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University Publication Guide 2007–2008

Web Page Publishing Guidelines

1. Observe all university policies.

2. To ensure a consistent look and feel for CSU, Chico's Web site, official university units are asked to use the University's standard Web template pages as guidelines for page construction. The template pages are in "How to Be a Web Contributor" on CSU, Chico's Web site.

3. Include the University's personal disclaimer statement or a link to the disclaimer on all personal home pages.

4. Use the Writing Style Guide as a writer's guideline for text material.

5. Use of the university logo must be approved by the University's creative director, Alan Rellaford, and conform to guidelines set forth in the Publication Guide and Web logo guidelines governing its use. You do not need to obtain permission for logos contained in standard CSU, Chico Web page templates (see also the Instructional Media Center's Web site at www.csuchico.edu/weblogos/).

6. All college, department, course, faculty, or other Web pages that provide specific university academic program information (requirements for majors, options, patterns, minors, or certificates) are required to use the official text of the academic program, as described in the current University Catalog. This will prevent the confusion that results from various published versions of academic information. Linking directly to the specific program as presented in the current catalog on the Web is recommended as the most convenient means of accomplishing this. Any format variations or descriptions of new academic programs that have been approved but not yet printed in the catalog require review from the vice provost for academic affairs before being published on the Web—or in any publication format.

7. In the construction of your pages, avoid

• sexist and racist material
• offensive language
• defamatory, abusive, or harassing material
• pornographic material
• advertising (It is acceptable to name a corporate partner or event sponsor, or to include a small logo for partners and sponsors, but it is not acceptable to include a direct ad for off-campus businesses. Partner and sponsor logos must be displayed smaller than the university logo on the site.)
  

8. The Academic Senate at CSU, Chico supports the proposals on academic fair use developed by the Conference on Fair Use in May 1997 and published in Fair Use of Copyrighted Works, Consortium for Educational Technology for University Systems, 1995.

9. CSU, Chico endeavors to make our Web site accessible to all. To ensure that your Web pages meet Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements, please visit the Unified Web Accessibility Guidelines and the W3C's Accessibility Guidelines for design tips. Contact Bobby at www.cast.org/bobby/ to evaluate the accessibility of your pages. And the WEBAIM site also contains useful information on making your Web site accessible.

10. Use caution in making links to other sites. It should not be assumed that all material on the Internet is acceptable to the Chico Web's audience. If you have any doubts about the suitability of a link, you can e-mail the university Web manager.

• archives that may contain pornographic material
• sites that distribute illegal software
• bulletin boards that contain dubious material

12. Do not use the CSU, Chico Web site to reproduce or distribute copyrighted material without the author's or publisher's permission.

13. Do not use another person's personal data on a Web site unless you have the consent of the person concerned.

14. Always provide the name and contact details for the person responsible for a page.

15. Questions about these guidelines may be directed to the university publications editor (phone x4139, fax x4264, zip 040) or the university Web manager (phone x5339, zip 405).

Writing for the Web

Copy written for the Web is most effective if it follows the following
general guidelines:

Visitors to your site should know exactly whose site it is and what its purpose is when they view your home page.

Use links to take readers into deeper levels of a topic. Web readers tend to skip from one page to another, and from one link to another, rather than reading sequential pages.

Use subheads when your copy runs more than one screen in length, or break copy into more pages.

Write short paragraphs and sentences.

Spell out abbreviations and acronyms the first time you use them on each page; think of each page as being self-contained.

Use boldfaced subheads, lists, and other visual elements to help communicate your main points.

University Web Page Review Process

University administration has given the Web Guidelines Committee the charge of reviewing all official university Web pages (not those of individual faculty and students). The purpose of this review is to assist departments in developing effective Web sites for browsers of the CSU, Chico Web. One of the most complex issues for the Web Guidelines Committee is the competing demands of (1) each department's desire for a Web page design that stands out from others and (2) the administration's desire to create an integrated university Web site with consistency in form and structure. The review process involves a check for compliance with the guidelines and simple copyediting for typos and consistency with the University Writing Style Guide. Failure to comply with the Web Guidelines may result in your department Web site being removed from the Chico Web.

When developing new sites or additional pages for your existing site, please submit your page address (URL) to the Web review editor via e-mail to webreview@csuchico.edu.

Include the Web manager's name and zip. Review usually takes only a few days, at which point you will be notified of any corrections that should be made before your pages can be linked. Once you have made the necessary revisions, the Web review editor will notify the CSU, Chico Web manager of your link request.

Web Development Service

The CSU, Chico Web Services Team provides both self-service and chargeback services to assist faculty, staff, departments, and programs in updating and creating university Web sites. For more information about these services, see the Web Services Web site.