Social Media Policy

I. Purpose

Social media allows Olympic College to interact directly with the communities it serves. It provides a public venue for promoting the College, answering questions and documenting activities. To address the rapidly changing internet landscape, Olympic College adopts this policy to guide collegesponsored use of social media. 

II. Policy

Olympic College endorses the use of social media as an effective method of communicating. The College has an overriding interest and expectation in deciding what is communicated on its behalf on social media. This policy provides guidance on how to create and use Olympic College sponsored social media sites.

  1. All college sponsored social media sites must be approved by the Communications Director.
  2. All divisions must provide a list of college sponsored social media accounts, usernames and passwords to the Communications Department.
  3. Only Authorized Agents may conduct official college business using college sponsored social media sites.
  4. All college sponsored social media sites must include an approved official Olympic College logo; the non-discrimination statement and/or a link to the statement on the College website; a link to the Public Records policy; a link to the College’s Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) policy.
  5. Only those sites that meet these criteria are considered a College Sponsored Social Media Site. 

III. Definitions & Limitations

Authorized Agent: An Olympic College employee, student or volunteer who has been authorized by the Director of Communications to maintain college sponsored social media sites and post content on behalf of their division or department. Employees, students and volunteers must sign an accompanying Social Media Action Plan for each site they manage to verify their understanding of the policy and procedures governing the use of college sponsored social media sites.

College Sponsored Social Media Site: A social media site that has been approved by the Director of Communications, which includes the submission of a Social Media Action Plan for each site and the appointment of Authorized Agents who maintain the sites.

Director of Communications: The Director of Communications for Olympic College.

Social Media: Online technologies, tools and practices that people use to share opinions, insights, experiences, and perspectives. Social media can take many different forms, including text, images, audio, and video. These sites typically use technologies such as pictures, videos, message boards, podcasts, wikis, and blogs to allow users to interact.

Social Media Action Plan (SMAP): A plan that must be completed by all divisions/departments requesting social media sites, and all divisions/departments with existing social media sites. The SMAP includes the following sections, and helps define the social media site’s purpose. The OC SMAP includes the following sections: 

Department Information 

  • Who is responsible for the page, i.e. Authorized Agents?

Strategy

  • How will the college sponsored social media site be used to meet division/department goals?
  • In what ways is the college sponsored social media site aligned to college mission, vision, values, goals? 

Site Management

  • Maintaining an effective social media presence requires effort.
  • How will you develop content? Do you have enough content and staff capacity to justify a site, or does it make sense to use the OC site?
  • Confirm compliance with OC policies such as non-discrimination, public records/records retention.

Web Master and Web Team: Information Technology and Communications staff responsible for the overall direction of the College’s web presence, including its use of college approved social media sites.

Procedure

I. Approval & Review

The Director of Communications & Web Services shall be responsible for the approval of new college sponsored social media sites and the periodic review of existing ones. It shall be the responsibility of this officer to assure that each new social media site meets the criteria established for social media activities of the College. Proposals for new college sponsored social media sites must be approved by the Director of Communications prior to implementation.

II. Criteria for Approval of College Sponsored Social Media Sites

  1. The creation and continued use of college sponsored social media sites is subject to approval by the College’s Director of Communications. a. Departments requesting new social media sites shall submit and receive approval of 
    1. Social Media Action Plan before implementing the social media site.
    2. Departments with existing social media sites shall complete and submit a Social Media Action Plan upon formal adoption and publication of this policy on the Olympic College policies and procedures website.
  2. Only Authorized Agents are approved to conduct official OC business using college sponsored social media sites.
  3. Authorized Agents will provide the Department of Communications & Web Services with:
    1. Email addresses, user names and passwords associated with all approved college sponsored social media sites.
    2. Any subsequent changes to the username or password.
  4. All approved college sponsored social media sites shall include the following:
    1. Approved official OC logo
    2. Links to the OC policies governing:
      1. Non-Discrimination Policy 200-19
      2. FERPA 300-07
      3. Public Records WAC 132C-276
  5. As is the case for the College website, departmental staff are responsible for the content and upkeep of any college sponsored social media sites their departments may create.
  6. Any and all use of college sponsored social media sites for official College business must conform to applicable federal, state and local law, and all applicable College policies and procedures, including but not limited to:
    1. Acceptable Use Policy 200-17
    2. Non-Discrimination Policy 200-19
    3. Acts of Hate/Bias Policy 200-22
    4. Copyright Policy 200-25
    5. Student Conduct Code 300-01
    6. Employee Ethics Policy 400-05
    7. Affirmative Action Policy 400-06 

III. Confidentiality – FERPA

All student records, with the exception of records designated as Directory Information, are confidential in accordance with The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99). Authorized Agents who maintain college sponsored social media sites may not post confidential student information, which includes personally identifiable images of students, unless they secure a FERPA compliant release from the student before publication, unless the photo is taken in public areas of the college.

IV. Public Records

College social media sites are subject to Washington state public records laws. Any content posted on a College social media site is likely to be disclosable as a public record under the Public Records Act. Content published on college sponsored social media sites will be retained and managed by the sponsoring department in compliance with state law and the applicable state records retention schedules.

V. Prohibited Content

The posting of content that is obscene or defamatory; contains false advertising or commercial speech unrelated to college functions; promotes the imminent prospect of actual violence or harm; makes terroristic threats, or poses a material and substantial threat to the educational environment, is prohibited on college sponsored social media sites.

Submitted to President’s Cabinet for Review
Approved by President
Recommended by Olympic College Communications & Web Services
Approved by Executive Team: Oct. 27, 2020