Social Media

It also addresses rules and procedures for Affiliated Social Media Accounts (those identifying themselves as part of Adelphi University) as well as the responsibilities of the University’s centralized social media team in regard to official and affiliated social media accounts at Adelphi.

Policy Statement

Adelphi University “the University” authorizes the creation and use of Official University Social Media Accounts and Affiliated Social Media Accounts, provided their use is professional, protects the reputation and brand of the University, and complies with Adelphi policies and applicable laws and regulations.

Reason for Policy

The University encourages the use of social media to connect with others, including students, employees, alumni and friends of the University. Social media sites are excellent venues to communicate and encourage engaging discussions about University current events, issues, mission, accolades, organizations and people. This policy defines the rules and procedures for the use of an Official University Social Media Accounts (see definition below) to ensure that University-sponsored social media activity is both legal and in compliance with University policies. In addition, the policy defines rules and procedures that the University follows in relation to Affiliated Social Media Accounts (including student clubs and organizations identifying themselves as part of Adelphi University) as well as general expectations for the oversight of both Official University Social Media Accounts and Affiliated Social Media Accounts by University Communications.

Who Is Governed by this Policy

Faculty, Staff, Alumni, Students, and the Board of Trustees. This includes all Adelphi unofficial and affiliated clubs and organizations.

Policy

The University recognizes the value of social media platforms to enhance the communication to faculty, staff, alumni and students as well as the general public. The University must balance its support of social media for communication purposes with the need for oversight and responsibility so that risks for unauthorized or inaccurate communications are minimized. This policy explains how the University exercises professional oversight of the authorized social media platforms. The University is committed to establishing a program that will maintain confidence that the social media communications achieve our educational mission and our responsibility to the general public for open and accurate communication.

Adherence to Laws and University Policies

All Official University Social Media Accounts and Affiliated Social Media Accounts must adhere to state and federal laws and regulations, and University policies. Official University Social Media Accounts and Affiliated Social Media Accounts must not contain sensitive personal information as defined in New York State laws, or other confidential information as defined by:

• the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA
• National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Regulations, as applicable.

Any sensitive personal information or other confidential information posted on an Official University Social Media Accounts and Affiliated Social Media Accounts must be removed by the site administrator as soon as practically possible upon discovery.

Prohibited conduct for both Official University Social Media Accounts and Affiliated Social Media Accounts includes use of social media in a way that constitutes libel, false advertising, copyright or trademark infringement, harassment, professional misconduct or a violation of privacy or other rights protected under the law. All Official University Social Media Accounts and Affiliated Social Media Accounts must only use assets that they or the University owns. If they are in violation of this, they will be asked to remove their post. Repeated violations could result in a request for closure of the account.

All Official University Social Media Accounts and Affiliated Social Media Accounts (including student clubs and organizations) must be conducted in a manner that is professional, protects the reputation and brand of Adelphi, and is in compliance with Adelphi policies, including the Code of Conduct, Hazing Policy and Prohibited Discrimination and Harassment Policy.

The University will pursue repercussions for those who engage in deliberate misuse of Official University Social Media Accounts and Affiliated Social Media Accounts  of the University.

Note: The Office of University Communications is not responsible for shared content of Official University Social Media Accounts administered by individuals or groups outside of the University. Information found on any unauthorized Adelphi-related social media page is not considered representative of the University.

Social Media Moderation

All Official University Social Media Account and Affiliated Social Media Account channels are monitored by Adelphi employees, and posts/comments may be reviewed for compliance with our social media policies, Code of Conduct, and all other University policies. Administrators of Official University Social Media Accounts and Affiliated Social Media Accounts should be meaningful and respectful in comments and promote respectful discourse and/or debate. Unacceptable content and comments include discriminatory language toward or harassment of any age, ethnicity, race, gender, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, etc. are not acceptable. This includes masked profanity or discriminatory language where symbols, initials, intentional misspellings, or other characters are used to suggest this language.

Adelphi University reserves the right, but assumes no obligation, to remove any inappropriate comments on the Official University Social Media Accounts and Affiliated Social Media Accounts. Adelphi University also reserves the right to delete any comments or posts that constitute a criminal offense or promote violence/bullying.

Please keep in mind as well that social media platforms have their own user policies and standards concerning what may or may not be posted. Adelphi does not control or direct any social media platform’s application of their own community guidelines.

Users who do not comply with these policies may be monitored, restricted, blocked or have their access discontinued from viewing Adelphi University social media channels without warning.

Official University Social Media Accounts and Affiliated Social Media Accounts are not permitted to block or in any other way inhibit the University from viewing their social media posts to ensure compliance with this policy.

Protocols for Official University Social Media Accounts

An Official University Social Media account is any registered account administered by a University unit on any social network used in support of the business function or needs of that unit. These accounts must contain “Adelphi” in their name, as well as the name of their unit with no acronyms.

Any unit within Adelphi that seeks to create an official University social media account must submit an application form prior to establishing the account. Failure to submit will result in not appearing on the official University database and may result in deletion of the account.

All Official University Social Media Accounts must fill out an application with University Communications and continue to submit the registration form on an annual basis.

Branding and Content for University Social Media – For any Official University Social Media Account, the social media icon and/or profile image must comply with all applicable University branding standards. The social media icon and/or profile image can be a photograph related to the administrator’s entity, an approved logo for that entity, or another appropriately branded image. All images should be 72 dpi resolution for the web.

Posting Frequency – Official University Social Media Accounts are expected to post regularly (a minimum of 1-3 posts per week for each active social media platform during the spring and fall semesters; less frequently during the summer is acceptable). Official University Social Media Accounts that are inactive for 60 days or more may be removed from the University’s Official directory on the social media page and also may be requested to close their accounts.

New Official University Social Media Accounts – Official University Social Media Accounts must be registered with the Assistant Director of Social Media using this form. This includes any account in existence at the time of this policy’s approval. University Communications and other communications professionals at the unit level must collaborate to review and approve the establishment of new Official University Social Media Accounts. Each account must be administered by two full-time faculty members or employees of the University.

Only social media accounts that have been approved and recognized by the Office of University Communications will be included in the directory of Official University Social Media Accounts and be allowed to use official Adelphi imagery. Any accounts that have not gone through this approval process must go through the application process as soon as they are aware, or they will be asked to remove Adelphi owned assets and name. If, at any point, an account is deemed to be in violation of this policy or other guidelines, it may be removed from the directory. In this situation, the Office of University Communications will also request that the account be deleted.

Required Actions Upon Change in an Individual’s University Status

Individual – When the status of an individual with access to a Offical University social media account changes (e.g., role change within a unit, transfer to another unit or separation from the University), the individual is expected to surrender that access. The account administrator will transfer that access, as appropriate, to another staff member and change the password to that account. All accounts must have two administrators at all times.

Account Administrator – Account administrators inform communications professionals at the unit level about changes in Official University Social Media Accounts, including requests for new accounts, the decommissioning of users or the closing of accounts. For guidance, contact University Communications.

Account administrators are expected to de-provision an individual’s access to a University social media account when that individual’s status with the University changes (e.g., role change within a unit, transfer to another unit or separation from the University). De-provisioning is required for all access privileges managed within the unit, including social media platforms (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.); social media tools (e.g., Hootsuite, Sprout Social, etc.); and exclusively Adelphi resources.

1. Review the individual’s access to all social media platforms, social media tools, and exclusively Adelphi resources, and revoke where appropriate.
2. Where appropriate, review and modify passwords for all accounts to prevent unauthorized access.
3. New administrators must review social media policy, strategy and brand guidelines with University Communications and the communications professional at the unit level.

Communications Professional at the Unit Level – Communications professionals at the unit level are responsible to review the social media policy, strategy and brand guidelines with new account administrators. The communications professionals are responsible for updating the list of University social media accounts in their units.

Business Use of Social Media

Adelphi University employees may be authorized to use social media at work to promote the Adelphi brand and encourage active engagement in the life of the University. These individuals must maintain Adelphi’s brand identity, integrity and reputation, while minimizing potential legal risks.

Personal Use of Social Media

This policy does not seek to limit personal use of social media by faculty, staff members or students. Adelphi employees and students may mention their Adelphi affiliation in the “bio” or “about” sections of personal social media accounts, but are prohibited from using Adelphi brand elements on personal accounts in ways that might be interpreted as representing Adelphi University (for example, using the University’s insignia as a profile photo). Please review our Personal Use Guidelines for further suggestions.

Social Media “House Rules”

Adelphi encourages social media users to interact with the University and one another freely, but is not responsible for comments or feed posts made by visitors to or fans of Adelphi accounts. Comments posted by visitors and fans may not reflect official views or policies of the University. Users who make comments on social media pages should be respectful of fellow visitors and maintain civil and rational discussions. All comments are subject to social networks’ terms of use and codes of conduct.

In addition, Adelphi University reserves the right, but assumes no obligation, to remove any inappropriate comments on the Official University Social Media Accounts. The University does not permit social media messages or comments on its accounts that sell products or promote commercial, political or other ventures. The University will also remove comments that contain profanities, make personal attacks or those that are clearly off topic. Social media platforms ie. Instagram, have their own user policies and standards concerning what may or may not be posted. Adelphi does not control or direct any social media platform’s application of their own community guidelines.

The University assumes no responsibility for user comments, screen names or information they post. Third-party content shared on Adelphi University social media accounts does not constitute an endorsement, nor reflect the views of the University. Accounts followed by Official University Social Media Accounts do not constitute endorsements of those users, nor of the content they post.

Users who post to Official University Social Media Account platforms consent to allow Adelphi to use such content for marketing and promotional purposes.

Definitions

Account Administrator– An Adelphi faculty member, staff member or student who administers or authors content for any Official University Social Media Accounts or Affiliated Social Media Accounts (see definition below).

Communications Professional at the Unit Level– A University staff member within a unit charged with communications oversight at the unit level.

Copyright – A form of intellectual property law protecting original works of authorship, including literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works. A copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems or methods of operation—only the way these objects may be expressed.

Social Media – A website or application external to Adelphi University that permits sharing of information between people. This includes Internet-based social networking applications, blogs, chat rooms, collaborative information and publishing systems, video- and photo-sharing websites (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, etc.), and other websites with user-generated content.

Unit – A college, department, program, research center, service or transaction center, office or other operating unit.

University Social Media Account – Any registered account administered by an Official University unit on any social network used in support of the business function or needs of that unit. Typically, these accounts include the name of Adelphi University and the name of the unit. All Adelphi University academic departments and offices are considered Official University Social Media Accounts and must register their accounts with UCOMM.

Affiliated Social Media Accounts – Social media accounts administered by groups (including student clubs and organizations) or individuals identifying themselves as part of Adelphi University–the content and management of which the University is not responsible for.

Note: Accounts affiliated with Adelphi (those that are not Official University Adelphi Social Media Accounts but have and identify their affiliation to Adelphi, including student clubs and organizations) cannot block any of Adelphi University‘s accounts. This is to ensure that the University can monitor their content and check that the account is policy adherent and does not violate the Student Code of Conduct.

A new moderation and comment policy has been established.

User – A person who places postings, commentary or other content on a social media account or space.

Procedures

Launching or Assuming Responsibility for Official University Social Media Accounts

To request the establishment of an Official University Social Media Account, contact the communications professional in your school, college or department. If you do not have a communications professional, contact University Communications: social@adelphi.edu

• Expectations for Account Administrators at the Unit Level:

1. Inform University Communications of new requests for University social media accounts.
2. Maintain a list of University social media accounts in their units.
3. Train account administrators in their units about their roles under this policy.

• Expectations for Communications Professionals at the Unit Level:

1. Correct or modify their Official University Social Media Accounts under their control, as directed by University Communications and the communications professional at the unit level.
2. Terminate any University social media account that cannot be made compliant with this policy.

Forms

The following forms must be received by the Office of University Communications at the time of application for an account, or annually when the account is renewed:

• Request for an Official University Social Media Account
• Social Media Annual Account Renewal

Related Information

• Adelphi University Social Media Guidelines
• Code of Conduct

Document History

• Last Reviewed Date: December 12, 2024
• Last Revised Date: December 12, 2024
• Policy Origination Date: May, 2018

Who Approved This Policy

Executive Leadership