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Offices of the DeanOffice of Public Affairs newServicesWeb CommunicationsWeb Policies

Web Policies

1. Background and Purpose

The University of Maryland School of Medicine encourages faculty, staff, and students to publish freely and openly on the World Wide Web, within the constraints of existing laws and School of Medicine policies. This Web Policy & Guidelines document imparts minimal stylistic consistency guidelines and procedures for communicating on the World Wide Web. These guidelines address "Official School of Medicine Web Pages," and webpages representing faculty in connection with their School of Medicine faculty appointment.  This document also contains guidelines and suggestions for all pages published by members of the University of Maryland School of Medicine community.

2. Official School of Medicine Web Pages

2.1. For the purposes of this Policy, an "Official School of Medicine Web Page" is a Web Page that represents one of the following organizational units of the School of Medicine:

  • An office of the Dean
  • A Department
  • A Division within a department
  • An Official Program
  • An Organized Research Center (ORC)
  • An Institute

 Any graduate program of the School of Medicine, including

  • Graduate Program in Life Sciences

SOM Faculty Research Profile Page 2.2 All Official School of Medicine organizational units should be represented on the School of Medicine Website.

The Office of Public Affairs shall make the final determination on what constitutes an "Official School of Medicine Web Page," and determine what websites and content are appropriate for inclusion in the school of Medicine website.

2.2. The Office of Public Affairs and Office of Information Services reserves the right to monitor and review Official School of Medicine Web Pages.

2.3. In order to facilitate the adoption of site-wide style standards, enable site-wide searches, and deploy online applications; all Official School of Medicine Web Pages must be hosted on a Web server administered by the Office of Information Services. Under special circumstances, this requirement may be waived at the discretion of the Director of Digital & Broadcast Communications.

2.4. In order to maintain a consistent public image, all Official School of Medicine Web pages must adopt the "look and feel" of the School of Medicine Website. The Office of Public Affairs provides a design template for this purpose. The official School of Medicine logo is designated in the University of Maryland brand standards governed by the UM Office of Communications and Public Affairs: http://www.umaryland.edu/cpa/branding

Each design template will include:

  • The official School of Medicine Web logo, site-wide navigational links and a site-wide search box.
  • An email link to the School of Medicine Webmaster

Official School of Medicine organizational units will be contacted by a representative of the Office of Public Affairs or the Office of Information services regarding redesign initiatives.

2.5. The Home Page for each official School of Medicine unit will contain a representative description of the unit. 2.6. Each Official School of Medicine Website will contain a generic email contact address for the unit or person responsible for the content on the site.

2.7. Information on each Official School of Medicine Web Page will be kept up-to-date. One person in the unit should be designated to participate in this process, which will require a minimal time commitment once the initial site content is completed.

2.8. Each School of Medicine unit creating an Official School of Medicine Web Page is responsible for ensuring that the information contained therein is of the highest editorial standards (spelling, punctuation, grammar, style, etc.) and is factually accurate. Errors will be brought to the unit’s attention by the Office of Public Affairs and suitable corrections must be made.

3. Clinical Care & Patient Marketing Web Pages

Web pages with a primary purpose of marketing to prospective patients, or providing information to prospective or current patients should NOT reside on the School of Medicine website. If the primary audience for a web page is prospective or current patients, the best location is UMMS.org/UMMC, or the appropriate partner hospital website, with links back to the School of Medicine website.

This policy is effective 1/1/2016.

4. Education Websites

Web pages with a primary goal of serving prospective or current medical students or School of Medicine graduate programs should be located on the School of Medicine Website.

Web pages related to resident training should reside on UMMS.org/UMMC, or the website of the appropriate partner hospital. 

5. Research Websites

Web pages with a primary goal of conveying information about School of Medicine research, or research laboratories should reside on the School of Medicine website.

Clinical laboratory web pages may reside on UMMS.org/UMMC, or the website of the appropriate partner hospital. 

It is recognized that the School of Medicine is a complex organization with areas of crossover. If you are unsure about which website is appropriate for your web pages, please contact:

Larry Roberts
Web Services
School of Medicine
410-706-4939

6. Proper Identification, Copyright and Trademarks - All Pages

4.1. The correct names for the School of Medicine are "University of Maryland School of Medicine" and "School of Medicine." Use of other names, such as "University of Maryland," "University of Maryland Medical Center" and "University of Maryland Medical System" is strongly discouraged.

4.2. Authors or originators using photos and images may need the permission of not only the person or organization that owns the photo or image, but also from any persons included within the images.

4.3. Any use of other copyrighted material must have the express written permission of the person or organization that owns the copyright. The Office of Public Affairs reserves the right to require proof of the written permission and to remove the material if that proof cannot be produced.

4.4. To avoid issues related to endorsement and trademark infringement, links should not include logos or trademark designs. Trademarked works should only be used when necessary, and with the mark: "TM".

7. Links

Links to commercial Web sites and sites that carry advertising should be carefully considered. Links may not be used for the sole purpose of promoting commercial interests. Links to sites that feature content that is purely political or religious or that otherwise conflict with the School of Medicine’s role as a state institution are inappropriate. Web pages may not link to a site with content that creates a harassing or hostile environment based on factors such as race, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or religion. Web pages may not link to a site that violates the law, such as a site that illegally publishes copyrighted material or a site that publishes child pornography.

8. Violations

Pages found to be in violation of these Policies and Guidelines shall be subject to immediate removal from the Network.

Disclaimer and Web Privacy Policy

Notwithstanding any language to the contrary, nothing contained on an official School of Medicine Website constitutes nor is intended to constitute an offer, inducement, promise, or contract of any kind. The data contained herein is for informational purposes only and is not represented to be error free. Any links to non-University of Maryland information are provided as a courtesy. They are not intended to nor do they constitute an endorsement by the University of Maryland of the linked materials.

  1. Personal Information: University of Maryland School of Medicine does not routinely collect personal information on our web site. Where such information is collected it is not shared outside the school and is only used for the purpose for which it was requested. Any exceptions to this policy are explicitly and clearly noted when the information is collected.
     
  2. Cookies: Some pages on the University of Maryland School of Medicine web site may set cookies on your web browser. These cookies are used to enable the site to remember what you have previously done during that visit, and are retained for the duration of one visit only.

Revised: 2/21/2024