Fifteen University Social Media Policies

A social media policy outlines for employees the corporate guidelines or principles of communicating in the online world, and today, many major universities have developed policies specifically for their communities. Here’s a list of fifteen policies publicly posted on the web, with three of my favorites detailed below:

* Tufts University
* University of Kansas (.doc)
* Montana State University Athletics (.pdf)
* University of Michigan (.pdf)
* Colorado State University
* Seattle University
* University of Kentucky (.doc)
* Washington University in St. Louis
* California State University, Fresno (.pdf)
* Eastern University (.pdf)
* Ball State University
* Florida International University
* University of Oregon (below)
* DePaul University (below)
* Vanderbilt University (below)

University of Oregon

The University of Oregon really considers their social media policy as part of a larger communications strategy. In fact, the U of O posts this 156 page document called, How we Tell our Story, to their social media page. If you’ve ever considered your company’s brand positioning, I highly recommend at least a skim of this work. They take you from Brand Positioning and University Marks to the Stationary System, Athletics and SEO. Big time, seriously. Additional resources include:

* How do I promote my presence? and link/collaborate with our similar organizations?
* The University of Oregon Social Media Index
* Terms and Conditions

DePaul University

DePaul University’s social media policy recommends that the keys to success in social media are being honest about who you are, being thoughtful before you post, and respecting the purpose of the community where you are posting. DePaul breaks down social communications into two main categories:

* Posting for DePaul
* Posting to a personal site

Additionally, DePaul takes their social media resource a step further by offering downloadable social icons and general community guidelines.

Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt claims that as an institution, they have been “an early and eager adopter of social media” because these tools “enable the university to share what is happening on campus with the world, but more importantly let us hear directly and immediately from students, faculty, staff, parents, fans and friends about what is important to them”. They very clearly explain what they’re doing in the social space, and list Important Policies. Some unique content Vanderbilt has developed:

* Social Media Strategy Worksheet
* Setting up a Facebook Fan Page
* Setting up a Flickr account
* Creating a Twitter profile
* Wikipedia Best Practices