One of our goals is to help produce websites that meet legal requirements and policies of the university. Included below are links to the documents and sources of relevant requirements that we are currently aware of. The Web team members are not experts on the laws or policies and do not enforce them. You are responsible for the content on your website.
A full list of website policies is now included in the footer on most University of Texas at Austin websites with the link Site Policies. Most notably the list includes the Web Privacy Policy and Web Accessibility Policy. These policies protect confidential information and require reasonable efforts to ensure that persons with disabilities may access our websites, respectively.
On this site we provide instruction to help content writers meet the Web Accessibility Policy and the related American’s with Disabilities Act. Please find links to the other policies and guidelines below. If you are aware of any additional requirements, not listed below, please bring them to our attention.
Branding
University of Texas at Austin Brand Guide which includes university trademarks and licensing information. It also includes the list of requirements specifically for websites.
Copyright
- You’re required to include a copyright with the link to the university homepage and current year. It goes without saying but copyright materials, trademarks and other intellectual property may not be used without permission.
- If using student images or information, contact the public relations staff in your department for a student release form or use UT’s model release form. Qualtrics can be used to create accessible online forms.
Media Guidelines
UT’s Filming & Photography Guidelines are on the University Communications site.
Other Notable Policies
Information Security Office (ISO) Policies:
- Data Classification Standard used to measure the sensitive nature of the data or information being shared.
- Information Resources Use and Security Policy applicable to all university information and the individuals in-charge of that information and includes the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
- Minimum Security Standards for Data Stewardship guidelines for handling data.
- Minimum Security Standards for Application Development and Administration applicable to websites, mobile applications and forms.
- Cloud Services are those provided by third party vendors that store your content on servers outside of university control. The ISO tracks hidden costs and risks of using these service.
- Web Linking Policy
The university’s Chief Information Officer also provides a list of Campus IT Policies
Additional Department and College
Check with your department communication staff. College of Fine Arts Branding Guidelines can be found on the Dean’s Office Operations website.
Learn More
We recommend taking The Copyright Crash Course and visiting the university’s Compliance Services References and Resources list. Read FAQs on Photos and Videos under FERPA from the U.S. Department of Education.
