Purpose:
Irvine Valley College’s social media presence is intended to be an engagement tool for students and the campus to connect through photos and video on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and YouTube.
These guidelines are frequently updated as social media evolves. If you have suggestions, please contact the Executive Director of Marketing and Creative Services Diane Oaks.
Best Practices Overview:
Be transparent. Never hide your identity. Remember you are representing IVC when you post on a college- sponsored site. If you identify as an IVC faculty or staff member in your personal posts, be sure to make it clear that your views your own and are not written on behalf of the college.
Be accurate.
Be respectful. Respect for all groups and individuals is important. Never write something that could hurt or offend an individual or group.
Be a valued member. If you choose to promote your program on social media, post content that is relevant and valuable to your followers. Don’t self-promote any ideals that are not supported by IVC.
Consider your audiences. IVC’s pages are for the campus and surrounding community. Those that follow IVC pages must also respect the college’s audience when they post comments and interact with the pages.
Think before you post. Don’t post anything you would regret later. Remember, everything is searchable on the internet.
Maintain confidentiality. Do not post confidential or proprietary information about IVC, its students, alumni, or fellow employees. Use good ethical judgment and follow college policies and federal requirements, such as FERPA.
Respect copyright and fair use. Be mindful of the copyright and intellectual property rights of the college
Respect college time and money. As stated in Administrative Regulation 4000.2, if you are faculty and staff, college computers and your work time are to be used for work-related business.
Protect your privacy. Your comments are visible to all. Never include your phone number, email address or other personal information in a post. If you want individual follow-up, send a direct message through the site to a page administrator.
Your commitment. By posting any comments, links or other material on an IVC-sponsored social media site, you give IVC the irrevocable right to reproduce, distribute, publish, display, edit, modify, create derivative works from, and otherwise use your submission for any purpose in any form and on any media. You also agree that you will not:
- Post material that infringes on the right of any third party, including intellectual property, privacy or publicity rights.
- Post material that is unlawful, obscene, defamatory, threatening, harassing, abusive, slanderous, hateful, or embarrassing to any other person or entity as determined by IVC in its sole discretion.
- Post ads or solicitations of business.
- Post the same note more than once (spam).
- Post chain letters or pyramid schemes.
- Impersonate another person.
- Allow any other person or entity to use your identification for posting or viewing comments.
If you post on behalf of Irvine Valley College
You are posting on behalf of IVC and/or the department. Your photos and comments should reflect this. Discuss with your supervisor when you are empowered to respond directly to users and when you may need approval. All of the best practices do apply.
Have a plan. Consider your department’s goals and develop a strategy for site up-keep. Designate specific staff members to be site administrators.
Be Thoughtful. It is important to know the difference between appropriate and inappropriate information to post. Remembers policies such as FERPA, and SOCCCD Board Policy 4000.2 and IVC Administrative Regulation 4000.2 apply.
Know the rules. Pay attention to the sites’ terms of service and updates.
Be Respectful. Remember what you post and comment affects IVC’s reputation. Respect others’ points of view in a civil and thoughtful manner.
Managing your personal social media
Be honest and authentic. Be honest about your identity. If you do identify yourself as an IVC faculty, staff or student, be clear that your views are not representative of IVC. Common practice is to write a disclaimer in the “About Me” section of your profile; (i.e. “The views expressed on my page are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Irvine Valley College.”)
Don’t be a mole. Never pretend to be someone else and post about IVC. Tracking tools can trace supposedly anonymous comments back to their authors.
Take the high ground. If you affiliate with IVC within your profile or comments, followers and readers will associate you with the college, even with the disclaimer that your views are your own. Remember to be mindful about what you post.
Be aware of liability. You are legally liable for what you post on your own page and others’ pages. Individuals have been held liable for commentary deemed to be proprietary, copyrighted, defamatory, libelous or obscene (as defined by the courts).
Don’t use the IVC logo, athletic logo or any other IVC marks or images to promote or endorse any product, cause or political party or candidate.
Protect your identity. While it is important to be honest about yourself, it is also important to protect personal information such as home address, telephone, work phone, or email address. This will help protect against identity thieves and scam artists.
Rev. 7/2016