The following procedures are intended as a guide for responding to concerns of content published on the University WordPress Sites (“WordPress Sites”) that appears to violate the University WordPress Sites Guidelines and Procedures (the “Guidelines”), specifically content that is illegal and described in the University WordPress Procedures under the title Content Restrictions. The standards for administering the WordPress Sites are located in the: (1) Guidelines; (2) Procedures; and (3) WordPress Service Level Agreement.
1. All concerns (“Concern(s)”) regarding site content must be directed to the Office of Communications.
2. Within a reasonable time, but not later than seven (7) days after notification of a Concern, the vice president for Communications (or a designated representative) shall make a preliminary determination about the content in question to determine if the content violates the agreement described in the Content Restrictions.
3. If the vice president for Communications (or a designee) makes a determination that the material does not violate the Content Restrictions, or that the concern is frivolous or otherwise does not merit further investigation, no action shall be taken.
4. If, in the preliminary review, the vice president for Communications (or a designee) determines that the concern is not frivolous and the content in question may violate the agreement in the Procedures under Content Restrictions, the webpage in question shall be temporarily disabled pending a more extensive review. The vice president for Communications (or a designee) shall provide the University WordPress Site Publisher (“Site Publisher”) with a notice (“Notice”) regarding the potentially non-compliant material and shall send a copy of the notice to the provost. The Notice shall include a reference to the sections of the Guidelines and Procedures that the content in question potentially violates. The vice president for Communications and the provost (or their respective designees) shall consult with the chair of the University Faculty Assembly (UFA); the director of Human Resources; and the supervisor, chair, or director of the Site Publisher and shall receive recommendations from them for consideration. The chair of UFA may determine that input from a standing or ad hoc committee is required to form a recommendation. However, any recommendations from UFA shall be made in a timely manner not to exceed ten (10) calendar days.
5. The vice president for Communications and the provost (or their respective designees) shall incorporate recommendations from UFA, HR, and, if necessary, outside legal counsel, and shall provide a final Recommendation to the Site Publisher. The Site Publisher of the content in question shall have ten (10) calendar days to either respond to the Recommendation in writing or propose edits to the questionable content that shall bring it into compliance with the Guidelines and Procedures.
6. At any time during the 10-day period, the vice president for Communications (or a designee) and the publisher of the content in question may agree on changes to the content to bring the content into compliance with the Guidelines and Procedures. In such cases, the Site Publisher shall submit the revised content to the Office of Communications, and the updated web pages shall be published.
7. Within thirty (30) days following the receipt of the Response, unless the Site Publisher has taken action to bring the content into compliance as approved by the vice president for Communications (or a designee), the vice president for Communications and the Provost (or their respective designees), with consideration of recommendations from HR, UFA, and the supervisor, shall determine if the content should be permanently removed from the University WordPress Sites.
8. If the vice president for Communications (or a designee), in consultation with the Provost (or provost’s designee) and others as described above, determines that the content in question is illegal and in violation of the University WordPress Procedures (Content Restrictions), the vice president for Communications (or a designee) shall provide written notice of the initial decision to the Site Publisher, articulating the basis for the conclusion (“Initial Decision”). The Site Publisher of the content may appeal (“Appeal”) the Initial Decision to the president of UNE (or a designee) within ten (10) calendar days of the Initial Decision by written explanation, articulating the reasons why the Site Publisher believes the content should remain published on the University WordPress Sites.
9. If the Site Publisher elects to appeal, the vice president for Communications (or a designee) shall provide a copy of the Concern, Notice, Response, Initial Decision, and the Appeal, together with references to the Guidelines and Procedures allegedly violated, to the UNE president (or a designee). The decision by the president (or a designee) shall be in writing and be final.
10. Any conduct that may merit disciplinary action shall be referred to UNE Human Resources.