Disclaimer: The content on this webpage appears as a courtesy to site visitors and is for general informational purposes only. To obtain a copy of the official applicable policy or regulation, please contact Brookdale’s Public Records Custodian via the Public Records webpage of the Brookdale website at https://www.brookdalecc.edu/about/public-records


 

I. Title of Policy

Social Media Policy and Guidelines

II. Objective of Policy

The purpose of this Policy is to communicate the Brookdale Community College’s (“College”) policies and guidelines regarding the use of social media sites and establish processes for authorization and use of social media sites by College students, employees, departments and offices and individuals and entities that have pages/groups on Facebook and other social media platforms.

III. Authority

U.S. Const. amend I; Article I Section 6 New Jersey Constitution 1947; Board of Trustees Bylaw 1.2050.

IV. Policy Statement

Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as blogs, have become an integral part of everyday life for hundreds of millions of people around the world. As a result, social media has become an increasingly important aspect of the College’s interaction and the College’s transparency with the public, its students, employees and College community. This Policy is meant to provide clear and concise guidelines for the use of social media by the College’s employees, students, and other authorized individuals.

A. SCOPE

The policies and procedures outlined herein apply to all College students, employees, and the College community. These policies and procedures also apply to all other persons, including third party service providers, contractor personnel and tenants, who are granted the use of the College’s internet/intranet infrastructure, regardless of where these persons are located.  These guidelines are applicable to any College employee, student or other authorized individual who creates or contributes to blogs, micro blogs, wikis, social networks, virtual worlds, websites, notification services (e.g., Nixle, Rave, Alertus), or any other kind of social media inside or outside of the College’s domain.  These policies and procedures shall also govern the drafting, distribution, and circulation of the College’s press releases.

The College Relations Department shall identify employees and students who are authorized to engage in social media activities on the behalf of the College for the limited purpose of discussing College programs, activities and services.

Any posts made referencing Brookdale’s name are subject to this Policy and Student and Employee Codes of Conduct.

Student clubs and organizations at the College are registered with the Student Life and Activities Department.  Should a student club, recognized organization or individual associated with the College (“Official Groups”) wish to publish a blog, social media page or initiate an account associated with Brookdale, they should contact College Relations and Student Life & Activities, with the proposed account name, platform, purpose of the account, and the names of the anticipated account holders, for approval.  The Official Groups must comply with approved College branding standards.  Contact College Relations for assistance.

Anyone who participates in social media on behalf of the College, whether on or off duty, is expected to understand and follow this Policy and the guidelines outlined herein.

This Policy and the guidelines and procedures set forth herein are subject to change as new technologies and social networking tools emerge.

B. DEFINITIONS

Social Media is defined as the various activities and websites (both internal and external to the College) that integrate technology, social interaction, and content creation.  Social Media uses many technologies and forms, including, but not limited to, web feeds, wikis, blogs, photo and video-sharing, and podcasts.

C. RESPONSIBILITY

SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

Social media, as used in this Policy, refers to all forms of on-line tools or services through which virtual communication is created allowing users to publish commentary and share information, ideas, personal messages and other content, including but not limited to, blogs, wikis, and social networking sites such as Facebook, Youtube, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and other similar services.

The College’s Social Media Platforms, include, but are not limited to, the following:

TWITTER @brookdaleccnews
FACEBOOK @BrookdaleCCnews
INSTAGRAM @brookdalecc
YOUTUBE @brookdaleccnews

General Usage Guidelines:

The College encourages all students, staff and community members, and expects administrators of officially affiliated webpages to be aware of copyright law as it applies to intellectual property on-line and all to abide by these laws.  See resources on the United States Copyright Office’s website (www.copyright.gov) FAQs and the College’s website:  www.brookdalecc.edu:  Copyright Information and Guidelines.

All Official College Media Sites must adhere to state and federal laws and regulations and College Policies.  Only public information may be posted on Official College Media Sites.  Official College Media Sites must not contain sensitive personal information nor other confidential information as defined by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and relevant College Policies and Regulations.

Webpages and social media identified with the College must be consistent with the College’s branding guidelines, and Employee and Student Codes of Conduct, and shall be used only to support an authorized College or student function, group, or event.

D. Policy Regarding the Official Use of the College’s Social Media Sites and Tools.

The College understands that social networking and Internet services have become a common form of communication in the workplace and among stakeholders, citizens and students. Social networks are online communities of people or organizations that share interests or activities and use a wide variety of Internet technology to make the interaction a rich and robust experience. Employees, students and other authorized individuals who are authorized by the College to participate in social networks as a representative of the College shall adhere to the following guidelines when posting in such authorized capacity:


E. Personal Social Media Use

The College recognizes that employees and students have the right to use and maintain personal Web sites or to engage in social networking. However, the line between public and private activity has been blurred by these social networking tools, which is the primary reason these guidelines were developed. Information from your personal Facebook page, blog entries and tweets – even if they are intended as personal messages between family and friends – can easily reach beyond your intended audience and represent you and the College to the outside world. For that reason, the College’s policies, rules, regulations, and code of conduct and ethics including, but not limited to, its equal employment opportunity, anti-harassment policy and disciplinary policy, and other sections of this Social Media Policy should be your guides when you use these tools. Here are some additional guidelines for employees’ and students’ personal social networking sites:


F. Prohibited Uses of Social Media and Public Comment Policy

Expressions of speech that constitute libel are prohibited. Libel means speech that intentionally or negligently makes false statements about an individual, group or entity that causes injury to a person or entity’s reputation; and speech that maliciously makes false statements, connotations or inferences that causing injury to their reputation.

Expressions of speech that are obscene and not protected by the First Amendment are prohibited. Obscenity means a depiction or description, in a patently offensive way, of sexual conduct or excretory functions that, when taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value or that the average person, applying contemporary local standards, would find, when taken as a whole, appeals to prurient interests.

Expressions of speech that constitute harassment or discrimination under College Policies and/or State of New Jersey or Federal law are prohibited.

Expressions of speech that are directed to inciting or producing imminent violence or other breach of the peace and are likely to incite or produce such action are prohibited.

Expressions of speech that reveal information protected from disclosure by College policy, State of New Jersey or Federal law, including confidential student information, protected health information, confidential personal information, personal financial information, or confidential research data are prohibited.

The use of film, photographs, logos, or other material that violates the copyright, trademark or intellectual property rights of the College or others is prohibited.

Digital and audio recordings of live or on-line classroom instruction, and events held by Student Life & Activities or Registration/Admissions may be published on Social Media by College employees in the course of their official duties, consistent with College Policies and applicable laws. Digital and audio recordings of live or on-line classroom instruction may not be published by the College’s students on Social Media without the prior written consent of the faculty member(s) and the AVP, Student Affairs or VP, Academic Affairs.

 

G. Violations

Employees who violate this Policy may be subject to disciplinary measures, consistent with any applicable collective bargaining agreement, up to and including suspension, dismissal, and termination.

Students who violate this Policy may be subject to discipline in accordance with the College’s Student Code of Conduct.

 

V. Responsibility for Implementation

President

Interim Executive Director, College Relations


Approved: 3/23/2021

 

Related Policies and Regulations:

4.7001 Red Flag Identity Theft (Policy and Regulation)

4.7002 Information Security Program (Policy and Regulation)

4.7003 Data Classification and Permitted Use (Regulation)

4.7004 Graham-Leach-Bliley Act (Regulation)

4.7005 General Data Processing Regulation (Regulation)

 

 

 

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