Website Policies and Guidelines

Last Updated June 28, 2023

The Communications and Marketing Office offers guidance and training to the Mines community as it relates to branding, communications and digital presence, including websites and social media. We serve as a resource to campus partners to help establish a web presence and ensure it aligns with web best practices, accessibility standards and the Mines brand.

New Websites

Websites in the mines.edu environment are official sites intended to inform users about academics, programs, services and events at Mines. If you require a new website, please fill out the Communications and Marketing request form for consideration.

Criteria for Web Assistance

Websites within the mines.edu domain are designed to serve as the primary source of information for users about academics, programs, services and events at Colorado School of Mines. Not all website requests will receive support or resources from the Communications and Marketing team, and requests for new websites will be evaluated based on several criteria, including alignment with the MINES@150 strategic plan, before a decision is made to proceed with support. To be considered for web assistance, please fill out the Communications and Marketing request form and provide detailed information about the purpose, audience and objectives of your proposed website.

Website Maintenance

Once created, websites and pages are maintained at the department level. Ongoing training is available to administrators, along with individual troubleshooting and brainstorming. A minimum of one (preferred two) full-time faculty and/or staff members should be responsible for managing administrative, academic and interdisciplinary program websites. Student employees may be a good option to help maintain websites. Websites should be routinely checked for accuracy, broken links and other issues by the department.

Domains and Subdomains

Most websites associated with Mines will use a self-contained URL structure that begins with mines.edu followed by your website name. For example, the URL for the Registrar’s website is mines.edu/registrar. However, subdomains (e.g. geology.mines.edu) may be assigned for academic, research, administrative or auxiliary purposes, subject to approval by the Communications and Marketing Office. To be approved, the subdomain must fulfill a specific and distinct purpose that cannot be achieved through an existing main domain or subdomain, and the subdomain name must conform to the school’s naming conventions and accurately reflect its intended purpose. The subdomain owner is responsible for maintaining and updating the content of the subdomain in a timely and accurate manner.

Training

Individuals responsible for maintaining Mines websites must complete training before being granted editing and publishing access. To learn more about training visit our website training page.

Faculty Bios and Contact Information

Faculty may be represented with a faculty page within the site of the affiliated department. Maintaining faculty bios and contact information on departmental websites is the responsibility of each department. It is important for departments to ensure their faculty pages are up to date, accurate and complete, as this information is often used by students, other faculty members and members of the public who are seeking information about the department’s faculty. Departments should regularly review and update their faculty pages, ensuring that each faculty member’s bio and contact information are correct and current. Departments may also choose to include additional information, such as publications, research interests and other relevant information that would be useful to visitors seeking more information about the department’s faculty. By keeping faculty pages up to date and informative, departments can help to enhance their visibility and reputation within the Mines community and beyond.

Images

The use of images on Mines websites is governed by copyright law and the school’s policy on intellectual property. It is important that all images used on Mines websites are properly licensed, attributed and approved for use by the copyright owner. To this end, Mines provides access to a variety of image repositories, including Mines Zenfolio and Flickr, which offer a wide selection of high-quality, royalty-free images that may be used by Mines faculty, staff and students.

Under no circumstances should Mines faculty, staff or students take images from the internet or other sources without first obtaining the proper permissions and licenses from the copyright owner. Doing so may constitute copyright infringement, which can result in legal penalties, fines and other consequences. If you are uncertain about the copyright status of an image or have questions about how to obtain the necessary permissions and licenses, please consult with the Communications and Marketing Office. Photos used from other sources that include community members must obtain a signed multimedia release form.

Accessibility

We strive to provide equal access and opportunity to all individuals, including those with disabilities. We are committed to ensuring that our websites are accessible to everyone and follow best practices in web accessibility design. We aim to meet or exceed the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) standards and continually improve our accessibility efforts to provide the best user experience for all. We provide general rules that all users who add content to mines.edu websites should follow.

Website Content

Users are expected to adhere to the original site layout, including the placement of top navigation, branding, footer, and other structural elements. Significant modifications to the site’s design are not allowed, particularly those that alter the site’s appearance to the extent that it is no longer identifiable as part of the larger mines.edu framework. The Communications and Marketing Office reserves the right to modify and update the content on any website to align with brand guidelines and accessibility standards. These updates may include changes to the website’s design, functionality and content, as well as the addition or removal of features or pages. We are committed to ensuring that our websites are not only consistent with our brand, but also accessible to all users, and will continue to make improvements as needed.

Website Contractor Guidelines

Outside website contractors have additional guidelines and should familiarize themselves with the key points outlined in the website contractor guide.