Social Media Guidelines

York College Social Media Guidelines

Introduction

York College (“York College” or the “College”) and its various departments have established several social media platforms, for the purpose of advancing its mission, providing connections within and beyond the College Community, and raising the profile of the College.  This document is intended to provide guidance and requirements for the establishment and operation of such sites.

The College reserves the right to remove content from College-established social media sites, without notice to the originator of the material, if the material violates any of the guidelines found throughout this document.  Examples of material that may be removed under this provision include, but are not limited to:

1. i. Material that violates Federal, State or Local law, including but not limited to Intellectual Property law or the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which restricts the disclosure of personally identifiable student information without that student’s consent.
2. Material designed to defame or harass a specific individual or group based on a legally recognized protected class.
3. Commercial solicitations.
4. Pornographic or obscene material.
5. Material that discusses criminal or illegal activities with the intent to commit them.
6. Material designed to circumvent IT security protections or to insert malicious software.

Guidelines for the Establishment of Social Media Sites

• All College-related social media must be designed in order to uphold and advance York College’s mission.
• All College-related social media sites must be assigned an account manager, responsible for maintaining the site and regularly adding material to the site.  In addition, administrator access to the site must be provided to the College’s Director of Communications.[1]
• To the extent possible, the account manager for each site shall ensure the accuracy of information before it is posted to the site.
• For Facebook sites, College-related sites must be “fan pages,” which users “like” rather than “friend.”
• Media inquiries related to content on College-related social media must be directed to the College’s Director of Communications.

Guidelines for the Operation of Social Media Sites

• All College-related social media must observe all applicable Federal, State and Local laws.
• Use of College-related social media sites by CUNY employees is subject to all College and University policies, including but not limited to Human Resources policies and procedures, Computer Use Policy, Intellectual Property, Accessibility, Policy on Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination, and IT Security.
• Use of College-related social media sites are subject to the Terms of Service and/or User Agreement for the individual social media service (e.g., Facebook/Meta Terms of Service, Twitter/X Terms of Service, etc.)
• Use of College logo, seal, or other symbols or marks of the College is prohibited unless authorized in writing by the College.
• The York College name may not be used (or implied) to endorse political candidates (regardless of any connection to the College).
• The York College name may not be used (or implied) to personally solicit products and/or services.
• Do not post confidential or proprietary information about the College or private information about any administrators, faculty, staff or students.

[1] As of March 25, 2024, the College’s Interim Director of Communications is Stephannia Cleaton, reachable at 718-262-2305/ scleaton@york.cuny.edu