Social media is a convenient, engaging and impactful communication tool, and University of Nebraska at Kearney encourages its students, faculty and staff to embrace it. In order to protect the UNK brand and avoid situations that result in damage to the reputation of the university - in addition to legal (including HIPPA, FERPA and NCAA compliance) and ethical issues - social media accounts must be authorized by UNK Communications and Community Relations.
Intent
This social media guide is intended to help UNK students, faculty and staff who manage or contribute to official UNK social media channels. This applies to accounts created by UNK employees for official university organizations, colleges, academic departments and offices, programs, etc. It DOES NOT apply to private/individual social media accounts. Students representing UNK on university-affiliated channels are expected to follow these guidelines, under guidance of UNK faculty or staff.
Account Creation & Registration
All official social media accounts at UNK must be approved and logged with UNK Communications and the digital communication & engagement coordinator.
All accounts will have two UNK employees as administrators. UNK's digital communication coordinator must also be added as a page administrator. A graduate assistant may serve as an administrator.
Accounts will be registered with a @unk.edu email address.
If an employee who is administrator leaves UNK or no longer wishes to be an account administrator, it is the department's responsibility to remove that person as administrator and designate another employee to that role.
Accounts inactive for more than 60 days are subject to deactivation or deletion by the UNK social media team.
Once your application is approved, meet with the Digital Communication Coordinator to discuss your goals, the best social channel(s) to use, and guidance on what the account name and "category" should be.
Register for the account on the appropriate social network and start posting content.
Goals, Strategy, Things to think about
Who is your audience?
What kind of content do you plan on creating?
Can administrators commit one hour per day creating content and managing the account?
Social Media Best Practices
Before developing a social media presence, it's recommended you have a plan. At a minimum, it should outline what you intend to create in this space - provide information, develop and enhance relationships, share content for fun or inform? Objectives should be long-term and focus on outcomes and the quality of the engagement rather than the numbers. You will need to have a plan for monitoring the conversations on your social sites, responding to questions and feedback. You also need a content-development plan (what you are posting, frequency, how to promote your presence on other sites, etc.) Contact Amanda Andresen 308.865.8131 for help with your social media planning.
Use the official name of your program, unit, affiliate or department that matches your UNK web page. Ex: Your program is listed as "UNK Communications," make sure your social media account/site is "UNK Communications," not "Communications at UNK" or "Loper Communications." Keep it consistent with the name people already recognize for your program. Also, be consistent with your name across channels (if applicable) so it is easier for users to find you. For example, @UNKearney on Twitter and http://www.facebook.com/UNKearney.
Any presence on social media that relates to the trademarked images (Louie, UNK nameplate icon, Lopers) that implies communication on behalf of UNK must be authorized by UNK Communications and Community Relations. The use of university marks, such as logos and graphics, must comply with university policy. For information about colors, typeface, size and other details, please contact Amy Jacobson, at 308.865.8130 or jacobsonae@unk.edu.
In many cases, prior permission (a "release") must be obtained to post, share or distribute images of individuals who are identifiable. It is always best to use content, such as photographs or videos, obtained by university representatives specifically for the purpose of posting or distribution.
In a crisis or highly charged situation, social media is used as a vital communication channel. In the event of an emergency, @UNKearney is utilized for emergency messaging via Twitter and Facebook. Social media administrators should share/retweet only what is posted by @UNKearney on UNK's main channels. This ensures accuracy, a consistent message and the latest information in keeping with UNK's emergency management plan.
UNK must adhere to laws and regulations relating to student privacy, including Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and NCAA regulations. Under these regulations, students' educational information and health privacy are to be protected at all times.
Do not post confidential or proprietary information about UNK students, staff, faculty or alumni. You may not publish grades, coursework or other information about students without their permission. Adhere to all applicable university privacy and confidentiality policies, in addition to computer use guidelines and faculty code of conduct, and Executive Memorandum 16. Employees who share confidential information do so at the risk of disciplinary action or termination.
Advertising on behalf of external vendors is prohibited on UNK social media channels. Refer to the university guidelines and rules on using university computers and information systems.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association mandates guidelines for social media communication. Information below is provided by UNK Athletics and the NCAA.
Student-Athletes
The NCAA has strict rules regarding recruitment of prospective student-athletes. Publicizing a prospective student-athlete is very limited. This includes interaction with prospective student-athletes on social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Here is a list of what a university can and cannot do on social media regarding a prospective student-athlete. If you have questions about permissible social media activities, contact Rachael Page in the UNK Athletics Office of Compliance at 308.865.8863 or pagerm@unk.edu.
You Can:
"Follow" or "be friends" with a prospective student-athlete on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
You Cannot:
Mention a prospective student-athlete in a post.
Tweet at a prospective student-athlete.
Post on a prospective student-athlete's Facebook wall.
"Like," "share," "favorite," or "retweet" a prospective student-athlete's post.
Direct message or email a prospective student-athlete.
You cannot comment on a prospective student-athlete committing to UNK.
Publicize a prospective student-athlete's visit to campus or UNK Athletics facilities.
Publicize a prospective student-athlete's intention to accept a scholarship offer from UNK.
The above provisions remain in effect until the prospective student-athlete has signed a National Letter of Intent or AFA agreement, and UNK Athletics has released information about the student-athlete committing to UNK. Essentially, if you are communicating with, or talking about, a prospective student-athlete on social media, you are probably committing a violation and putting the eligibility of the prospective student-athlete at risk.
Current Student-Athletes
An institution can publicize current student-athletes and their achievements more than a prospective student-athlete. Limitations listed above in the prospective student-athlete section to do apply to current student athletes.
You can mention a current student-athlete in a Tweet or post to his/her Facebook wall. You can "like," "share," "favorite" or retweet a current student-athlete's post.
