Employees on Social Media
The information provided below is intended to highlight additional social media policy information and best practices for University of Houston employees who maintain UH social media sites as well as personal social media sites.
Maintaining UH social media sites
Legal
Follow all applicable state, federal, and University laws, faculty and staff handbooks, regulations, and policies, such as FERPA, HIPAA and NCAA Regulations. Any content and/or online activity created by a poster or site moderator that violates these ordinances, or contains/leads to the release of a student’s private personal information is strictly prohibited and should be removed.
Protect confidential information with privacy laws, especially FERPA: "The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education." Read more
If you are an employee of the University of Houston or provide work for the University of Houston, do not engage in any conversations or post any information regarding student records. Some examples of student records include names, admission status, GPA, Social Security number, PeopleSoft number and any/all other information that would be covered by FERPA. If students request help, you can direct them to a secure discussion platform, such as phone, email or "Get Help".
Protect confidential medical records, as specified by HIPAA: “The Privacy Rule protects all "individually identifiable health information" held or transmitted by a covered entity or its business associate, in any form or media, whether electronic, paper, or oral.” Examples of protected information include: “…the individual’s past, present or future physical or mental health or condition, the provision of health care to the individual, or, the past, present, or future payment for the provision of health care to the individual, and that identifies the individual or for which there is a reasonable basis to believe can be used to identify the individual.” See more
The world of social media has changed the face of communication and recruiting in collegiate sports and all UH employees are asked to abide by NCAA regulations when interacting and communicating on social media platforms. In addition, we ask that all employees refrain from contacting prospective student-athletes on social media until after they have signed a National Letter of Intent with the school.
The University does not endorse or use any social network internet communication service or media sharing service as a secure means of communication for online business transactions or matters involving personal information. The University will not ask for, nor should an individual send, credit card or payment information, classified information, privileged information, private information or information subject to non-disclosure agreements via any social network internet communication service.
Do not engage in personal affairs under the guise of your UH entity’s social site.
If there is a filter option for comments, disable it or set it to the lowest possible setting.
If you photograph or record a student with the intent to publish their image on social media, they must sign an Authorization for Use of Image, Voice, Performance, Artwork or Likeness (Photo Release) Form and FERPA Authorization Form before the photo or video is posted. Learn more about photo release guidelines.
There are appropriate forms of content redistribution built into popular social media platforms, such as sharing on Facebook, Retweeting on Twitter or sharing a post or Reel to your Story on Instagram. An alternative option is to contact the content owner directly to request permission to share their content in a new post. Without the permission of the content’s owner, you may not use the content and will stand in violation of the UHS Social Media Policy and the platform's terms of service.
Regarding the posting of faculty and staff images in UH publications or mediums, it is recommended to exercise proper judgment and discretion in determining whether to post such pictures and to seek permission in any instance where faculty or staff would have some expectation of privacy. For example, group shots of University employees at University events should be fine. However, when posting employee photos on the website, it is recommended to ask for their permission. This can be done in writing, by email or with the standard UH photo release form. The key is to be respectful of employees’ privacy considerations.
Respect copyright law and the rights of others. "Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed." ( read more). Also, see copyright policy information on uh.edu, as related to file sharing.
It is an express violation to infringe on someone else’s rights of publicity, privacy, copyright, trademark or other intellectual property rights. What does this mean? You may not reproduce, screenshot, modify or redistribute content (text and images) that do not belong to you, and in no circumstance should you remove, alter or conceal any watermark or other copyright identifier incorporated in the content of others.
Utilize available graphics to reinforce the University's brand. Do not abuse logos. Your social media icon/profile image for your entity should comply with the UH branding standards. It should either be a photograph related to your entity, an approved logo for your entity or another appropriately branded image. Social Media Profile Guidelines
UH employees who have the authority to update UH social media sites should not post personal information or personal updates to UH social media sites.
Employees must adhere to regular employee policies and standards of conduct.
Obey the terms of use for your social media platform. These rules are constantly changing, so it is your duty to stay up to date. Here are links to policies for some of the more popular platforms:
UH social media sites should be accessible in some form to those with disabilities. Learn more
Please understand that by posting content to third-party applications such as social media sites, you are almost always releasing ownership rights to and control of that content. For this reason, we ask that you do not share any restricted-use photos that you may have access to.
If you are a faculty member using social media as a means of communicating information to your students, it is best to only use it as a supplementary form of communication and not the primary form of communication.
Advised
You are encouraged to link to your source material any time you are able. This will help reduce the possibility of misinformation.
If you manage a forum that allows users access to comment and post (Facebook Group, LinkedIn Group, Discord server, etc.), you must adhere to the specific social media platform's terms of service and the UHS Social Media Policy.
Think twice about the content you are preparing to post and double-check everything, with special attention to accuracy, spelling and grammar. Also, consider whether or not the content may potentially malign or polarize any person or group.
It is recommended that you regularly review your site's metrics. This will help you understand how you can improve your communications and provide your audience with desirable content.
Cross-promote whenever possible. See the Social Media Directory for a list of official University sites.
Registering and maintaining your site
Register your site with the Division of University Marketing and Communications. To register, please contact UMC Social Media. Registering your site will allow your site to be added to the UH Social Media Directory.
Reinforce the University's voice and brand. Help us build our reputation as we work to become a Top 50 public university.
Ownership rights for official University sites should be assigned to University employees only (not students). If you need to assign certain duties to a student worker, please seek approval and best practices from the Division of University Marketing and Communications. Send any requests to UMC Social Media.
All sites must have at least two full-time employee administrators to ensure that there is a fail-safe in the event that the primary administrator becomes unavailable in an emergency situation or staffing change.
Maintaining personal social media sites
Legal
Follow all applicable state, federal, and University laws, faculty and staff handbooks, regulations, and policies, such as FERPA, HIPAA and NCAA Regulations. Any content and/or online activity created by a poster or site moderator that violates these ordinances, or contains/leads to the release of a student’s private personal information is strictly prohibited and should be removed.
Do not divulge any confidential information you have access to as a UH employee (ex: student information).
If you are an employee of the University of Houston or provide work for the University of Houston, do not engage in any conversations or post any information regarding student records. Some examples of student records include names, admission status, GPA, Social Security number, PeopleSoft number and any/all other information that would be covered by FERPA. If students request help, you can direct them to a secure discussion platform, such as phone, email or "Get Help".
Protect confidential medical records, as specified by HIPAA: “The Privacy Rule protects all "individually identifiable health information" held or transmitted by a covered entity or its business associate, in any form or media, whether electronic, paper, or oral.” Examples of protected information include: “…the individual’s past, present or future physical or mental health or condition, the provision of health care to the individual, or, the past, present, or future payment for the provision of health care to the individual, and that identifies the individual or for which there is a reasonable basis to believe can be used to identify the individual.” See more…
The world of social media has changed the face of communication and recruiting in collegiate sports and all UH employees are asked to abide by NCAA regulations when interacting and communicating on social media platforms. In addition, we ask that all employees refrain from contacting prospective student-athletes on social media until after they have signed a National Letter of Intent with the school.
The University does not endorse or use any social network internet communication service or media sharing service as a secure means of communication for online business transactions or matters involving personal information. The University will not ask for, nor should an individual send, credit card or payment information, classified information, privileged information, private information or information subject to non-disclosure agreements via any social network internet communication service.
Respect copyright law and the rights of others. "Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed." ( read more). Also, see copyright policy information on uh.edu, as related to file sharing.
It is an express violation to infringe on someone else’s rights of publicity, privacy, copyright, trademark or other intellectual property rights. What does this mean? You may not reproduce, screenshot, modify or redistribute content (text and images) that do not belong to you, and in no circumstance should you remove, alter or conceal any watermark or other copyright identifier incorporated in the content of others.
Advised
Protect your own privacy online by adjusting your privacy settings and publishing your updates only to the audiences with whom you wish to share your status.