1054 Board of Trustees Social Media Policy

Procedure:

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The following principles apply to employee use of social media:

1054.1

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Employees need to be aware of and adhere to the College’s behavioral standards when using social media in reference to Bay College.

1054.2

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Employees should be aware of the effect employees’ actions may have on their image, as well as Bay College’s image. Employees are personally responsible for the content employees publish. Employees should be mindful that what they publish will be public for an undetermined amount of time and they should take steps to protect their privacy and that of others.

1054.3

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Employees should be aware that Bay College may observe content and information made available by employees through social media. Employees should use their best judgment in posting material.

1054.4

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Although not an exclusive list, some specific examples of prohibited social media conduct include posting commentary, content, or images that are defamatory, pornographic, proprietary, harassing, libelous, or that can create a hostile work environment.

1054.5

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Employees may not use social media to insult, disrespect, disparage, harass, threaten, defame or bully another person; or to violate any College policy; or to engage in any unlawful act, including but not limited to: gambling, identity theft, or other types of fraud.

1054.6

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Employees should not make false claims or representations about Bay College programs or services, nor speculate or guess if employees do not know the information, spread gossip, rumors, or other unverified information.

1054.7

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Employees should not discuss legal issues or risks, or draw legal conclusions on pending legal or regulatory matters involving Bay College.

1054.8

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Employees should not publish, post or release any information that is considered confidential, including but not limited to, information protected from disclosure by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). If there are questions about what is considered confidential, employees should check with the Human Resources Department and/or their supervisor.

1054.9

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Employees should not allow social media use to interfere with employees’ responsibilities at Bay College

1054.10

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It is highly recommended that employees keep Bay College related social media accounts separate from personal accounts, if practical.

1054.11

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It is prohibited to use Bay College’s logo and trademarks on personal sites for any reason and especially not to promote any products, causes, or political parties or candidates.

1054.12

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Bay College encourages freedom of expression and recognizes the value of diverse opinions. However, social media administrators have a responsibility to remove comments, images, or other material deemed inflammatory, vulgar, or otherwise inappropriate, especially when they appear to threaten the welfare or safety of others.

1054.13

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All use of Bay College social media shall adhere to the Bay College Social Media Standard.

1054.14

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If there is a concern regarding a social media post, it should be brought to the Office of Human Resources. The Human Resource department will determine if an investigation is warranted to ensure the policies of Bay College are being upheld.

1054.15

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Bay College reserves the right, under circumstances it deems appropriate and subject to applicable laws and regulations, to impose disciplinary measures, up to and including dismissal from the College or termination of employment, upon students, faculty, or staff who use private social media sites or communications resources in violation of this policy. In appropriate cases, such conduct may also be reported to law enforcement authorities.

Non-compliance with this policy may result in any or all of the following:

1. Limitation or revocation of individual or unit rights to use or participate in College related social media;
2. Corrective or disciplinary actions and sanctions; as defined in the College’s Policy and Procedures

Bay College Social Media Standard

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Social media or networking has become an effective and necessary vehicle for communicating with the world.  Bay College has various audiences - internally and externally with students, faculty, staff, alumni, partners, potential students, parents, news media, and event goers.

This standard is written to assist Bay College in meeting the following objective:

• To use social media platforms for Bay College to perform marketing and recruiting, stay connected with students and the community, build an online awareness, and communicate more effectively.

The goal of this standard is to help those in the Bay College community who are interested in effectively, communicating using social media platforms.  By developing a standard, which more centralizes efforts through cross-promotion and actively engaging in conversations with audiences, the hope is to increase Bay College’s social media presence for the College as a whole and the various interest groups that exist within it.

 

THE PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

• Increase web traffic flow
• Increase lead generation and inquires
• Improve customer service
• Provide more opportunities to engage students and community members
• Create free, timely promotion of college events
• Maintain or increase visibility within the community

 

USE OF COMPANY SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS

Coordination: The College Advancement department is the overall coordinator for Bay College Social Media

Authorized Users: Only people who have been authorized to use the college’s social networking accounts may do so. Authorization is provided by the College Advancement department. It is typically granted when social media-related tasks form a core part of an employee’s job. Allowing only designated people to use the accounts ensures the company’s social media presence is consistent and cohesive.

Creating social media accounts: New social media accounts in the college’s name must not be created unless approved by the College Advancement department. The college operates its social media presence in line with a strategy that focuses on the most-appropriate social networks, given available resources.

 

PLATFORMS

Bay College currently uses the following social networks:

Twitter: @baycollege is our Twitter name. Use hashtags to allow users to “tag” a post be prefacing a word with a pound sign (#). Example of a tweet: “Looking for a good laugh? Check out the comedian tonight at 7pm! Tickets are just $3 for students. #baycollegeevents

Facebook: Bay College focuses on one main page:  Bay College.  Currently there are several other Bay College Facebook pages. It is the goal of the College Advancement Department to have any new pages that uses Bay College in the name to be connected with the main Facebook account. For example: “Bay College Foundation” Facebook page. This would not be a stand-alone page. This page would be created by the graphics designer and connected to the main account.  User/editing privileges would then be given to the employee who is responsible for the page.

YouTube: YouTube is a content-sharing service that provides a platform for videos.

LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a primary resource for personal, professional development and allowing colleagues to connect and network with each other. Currently there is an active Bay College LinkedIn and an active Bay College Alumni LinkedIn.

Blog: A blog is a frequently updated online personal journal or diary. It is a place to express yourself to the world. Currently there is one active blog on the Bay College website: The President’s blog.

Instagram: Instagram is a free photo sharing application that allows users to take photos, apply a filter, and share it on the service or a variety of other social networking services. Bay College Instagram is planned for 2017.

 

GUIDELINES FOR SOCIAL MEDIA USE

• If in doubt don’t post- seek out guidance from the college advance department - always seek guidance before responding to a negative post.
• Fact-check your posts -When sharing an interesting blog post, article or piece of content, employees should always review the content thoroughly, and should not post a link based solely on a headline.
• Spell and grammar check everything - Content never disappears entirely once it has been posted.
• Correct errors promptly - If you find that your blog entry or social post contains an error or mistake, correct it. Since transparency is key, admit your mistake, apologize if necessary, correct it and move on.
• Credit appropriately - Identify all copyrighted or borrowed material with citations and links. When publishing any material online that includes another’s direct or paraphrased quotes, thoughts, ideas, photos or videos, always give credit to the original material or author, where applicable.
• Avoid personal attacks, online fights, and hostile communications - If a blogger or any other online influencer posts a statement with which you disagree, seek guidance from the College Advancement department.  Do not escalate the conversation to a heated argument. Write reasonably, factually and with good humor. Understand and credit the other person’s point of view and avoid communications that could result in personal, professional or credibility attacks.
• Never disclose - proprietary or confidential information about the college or our students, customers, or community members in your posts or responses/comments.

 

SECURITY

• Company social media accounts should be protected by strong passwords that are changed regularly and shared with the IT Department to keep on file.
• Wherever possible, employees should use two-factor authentication to safeguard company accounts.
• Employees should watch for phishing attempts, where scammers may attempt to use deception to obtain information.
• Employees should avoid clicking links in posts, updates, and direct messages that look suspicious.
• Bay College reserves the right to delete comments that are deemed by the page administrators as inappropriate.These comments include but are not limited to political endorsements or banter, outside links, mudslinging or defamation, advertisements and promotions of any sort, or SPAM.Violation of trademarks and/or copyrights are prohibited.

 

USE OF PERSONAL SOCIAL MEDIA

Acceptable use: Employees may use their personal social media accounts for work-related purposes during regular hours, but must ensure this is for a specific reason. Social media should not affect the ability of employees to perform their regular duties. Use of social media accounts for non-work purposes is restricted to non-work times, such as breaks and during lunch. Employees should ensure it is clear that their social media account does not represent the college’s name views or opinions. Please refer to the Bay College Computer Usage and Social Media Policies.

 

EVALUATION MEASURES

The College Advancement Department will keep track of a few critical numbers to gauge impact with the online community such as number of followers, number of interactions with fans and followers and the number of posts per week for consistency.  Adjustments will be made based on feedback. Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, etc. will be used to track trends and effectiveness.