Purpose of Guide

To provide consistent guidelines for official MCC social media sites. Mesa Community
College is currently active as @mesacc on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Purpose of MCC’s Social Media Sites

Expand MCC’s online presence to provide timely, accurate and relevant information to students, parents, faculty and the community.

Before Establishing a New College Social Media Site Please Consider

• Who is the audience to be reached?
• Is this the appropriate communication vehicle for this audience?
• Is there enough consistent content to post on a regular basis, 2-3 times weekly?
• Which faculty or staff members will serve as the site administrators?
• What is the strategy for developing a fan base?

Official College Social Media Site Information

• Posts should relate directly to MCC’s populaces, i.e. students, parents, employees, and community members.
• A Facebook page should be set up as an organizational page; (as fan pages not friend pages).
• Designate page administrators.
• Establishing a fan base is a priority.
• When appropriate, tag individuals in photos to drive maximum outreach.
• Objectionable or copyrighted content should not be posted.
• Do not delete comments simply because they are negative. If appropriate, contact the commenter offline to discuss.
• Comments should only be removed, and promptly and recorded, if foul language is used or comment is slanderous of an individual.
• Monitor site regularly (a minimum of 3 times a week).
• Respond promptly to inquiries.
• District photo release guidelines apply.
• Official content and user posts are subject to public record compliance.

Emergency and Crisis Situations

Follow the college’s lead in crisis situations. If the college’s official page posts a message it may be shared on subsequent pages. If a situation occurs and it is not posted to the college’s main accounts please remain silent.

Posting Tips

• Keep it Social.
• Be Human.
• Be Genuine.
• Provide useful timely information.
• Post and Tweet often.
• Contribute to the conversation beyond promotions.
• Monitor, cross promote and hyperlink to other MCC sites.
• Ways to promote by using posting links and hyperlinks, tagging, liking, favoriting and subscribing to MCC’s sites.

Photo Release Forms Required

It is the photographer’s responsibility to ensure photo permission is provided by everyone photographed OR THE PHOTOS MAY NOT BE USED.

Any identifiable individuals in posted photos must sign approved District release forms. Release forms are the responsibility of the posting department and should be kept on file permanently according to the Records Retention Schedule issued by the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records Division. Release forms may be accessed on the forms-logos-maps page.

Copyright

Content on the sites are subject to copyright laws. Any reproductions, adaptations or communications without written permission of the copyright owner may not be posted.

Terms of Use

By posting content, users agree to comply with the terms and conditions of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Mesa Community College and Maricopa County Community College District Social Media Guidelines. In particular, the user represents, warrants and agrees that no content submitted, posted transmitted or shared by the user will infringe upon the rights of any third party, including but not limited to copyright, trademark, and privacy; or contain defamatory, discriminatory or otherwise unlawful material.

Mesa Community College reserves the right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content and remove or ban fans at its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.

User Notification

All social media site content posted by Mesa Community College and site users is considered to be a public record and is subject to public records management practices as stipulated in ARS 41- 1346(A)(1) and ARS 41-1346(D).

Records Management

Any MCC department initiating and maintaining a MCC social media site is responsible for consistent records management compliance as stipulated in ARS 41-1346(A)(1) and ARS 41-1346(D).

User-generated Content and Disclaimer

Mesa Community College accepts no responsibility or liability for any data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, images, video, messages, or any other content or materials whatsoever generated by users that publicly post. Every MCCCD or MCC social media site must make an effort to display or link to the following disclaimer. It is recommended this disclaimer be posted on the Info page or in Notes for Facebook and it is recommended a link be placed in the profile for Twitter pages.

Disclaimer for Content on Linked Sites

Mesa Community College accepts no liability or responsibility whatsoever for the content or material of any target site linked from this page.

DISCLAIMER:

All information published online by MCC and/or MCCCD is subject to change without notice. MCCCD is not responsible for errors or damages of any kind resulting from access to its internet resources or use of the information contained therein. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information presented as factual; however, errors may exist.

Users are directed to counter-check facts when considering their use in other applications. MCCCD is not responsible for the content or functionality of any technology resource not owned by the institution.

The statements, comments, or opinions expressed by users through use of MCCCD's technology resources are those of their respective authors, who are solely responsible for them, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Maricopa County Community College District.

Objectionable Content

Objectionable content publicly posted in a format of data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, images, video messages or any other materials whatsoever (“content”) generated by users (“the Users”) on MCC social media sites includes:

• Copyrighted material
• Threatening language
• Nudity, pornography
• Fake, impostor profile
• Racist or hate speech
• Cyber harassment or cyber bullying
• Unwanted contact
• Profanity

Removal Process

• When a fan posts a copyrighted or objectionable comment it should be removed.
• Every effort should be made to notify the fan with an explanation as to why the post was removed.
• The incident should be logged for reference.
• If violations continue to occur, consideration should be made to block the fan from the page.

Logo

MCC’s logo must be present and meet college standards. The logo and standards guidelines can be accessed at http://www.mesacc.edu/about/institutional-advancement/forms-logos-maps. The MCC mark may be separated from the logo in only extremely rare circumstances. Its standalone use is by approval only and restricted to pre-prescribed electronic formats with small square perimeters less than 100x100 pixels and must accompany the college name. All approvals must be directed to Institutional Advancement.

Outside Advertisement

Outside organizations are limited to one advertisement comment posting annually.

Posting Information on MCC’s Official College Site

Campus related content, images, photos and video are welcomed and encouraged. Please contact Dawn Zimmer at dawn.zimmer@mesacc.edu for posting on MCC’s organizational site.

MCC’s Social Media Guidelines align with MCCCD administrative regulations adopted 11/07/11.