11.5 Institutional Online Resources

 

Added: 09/22/2022
Revised: 09/22/2022
Last Reviewed: 09/22/2022
Effective: 10/22/2022

  In accordance with policy guidelines from the University System of Georgia (USG) and as outlined herein, Middle Georgia State University’s (MGA or University) Institutional Online Resources (IORs) are the property of the University and are under its exclusive control.   

Purpose  
This policy concerns MGA’s ownership, control, and use of all IORs, addressing the following matters: (1) exclusive ownership and control of all IORs; (2) exclusive authority over all IORs owned or controlled by the University and the exclusive authority to acquire additional online resources in its name in the future; (3) approval of content published on an IOR; and (4) removal of content improperly published to an IOR.  

Definition of Institution Online Resources 
The University’s IOR consist of all online resources owned or controlled by the University, including internet domains, websites, email, web or mobile applications, official social media accounts of the University and all its departments and programs, and the content therein. IORs do not include personal webpages or personal social media accounts. MGA advises employees and students that @mga.edu accounts must not be used for personal accounts and business not related to either employment duties or academic communications.   
 
Creation of Content 
In the creation of content, University employees must either seek approval for the creation of content or have implicit approval by the nature of their job descriptions. University employees must follow all guidelines for content creation, which shall include form at, and which shall (i) comply with applicable MGA and USG policies ( detailed list of policies below ); (ii) comply with federal accessibility requirements; and (iii) does not violate the intellectual property rights of third parties.  
 
Student employees shall not be granted administrative access privileges or duties over IORs without express written permission from the appropriate employee with designated approval authority for the IOR and with appropriate approval and oversight procedures in place for any content the students are to publish on IORs.  
 
Inventory of Content 
The Office of Technology Resources maintains an inventory of University internet domains, websites, email, web or mobile applications. The inventory can be accessed by MGA employees through a password-protected link at the bottom of the Office of Technology Resources Services webpage:  Services: Middle Georgia State University (mga.edu).  The Office of Marketing and Communications maintains a list of all University official social media accounts on this page: https://www.mga.edu/marketing-communications/social/index.php     
 
Periodic Review of Content 
Any manager or supervisor has the authority and the implicit responsibility to review content after it has been created and shall, as a periodic duty of management authority, organize a unit-wide review of IOR under its purview. Such reviews may occur frequently if improper content has generated external or internal complaints.  
 
Improperly Published Content 
Any content improperly published on or as an online resource should not be viewed as endorsed or condoned by the University or interpreted as representing the views of the University. Any content created on or posted to an IOR that has not been approved or is otherwise not in compliance with institution or USG policies governing online content shall be removed promptly following discovery. The authority and responsibility for removing unauthorized content will reside with the Department that controls the online resource where the content is located. Ultimate authority for the approval or removal of content on Institution Online Resources rests with the President of the institution.  
 
When improperly published content is identified, that content shall be removed with the assistance of the Office of Technology Resources and/or in coordination with Marketing and Communications and University Counsel. Additionally, any suspected unauthorized content shall be immediately reported to the Institution’s Office of Technology Resources (geoffrey.dyer@mga.edu) for a review of any potential data privacy and cybersecurity concerns.  
 
Any employee responsible for publishing improper content or failing to supervise the governance of IOR should be counseled to that end and should be made aware that such instances could rise to the level of an infraction that may result in disciplinary procedure up to and including termination. Nevertheless, in practice, employee counseling should be formative in nature unless otherwise necessary. The Office of Technology Resources shall maintain a log of actions taken to remove improper content, along with any identifiers of content creators and unit supervisors.  
 
Moderation of Third-Party Content  
Content created by third-party users of IORs shall be moderated in compliance with applicable institution policies governing the posting of content on such IORs and subject to any applicable terms and conditions or end user agreements of the third-party hosting platform.  
 
Transition of Management  
Part of the separation process for employees shall include the transition of account control over any IORs managed by the departing employee.  
 
MGA and USG Policies Governing Institution Online Resource 
Each Department’s IORs must comply with MGA and USG policies and guidelines, including the following: