Title of Policy: Social Media Policy
Policy No.: 1.7010
Type of Policy: Administrative
Effective Date: October 1, 2020
Last Revised: New
Policy Owner: Florida Memorial University
Policy Contact: Office of Public Affairs
I. Reason for Policy
The purpose of the Social Media Policy is to provide Florida Memorial University (FMU) employees with guidelines for use of Social Media, including FMU hosted Social Media. Florida Memorial University acknowledges that Social Media may be used to further the University’s mission by providing channels of interaction and engagement between the University and students, parents, faculty, employees, alumni, fans, media, the surrounding community, potential students and donors, etc. The University supports this kind of participation in Social Media and is committed to academic freedom in these channels.
While this Policy primarily focuses on Social Media accounts that are University-owned and University-controlled, it will also provide general guidelines regarding personal use.
The goal of this Policy is:
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- Brand protection
- Consistent and efficient distribution of FMU’s private information
- Encouraging the use of Social Media by institutional users whil making sure usage is in line with applicable law and FMU policies
- Providing protection to the University’s reputation and other members of its community
II. Policy Statement
FMU is committed to fostering an educational environment that allows for freedom of speech and expression. However, FMU will not tolerate Social Media content that is threatening, defamatory, illegal, obscene, infringing of intellectual property rights, invasive of privacy, profane, libelous, discriminatory, harassing, bullying, abusive, hateful, or embarrassing to any person or entity, in violation of FMU policies, or otherwise injurious or objectionable. FMU may pursue without notice all available recourse to block, remove, or delete Social Media communication that incorrectly creates an appearance of an endorsement by FMU or makes an inappropriate or unauthorized use of any intellectual property held FMU. FMU also reserves its rights to refer matters to relevant authorities for appropriate action. Any unauthorized comments are personal statements and not made in the capacity as agents or representatives of Florida Memorial University. Furthennore, these actions could result in personal liability for the individual(s) responsible. Use of the University Social Media for any act in violation of applicable law and FMU policies is prohibited.
FMU is committed to promoting, regulating, and protecting the integrity of its brand and its trademarked names and identifying marks and logos. Use of “Florida Memorial University,” “FMU”, FMU marks or logos, digital media in any form, including but not limited to photographs and video, or any derivative thereof in a manner that suggests or implies representation of Florida Memorial University in their websites, social media handles, pages, names, etc., without express written permission from Florida Memorial University is prohibited. Anyone posting to Social Media is accountable for any content they post to Social Media that is institutionally related, or could be reasonably perceived to be institutionally related.
FMU recognizes that Social Media content can affect the reputation of FMU and members of the FMU community. All data and files, including social media content, on computers owned or operated by the university or transmitted using university computer systems are subject to applicable FMU policies. Social Media content that is not created or posted using computers owned or operated by the university or transmitted using university computer systems may nonetheless be subject to appropriate action by FMU under applicable law and FMU policies.
In accordance with the FMU Acceptable Use Policy, employees are cautioned that they should have no expectation of privacy while using the internet/Social Media at work or on the FMU network, FMU-issued equipment or devices. FMU reserves the right to monitor any and all comments or discussions about the University that are posted on the internet/Social Media. This expressly includes use of the FMU network, FMU-issued equipment or devices to copy and/or transmit any documents, software, or other information in violation of applicable law and FMU policies, or to engage in any communication using the FMU network, FMU-issued equipment or devices which is defamatory, obscene, offensive, or harassing, or which discloses personal information without authorization.
When posting to all Social Media, all persons associated with the University shall:
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- Represent the University in a positive professional manner.
- When posting in an official capacity, administrators of University-owned and controlled social media accounts must observe all other University policies while utilizing Social Media.
- Not disseminate confidential information.
- Be mindful of copyright and intellectual property rights of others and the University and of University policies regarding those rights.
- Consider their messages, audiences, and goals as well as strategy for keeping information on Social Media sites up to date.
- Protect the institutional voice; posts on Social Media should protect the University’s institutional voice by remaining professional in tone and in good taste.
- Use good judgment with content.
- Not use the Florida Memorial University name or image to endorse an opinion, product, cause, business, or political candidate or otherwise hold oneself out as a representative of the University when one is not.
- Acknowledge the expression of a personal opinion, especially if the statement could be reasonably interpreted by the receiver that one is speaking on behalf of the University. Please preface with the following statement to help disassociate the opinion(s) from those of the University: “The views expressed herein are my personal opinions and are not necessarily those of Florida Memorial University.”
If any employee receives any communication from another employee through Social Media that one finds offensive, the recipient should inform the sender and report the offensive message to the Office of Public Affairs immediately.
III. Scope
The Policy covers all persons associated with the University, including vendors and contractors engaging in promotional activities on behalf of FMU. This Policy also outlines the potential impact of personal Social Media use to one’s employment or student relationship with Florida Memorial University.
IV. Definitions
| Term | Definition |
| Social Media | Social Media refers to a software system or service provided via the Internet used to communicate and share information between people through interactions with video, audio, text, or multimedia.
Social media is defined as media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media includes, but is not limited to:
Florida Memorial University does not restrict use of public media outlets including social networking. However, students, faculty and staff should understand that their actions in public media are subject to the same standard of conduct expected of anyone associated with the Florida Memorial University brand. |
V. Responsibilities
All persons associated with the University are required to comply with this Policy.
VI. Enforcement
Violations of this Policy will result in a review of the incident and may include action under appropriate University disciplinary processes. This Policy shall be enforced by University administrators. It is the responsibility of the Office of Human Resources/Office of Public Affairs to oversee enforcement of this Policy. Any employee who violates this Policy will be subject to disciplinary action that may result in warning, probation, suspension or separation from the University.
The University Policies and Procedures Library is updated regularly. In order to ensure a printed copy of this document is current, please access it on line at https://policies.fmu.edu.