Objectives

The objective of the North Central Texas College (NCTC) Social Media Policy is to provide a framework to guide NCTC's participation in various social media in order to foster relationships with important stakeholders in NCTC's continued success. These stakeholders include potential, existing, and past students; faculty and staff; and the community at large. Through the use of such media, NCTC encourages the building of online communities in order to achieve the following objectives: to enhance instruction; to inform our stakeholders of NCTC activities and developments; to increase new enrollment as well as retention; and to provide an outlet for the free and open exchange of ideas and experiences.

Definition and Scope

For the purposes of this policy, "social media" is defined as any online platform that allows for social interaction or discussion and allow for the publishing of shared media content (such as photos, videos, etc.). These platforms include, but are not limited to, NCTC-sponsored blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, and MySpace.

The scope of this policy includes such outlets that are representative of and maintained by official NCTC departments, organizations, or courses.

Gatekeeper

The role of the Social Committee is primarily that of an advisory body and administrative arm, not that of policy enforcement.  It is ultimately the responsibility of the administrator(s) of any NCTC social media presence to ensure that all users adhere to the dictates of the social media policy.

Incidences of prohibited content or conduct on NCTC social media sites should be reported to site administrator or the Social Media Committee. Any illegal conduct and/or activity clearly in violation of the general NCTC Student Conduct Regulations/Restrictions (as per the student handbook) should be reported to the office of the Vice President of Student Services. This includes instances of harassment, threats, bullying, self-harm, and other such behaviors.

General complaints and concerns will be reviewed by the Social Media Committee, who will work in conjunction with the site administrators and with any other pertinent NCTC departments to ensure that such sites are maintained in adherence to all pertinent NCTC policies and procedures.

Site Registration

All social media sites that are representative of and/or maintained by official NCTC departments, organizations, or courses must register with the Social Media Committee.

Registration may be performed via email. The following information must be provided:

• •  NCTC Department, Organization, etc. represented
• •  Administrators for the site and their contact information
• •  URL/Hyperlink to the site

Each site must have at least two administrators.

Each social media site must be maintained. It is recommended that social media sites be checked and/or updated at least twice per week. Sites that are not maintained may be subject to removal.

Approved sites will be notified by the Social Media Committee. All approved sites must adhere to dictates of the NCTC social media policy.

Use of Name and Logos

All North Central Texas College social media sites must use "North Central Texas College" as part of their name.

It is highly recommended that social media sites use both "North Central Texas College" and "NCTC" as part of their online name.  Using both terms clarifies both the source of the site and allows for greater flexibility in searching for the site online.

It is highly recommended that NCTC social media sites use an official NCTC Logo as their avatar/profile picture. When using an NCTC logo, social media sites must use the official logo (or a customized logo devised by the NCTC marketing team) in compliance with the guidelines dictated by the NCTC marketing team.

Allowances will be made for sites created prior to the implementation of the current Social Media Policy.

Prohibited Content

North Central Texas College reserves the right to alter, delete, or remove without notice any content at its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.

Individuals may choose to file a complaint with the NCTC Social Media Committee. The Committee will review the posting to determine if it is in violation of the guidelines and therefore subject to removal.

The following types of content are prohibited on North Central Texas College social media sites:

Political and Religious Speech

Partisan/political activity and religious speech are prohibited on NCTC social media sites. However, such speech may be judged appropriate by the Social Media Committee for extracurricular organizations dedicated to such activities.  In these cases, such activity is only appropriate within the confines of such dedicated sites and should not spill over into official NCTC social media avenues.

Copyright

All content posted to North Central Texas College social media pages are subject to copyright laws. Any adaptation, reproduction, or communication of such content without the express written permission of the copyright owner is prohibited.

Terms of Use

By posting content to any NCTC social media page, you agree that all content submitted, posted, transmitted, or shared by you will be subject to the provisions of the NCTC Social Media policy and, further, will not infringe on the rights of any third party, including (but not limited to) copyright, trademark, privacy, or contain any defamatory, discriminatory, or any otherwise unlawful material.

Linked Sites and Other Content

North Central Texas College accepts no responsibility or liability for the content of any site linked to its social media pages.

User Generated Content

North Central Texas College accepts no responsibility or liability for any data, text, software, sound, images, video, messages, or any other materials or content generated by users publicly posted on NCTC social media pages. Any content found to be in violation of the NCTC Social Media Policy should be reported to the Social Media Committee.

Site Administrator Content

The comments and postings on NCTC social media sites are those of the site administrators and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, policies, or strategies of North Central Texas College.

Use of Photos

The use of students in photographs posted on NCTC-sanctioned social media pages must follow the precepts of the overall Photo Policy for the college (refer to the current NCTC Catalog for more details). As such, students should be advised that there is no attempt made to collect individual photo release forms from students. Students who do not wish to have their images/voices used for this purpose must stipulate this in writing to the office of the Vice President of Student Services at the beginning of the semester. It is also expected that such students will excuse themselves from photo/video sessions and inform the NCTC photographer that they do not wish to be included. All such photographs are the property of NCTC and may be used for NCTC promotional purposes without prior permission of the subjects.