. Additional copyright information is here.
Official Web pages are considered university-sponsored communications. Therefore, it is important that official Web pages appropriately represent the university's mission and commitment to excellence. The Office of Communications and Marketing (OCM), with the IT department, and the Web Manager, will develop and maintain style, standards and review procedures for official university Web sites/pages.
Administrative and academic units are responsible for developing their own official IU Kokomo Web pages using the graphics, style guidelines, templates and standards provided by Office of Communications and Marketing. IU Kokomo Web site templates are specifically provided for this purpose. Any administrative or academic unit that wishes to modify the provided templates in any significant way for its official site must obtain consent from the Web Manager and the Office of Communications and Marketing before the project begins, and must obtain approval from the Director of Communications and Marketing before the new site is launched. It is the responsibility of academic and administrative units to ensure that all information in their Web sites remains accurate, current and compliant with university policies. It is the responsibility of Web site administrators to ensure that all materials in their directories on the IU Kokomo servers contain ONLY files and data that are directly and currently a part of their official IU Kokomo Web sites.
UNofficial sites at IU Kokomo are not permitted to use the IU Kokomo templates or the official "look and feel" of the IU Kokomo Web site. They must also provide a disclaimer on their site. See the UNofficial Web sites at IU Kokomo section, below, for details.
If you have questions about whether your site is official or unofficial, or about how to set up an official site, contact the Office of Communications and Marketing.
2. Who can create and work on official IU Kokomo Web sites?
There is no specific restriction on who can work on official IU Kokomo Web sites, except that site developers must be directly associated with IU Kokomo. It is STRONGLY recommended that official Web site development be conducted by experienced Web Managers. Ideally, a faculty member or staff person from each department with the requisite skill and time could work on that area's site development. There are special circumstances under which it would be appropriate, and even recommended, that the Web Manager work on official Web sites. There are also circumstances under which it would be appropriate to have students work on official Web sites (see Getting Help with Site Development).
3. Naming your official Web site
The issue of Web site names (URLs, or the title that appears in the "address" bar of a Web browser) are increasingly important as IU Kokomo works to establish a coherent and professional Web presence for its official Web sites. The URL of the IU Kokomo Web site and its constituent Web sites is www.iuk.edu. IU Kokomo and its official sites exist in the ".edu" domain, which is established exclusively for educational institutions.
IU Kokomo provides Web space for official IU Kokomo sites. Official Web sites are usually named with the convention "www.iuk.edu/~[entity]", where "entity" is the name of the department, program or other IU Kokomo center represented by the site. A directory on the IU Kokomo servers is for the exclusive use of the official site hosted within that directory and its subdirectories.
In some cases, sites are named with sub domains (aka virtual host name), such as "Library.iuk.edu." To create coherence and professionalism in its Web presence, IU Kokomo strongly discourages the creation of additional sub domains, in favor of subdirectories on the main server. There is a cost associated with the creation of sub domains and this cost must be borne by the department, division, or unit. If you wish to apply for a sub domain, please contact the Office of Communications and Marketing. Further information on domain names at IU Kokomo is here.
The name (URL) of your Web site should directly and succinctly reflect the name of your department or program, and it should be in the format www.iuk.edu/~[entity]. The Web Manager and the Office of Communications and Marketing can provide assistance in naming and establishing your site's directory.
4. UNofficial Web sites
While IU Kokomo supports the right of individuals and student organizations to develop Web sites for their own purposes, these sites are considered UNOFFICIAL sites at IU Kokomo. The University will provide server space for unofficial sites developed within its policies of acceptable use and information content, but will not provide Web development or site support services. Additionally, developers of unofficial sites must be aware that they are not permitted to use the official IU Kokomo templates or close iterations of the IU Kokomo Web site's "look and feel." Unofficial sites are not permitted to use any of the IU logos or wordmarks (unless they obtain explicit, written permission from the Office of Communications and Marketing). Unofficial sites must be clearly distinguishable from official sites in design and presentation. Web space for unofficial, individual, and personal home pages is provided at mypage.indiana.edu.
If you need to set up an unofficial site but do not believe the mypage.indiana.edu server meets your specific needs, please contact the Office of Communications and Marketing with a brief prospectus describing:
1) the purpose and general content of your unofficial site;
2) how your unofficial site relates to IU Kokomo's core mission and why your site should be hosted on our servers;
3) the general nature and quantity of traffic you expect your site to generate;
4) your long-term plan for maintenance of the site (i.e. if you should leave IU Kokomo, etc.).
Other regulations concerning Mypage can be found here at mypage.iu.edu.
5. Notice of Web site copyright
This Web site and all materials comprising the iuk.edu internet domain are copyright by the Trustees of Indiana University, unless otherwise noted. Any unauthorized use of any content from this site, including but not limited to site design, graphics/images and written content, constitutes copyright infringement. All rights are reserved by Indiana University Kokomo.
Additionally, the name Indiana University Kokomo and all trademarks, wordmarks, logos and symbols are the property of IU Kokomo and may not be used without prior, express, written permission from the Trustees of Indiana University.
