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HomeAbout GHCBoard of TrusteesPolicies and Procedures

Policy 903: Social Media Posting and Use Policy

Operational Policy
Policy Number: 903
Adopted: May 2022

Purpose

Social media sites including, but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are important and influential external communication channels for Grays Harbor College (GHC) where current and prospective students, alumni, employees, and the community can easily connect and learn about topics related to the college. We encourage their development and use. GHC social media sites are limited public forums subject to this policy. To assist in posting content and managing these sites, the college has developed these guidelines and standards for use of GHC social media.

This policy and related procedures do not apply to an individual’s private use of social media on private resources. Instead, it establishes standards for public use of, and for employees and students who create, administer, post to, or comment on, social media pages owned by the college or on behalf of GHC.

Use of Social Media for Emergency Management

  1. During an emergency situation, individual departments should refrain from posting any content on social media, except to re-blog or share the exact post from GHC’s main social media accounts. Such measures should be followed until emergency protocols are lifted.

Public Interaction with GHC Social Media

We encourage engagement with GHC through our social media. In order to maintain a constructive space, we require the public and GHC employees to abide by the following guidelines:

  1. Excessively long comments—as determined by the site’s editor—are subject to editing for length, clarity and space limitations.
  2. The following will not be tolerated when interacting with the GHC social media, blogs, and other online forums:
    1. Potentially slanderous or libelous comments—as determined by the site’s editor— that could be damaging to a person’s reputation
    2. Content that constitutes discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, sex, gender identity, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability, veteran or military status, or sexual orientation
    3. Obscenity
    4. Sexual content or links to sexual content
    5. Illegal activity or encouragement of illegal activity
    6. Threats, harassment, bullying, or personal attacks
    7. Comments or links not directly related or relevant to the post, discussion, or particular topic presented as determined by the site’s editor.
    8. Repetitive or duplicative posts of the same material that disrupt normal operation of the forum
    9. Information that may compromise the safety of an individual or the public or the security of public systems
    10. Content that violates an intellectual property interest of any other party (e.g. copyright and fair use)
    11. Postings of, or requests for, other participants’ personal information, such as phone number, address, financial accounts, etc.
    12. Impersonation of someone else
    13. Promotion of gambling, illegal drugs, adult or sexual activity, alcohol or tobacco products.
    14. Advocacy of, promoting, or discussing commercial activity or private business interests, including links to or advertising commercial activity, solicitations, or spam.
    15. Support for or opposition to political campaigns or ballot measures (RCW 42.52.180).

At GHC’s sole discretion, posts, comments, replies, or any public commentary containing any of the above may be hidden from the page. Multiple violations may result in GHC restricting your ability to use or interact on GHC’s social media, blogs, or other online forums. If you have been sanctioned under this policy, you have a right to submit an appeal as outlined in the social media procedure.

We respect the privacy of your identity; however, persons engaging in or encouraging others to engage in illegal activity, including but not limited to threats and harassment, may be reported to law enforcement. Students who engage in bullying, personal attacks, and other violations of the student conduct code may be subject to disciplinary action.

Use of Social Media by College Employees and Representatives

  1. Social media accounts created on behalf of GHC are the sole property of the college; creators and administrators have no ownership rights. College employees may operate and maintain a social media account at a department level that is associated with the college, provided they receive authorization for such use from GHC’s Director of Marketing and College Relations.
  2. Students’ personal information should not be shared on GHC’s social media without written permission. This includes, but is not limited to students’ names, addresses, personal email, photos, phone numbers, date or place of birth, grade level, or location on campus.If any of this information is disclosed, including a photograph of the student and/or a photograph of the student’s intellectual property, you must have a signed release form with permission from the student prior to the post going live. The account manager must retain all signed photo and information releases and be able to provide a copy upon request. Permission for minors must be obtained from parents or guardians.
  3. Individual employees, students, or someone associated with GHC should not be named or discussed or information about them released on GHC’s social media without their permission. Confidential and proprietary information or similar information regarding third parties also should not be released or discussed on GHC’s social media. Information about students who are minors requires written permission from their parent or guardian.
  4. When using an officially recognized social media channel associated with GHC, assume at all times that you are representing the College. Be professional and respectful. Avoid personal opinions and views that are not those of the college, program, department, etc. Before posting on or interacting with GHC’s social media, keep in mind that content can spread anywhere once posted.
  5. GHC social media accounts are not the right place to discuss or speculate on internal policies or operations. Internal college information (e.g. internal policies, procedures, information from informal conversations) should not be released or discussed on GHC’s social media.
  6. Exercise discretion, thoughtfulness, and respect for your colleagues, associates, and the College’s supporters/community (social media followers). Do not use derogatory or inflammatory language.
  7. A healthy dialogue with constructive criticism can be useful but refrain from engaging in such dialogue when using GHC’s social media.
  8. Use of copyrighted material is prohibited without permission. If you obtain permission to use or link to material or images, give proper credit to the original source. Do not take images, videos, or other assets from places like Google/Bing image search or clipart unless they are royalty-free or otherwise explicitly licensed for open use. Keep records of permissions received.

Monitoring and Maintenance

  1. GHC reserves the right to dissolve or suspend GHC departmental level accounts if they are not actively used for six months or are found to be in violation of this policy.
  2. As a public institution, content published by GHC and its employees on official social media accounts is public record and is subject to the Washington State Public Records Act, RCW 42.56. All content posted by on GHC’s social media accounts must be archived by the accountholder at least annually.

 

Policy Review History

Reviewed: N/A
Revised: N/A

Review and Revision refers to the College’s cyclical process for evaluating and updating all institutional policies and procedures. At minimum, each policy or procedure will undergo review once every five years to ensure accuracy, relevance, and alignment with current practices and regulatory requirements. If the scheduled review results in no changes, the date of that review will be recorded in the Reviewed field. If updates or edits are made, the date will be recorded in the Revised field. This process maintains transparency regarding the history of each policy or procedure and ensures the College remains responsive to evolving needs and standards.

Related Procedures