Web policy at UniSA
- Corporate web identity
- Advertising and sponsorship
- Purpose of the UniSA website
- Web Management Guidelines
- Legislation
- Accessibility
Corporate web identity
The corporate web refers to any pages within three clicks of the UniSA home page. These pages will all have common features - the corporate banner containing the heading 'University of South Australia' and the logo, the main links or 'pillars' directly underneath this banner, left hand navigation, and images to the right of the page. All of these features (and more) are in the template structure.
If you use the new corporate look templates to create your website, the banner will drop the University of South Australia heading, and replace it with the heading for your unit, eg Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences, School of Psychology. The University logo will be retained so that the user knows the context of the site. You can choose your own graphic for the banner to create an individual look while retaining the corporate image.
Advertising and sponsorship
Where collaborative ventures or sponsorships require more than one logo to be represented on the web, the UniSA logo must be equal in size and prominence to the presentation of the external organisation's logo. External products (eg banner advertisements) should not be advertised on a University website.
Purpose of the UniSA website
The University website has three main purposes: administration, promotion and teaching. It is worth identifying the purpose of your site and who its main users will be prior to designing or redesigning the site. You may find that your site has more than one purpose
- As an administrative tool the web provides access to University statistics, corporate policies, procedures, codes, statutes, bylaws and a University Directory
- As a promotional tool the web provides a means of presenting information to the wider community, in particular prospective students, employers and industry partners. Material ranges from general (promotional) information about the University, its divisions and administrative units to details about schools, research activities, programs and entry requirements
- As a teaching tool the web is being used to develop online teaching and learning through the UniSAnet facility
The five pillars (site wide links) About UniSA, Study at UniSA, Research, Business & Community and Resources for staff cover these main purposes. Your site may be linked to in more than one place if it covers several of these categories.
Web Management Guidelines
Content management is the process of managing web content: its currency, authority, quality, corporate identity, editorial standard, reliability, copyright and legal issues, access restrictions, interaction and usability.
The Web Management Guidelines (PDF 574 kb - download Adobe Acrobat), compiled by MDU and Information Strategy and Technology Services (ISTS), aims 'to provide a common understanding of and commitment to the processes by which major changes are made to the University corporate web presence, both on corporate and non-corporate servers. It clarifies the shared responsibilities of various areas in the maintenance of the University's web resource.'
The guidelines refer to the maintenance of information within the first few clicks of the web from the University home page down to the level of division, school or major subsite. The headings within the guidelines are
- University wide management
- Unit and Divisional responsibilities
- Author responsibilities
- Changes to corporate information architecture
'Author responsibilities' provides a brief outline of the support available in the preparation of administration and information web content via MDU and ISTS. Some of these details will be covered in this guide. A Web Authors Group coordinated by MDU will meet regularly to discuss and resolve web issues.
Legislation
Web authors need to be aware of legislation and/or policy relating to the web. This legislation falls into the two categories listed below.
Legislation already covered in the footer to the templates
- Privacy. All pages will have a privacy link in the footer.
- Copyright. All webpages require a copyright notice on each page. The authoring templates automatically provide this in the footer. UniSA's copyright officer can answer any specific queries
- Liability. Authors of web documents need to be aware that the electronic environment does not absolve the user of liability for accuracy of information. Documents loaded onto UniSA's website should be approved according to the normal channels of verifying and authorising information. The University will not maintain links to documents it regards as inaccurate or misleading. Authors are reminded that this is a publication to the world, not a vehicle for private communication. See UniSA's disclaimer of liability
- CRICOS number. CRICOS stands for Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students. Only where the provider to be registered has been found to comply with all the requirements for registration under the relevant State legislation, and with the requirements of the National Code, may the provider be registered on CRICOS
Legislation you need to be aware of when you author your webpages
- Defamation, offensive material etc. See UniSA's Code of ethical conduct
Accessibility
The University has committed itself to ensuring that its online materials and sites reach the first level of compliance with the guidelines for accessibility of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) as soon as possible. The legal context for this in Australia is the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.
Consequently all templates are compliant with Priority 1 guidelines based on W3C Web Accessibility standards. This guide addresses accessibility issues wherever relevant.
Resources
For further information on accessibility guidelines
- Web Accessibility Initiative (W3C)
- Web accessibility for people with disabilities (UniSA)
- Australian Web Accessibility Policies and Guidelines (Vision Australia)
See Training and support for information about accessibility workshops.
Web accessibility provides information and links to checklists and resources to support web authors.