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AP 10-10b Social Media Accounts
Arapahoe Community College
Series 10 - Communication and Marketing
AP 10-10b - Social Media Accounts
Originated: July 2024
Effective: October 2024
References: SP 10-10b
Approved:
Stephanie J. Fujii, Ph.D.
President, Arapahoe Community College
PURPOSE
This Procedure contains pertinent information affecting employees, faculty, and students, current through the date of its issuance. To the extent that any provision of this Procedure is inconsistent with State or Federal law, State Board for Community Colleges and Occupational Education Policies (BPs) or Colorado Community College System President’s Procedures (SPs), the law, BPs and SPs shall supersede and control. BPs and SPs are subject to change throughout the year and are effective immediately upon adoption by the Board or System President, respectively. Employees, faculty, and students are expected to be familiar with and adhere to the BPs, SPs as well as College directives, including but not limited to this Procedure.
Nothing in this Procedure is intended to create (nor shall be construed as creating) an express or implied contract or to guarantee employment for any term. The College reserves the right to modify, change, delete or add to this Procedure as it deems appropriate.
SCOPE
This procedure applies to employees, faculty, and students.
DEFINITIONS
Refer to SP 10-10B – Social Media Accounts
PROCEDURE
Creating Social Media Sites:
Officially recognized Arapahoe Community College (ACC) social media accounts and web pages, including profiles and initiatives bearing the ACC name or brand, must be reviewed and approved by the ACC Marketing Department before accounts are established and used.
Where applicable, social media accounts must be created using a department email address that can be accessed by the appropriate staff members.
All official social media accounts must have more than one employee assigned to the administrator role, including one member of ACC’s Marketing Department.
All official social media accounts and web pages must be documented and recorded, including account names / handles, list of account administrators, and any other pertinent credential information for the account and filed with ACC’s Marketing Department.
Social Media Strategy:
A well-developed social media strategy is essential for the college to effectively engage with students, staff, community members, and potential partners. It ensures consistency of message, alignment with college goals, and strength of brand presence. Without a plan, there is risk of inconsistency, missed opportunities for engagement, and inefficient use of resources. A strategy plan could include the following components:
Goals and Objectives: What ACC aims to achieve with a social media presence (e.g., brand awareness, student engagement).
Target Audience: Who you are trying to reach (e.g., prospective students, industry, funders, community, alumni).
Editorial and Content Calendar: A schedule of topics/goals, and the marketing content approach to support execution.
Brand Guidelines: Ensuring all social media content adheres to college branding and messaging standards.
Roles and Responsibilities: Clear assignments for content creation, posting, and monitoring.
Performance metrics: How success will be measured (e.g. engagement rates, follower growth).
ACC Branding:
All officially recognized ACC social media and web sites must follow brand guidelines, digital writing and style guidelines, and standards for use of ACC’s name, logos, and colors.
Maintenance:
Should an ACC administrator of an account leave ACC for any reason or no longer wish to be an account administrator, it is their department’s/division’s responsibility to designate another employee to be an account administrator and remove the former employee’s administrative permission to the site.
Account administrators are responsible for the maintenance of their social and web site account(s), which include:
Complying with Board Policy, System Procedures, ACC Procedures, and related laws, regulations, and any applicable social media terms and conditions imposed by third-party social media accounts.
Keeping the account(s) dynamic, with new and relevant content.
Monitoring comments posted to the social media account and responding appropriately and promptly.
Inappropriate, offensive, injurious, and illegal content may be removed by ACC employees identified as account administrators or at the direction of ACC Marketing as defined in CCCS Social Media Guidelines SP10-10b Appendix A.
Social media accounts bearing ACC’s name that are dormant longer than three months may be removed and/or closed.
A social media account or web page bearing the ACC name or brand not used in direct support of ACC objectives will be reported and removed.
State of Colorado Requirements:
Facebook pages representing ACC departments or programs must prominently display the below statement, with the appropriate information filled in: “If you are looking for more information about [name of department/program], please visit [appropriate college website URL here].”
Privacy and Intellectual Property:
Privacy and intellectual property laws and policies regarding privacy of student, employee, and user information, and fair use of copyrighted material, apply to all ACC social accounts and web sites. Employee and student management of these official accounts must adhere to these laws and policies.
Social media users acting on behalf of ACC must adhere to all Board Policies, System Procedures, and ACC procedures, including, but not limited to, those pertaining to: acceptable use, copyright information, Information Technology security, personal records privacy and security, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and relevant privacy laws, faculty/staff/student codes of conduct, and procurement rules.
Personal and Political Endorsements:
ACC does not endorse any opinion, product, private business cause, or political candidate.
Professional and Student Conduct:
ACC employees are expected to adhere to the same standards of conduct online as they would in the workplace. Laws and procedures respecting contracting and conflict of interest, as well as applicable policies and guidelines for interacting with students, parents, alumni, donors, media, and all other ACC constituents apply online and in the digital social media context just as they do in personal interactions. Employees are fully responsible for what is posted to social media sites.
ACC employees and students are expected to use good judgment about content and respect privacy laws. They should not:
Include confidential information about ACC, its employees, or students.
Post content that is threatening, obscene, a violation of intellectual property rights or privacy laws, or otherwise injurious or illegal.
Represent personal opinions as being endorsed by CCCS, ACC, or any of their organizations; this is strictly prohibited. ACC names or marks may not be used to endorse any opinion, product, private business, cause, or political candidate.
ACC employees and students will refrain from using information and conducting activities that may violate local, state, or federal laws and regulations. If employees are unsure whether certain content is protected by privacy or intellectual property laws, they may contact the marketing department for assistance from CCCS legal department.
ACC employees wishing to establish a social media destination (e.g., Facebook page, You Tube channel, etc.) that is tied to ACC-related endeavors of themselves, or others affiliated with ACC, shall be subject to ACC’s or System Office review process and procedures governing the social media account.
Employees should consider the ethical ramifications of their interactions with students on social media sites.
ACC does not authorize employees, outside of the System Office or ACC marketing department (or their authorized vendors), to enter into advertising agreements with social media sites.
If one maintains their own personal social media account(s), they should avoid confusion over whether the account is associated with ACC. This includes using personal accounts to act in an official capacity on a non-CCCS approved site. If employees identify themselves as an ACC employee online, it should be clear that the views expressed on their site are not those of the ACC or System and they are not acting in their capacity as an employee. While not a requirement, ACC employees may consider adding the following disclaimer to personal social media accounts. “While I am an employee at Arapahoe Community College, comments made on this account are my own and not that of CCCS or ACC.”
Students are expected to adhere to the Student Code of Behavioral Expectations/Code of Conduct.
By posting content to any social media site, the poster represents that the poster owns or otherwise has all the rights necessary to lawfully use that content or that the use of the content is permitted by fair use. Posters also agree that they will not knowingly provide misleading or false information, and that they will indemnify and hold CCCS and ACC harmless for any claims resulting from the content.
Posters will use accessibility tools such as color contrast, image alt text, and hashtag capitalization as available on all ACC associated social media platforms to comply with accessibility standards as directed by Accessibility Law for Colorado State and Local Government HB21-1110.
Creating Websites / Webpages
Any department (staff, faculty, or instructor) or officially recognized student organization, club, or other entity desiring to create a website or new webpage on the arapahoe.edu website will must consult with and receive approval from ACC’s Marketing Department prior to creating website or webpage.
All webpages on arapahoe.edu will be created and maintained by ACC’s Marketing Department / Web team.
Any approved web sites and web pages must adhere to WCAG 2.0 accessibility standards as directed by Accessibility Law for Colorado State and Local Government HB21-1110.
Any approved websites and webpages must adhere to the ACC Digital-Web Content Style Guide (will be provided by ACC’s Marketing Team) upon approval.
Any approved websites and webpages must be reviewed by ACC’s Marketing Department for accessibility and brand compliance before publishing and promoting to the public.