Web@UNSW Project
Domain Name Management & Website Hosting
Draft Procedures Proposal for Consultation
Proposal
Implementation of interim procedures concerning Website Hosting and Domain
Name Registration and Hosting at the University pending the full revision of
UNSW Web Policy.
Background
In April 2007 an audit of website domains hosted centrally at UNSW was
conducted to provide a fuller picture of the University’s current web environment
and assist in the development of new policy and procedures moving forward to
a more managed web environment.
A significant finding of the audit was that, despite the existence of web policy
and standards for the University’s web presence, issues of non-compliance with
the policy and standards persist at UNSW. Audit results demonstrate that the
general proliferation of domain name hosting and the high proportion of
apparently unmanaged web content is potentially damaging to UNSW’s reputation
for quality.
Full statistics arising from the Audit are available from the Web@UNSW project
manager.
Issues
Compliance
Many domains point to sites that, under the terms of current UNSW Web
Policy, would be regarded as “unfit for purpose”. These sites are out-of-date,
inaccurate, misleading or provide inappropriate content. A significant number of
other domains yield error pages indicating that, despite efforts to register the
domain in the first place, no site ultimately was pointed to. Of a total of 892
D:\533580948.doc
centrally registered domains, 302 (34%) are deemed problematic and require
an action, ranging from taking down to updating.
Personal and hosted sites with unclear relationship to University
While UNSW Web Policy allows for personal and hosted websites, the
University currently has no in-built checks to govern the quality of these types
of websites1. Since the University has exerted little control over the use of
personal and hosted websites, this has led to domains being created for a
multiplicity of reasons. Of concern are websites where the connection with the
University is not clear, or plainly tangential. Further, despite the existence of
well managed personal and hosted websites, many were deemed unfit for
purpose during the audit.
A total of 118 domains (13% of the total) were classified as hosted during the
audit and, of these, a total of 26 require review. A total of 79 domains
(9%) were classified as personal (staff / student) and, of these, a total of
4 staff sites and 11 student sites require review.
Registration authority for a UNSW domain
The current domain name registration process effectively exerts no stringent
controls over who may register a domain name and for what purposes. In
particular:

The current Standard (endorsed in 2004) indicates that application
forms covering the registration process were “in development” (section
4). To date they have not been prepared. However, records created
during the registration process are problematic since domains are
registered through various formats (service call or email, or electronic
Domain name classifications generally follow from the type of site pointed to, with the website
then being classified according to UNSW Web Policy. In the area between the classifications for
personal and hosted websites there is room for interpretation. For example, for a domain that
has been registered for a professional association by a staff member, it would be classified as
“hosted”. However, for a club website the classification would be personal (student), while Arc
(ex-Student Guild) would be classified as hosted.
1
D:\533580948.doc

form for non-UNSW domains) and are, as a result, difficult to collect
and access.
The Domain Naming Standard states (in section3.2) that “a registrant
of a UNSW domain must be an organisational unit or group affiliated
with UNSW (ie. not an individual)”. In the case of domains registered
for a personal and some hosted websites, this is problematic with regard
to Web Policy scope because the standard also states (in section 3.1)
that an organisation will be eligible for a maximum of one domain to
avoid “cluttering/namespace pollution”.
Ongoing management, control and ownership.
Following on from the issue of registration authority there are insufficient means
of linking a domain (and its corresponding website) to its registrant in an
ongoing way. As a result there is a tendency for domains and their
corresponding websites to persist in the University’s domain space despite
having outlived their relevance. This is despite the stated aim that “domain
registrations are generally for 1-2 years” (section 5) and the stated intention
for ongoing checks for renewal.
In the case of personal student sites, typical problems relate to club or society
sites put up by students who moved on without decommissioning the site or
effectively passing it on. In the case of hosted and personal staff sites, there
are instances of sites connected to UNSW only by virtue of the staff member’s
University appointment; there are other instances, where an appointment is no
longer current, but the site persists.
Note: Both ARC and the Sports Association have agreed in principle to the
following: 1) to no longer allow registration of student hosted domains; and 2)
to provide students with “leaf” pages on their organisational sites that will
ensure content conforms to a standard format and is better placed for effective
management.
Discussion
Notable in the scope for sites currently hosted by the University (see reference
at end of document for section 2 of the Web Policy) is the general increase
in the number of exclusions as one moves down the organisational groupings
D:\533580948.doc
column of the table. For the University, the feasibility of maintaining such an
extensive web presence finds sharp focus in the University’s resource capacity
to monitor its own web environment adequately. While this points directly to
issues of quality, other issues are also raised, such as the hidden maintenance
costs and the legal risks associated with the University’s statutory / legislative
obligations and its obligations under the AARNet agreement.
The University’s web policy is currently undergoing an extensive review process.
The results of the audit require urgent attention given the public nature of
domains and their impact on how the University is perceived by the public,
government, other academic organisations and business. Procedures and
guidelines have been developed as a response to the issues identified in the
audit, and are intended to raise the quality level of the University’s web
environment.
As a general principle the procedures have been developed to ensure that
websites and domains align more closely with the University’s core business
(teaching, learning, research and administration) and to prevent the University’s
infrastructure from being used as a de facto internet service provider for noncore activities.
D:\533580948.doc
Draft Recommendations
It is recommended that:
1. Procedures and guidelines be adopted to govern the process of new
website and domain name registration, hosting and management at
UNSW, to be effective for the interim period leading up to approval of
the revised policy.
2. ITS build and maintain a central repository of all registered domains that
contains clear ownership and justification details for ongoing tracking and
auditing, including the ability to develop renewal notices.
These procedures add to UNSW Web Policy section 6.10 and the Domain
Naming Standard section 4.
Draft Interim Procedures
1. Applications for new UNSW websites and domains can only be approved
at a Faculty level by Deans, Heads of School, or General Managers; at
a Divisional level by Senior Managers or Executive Officers.
2. Approved applications must be lodged with Enterprise Infrastructure in IT
Services.
3. All newly registered domain names will be stored in a single central
repository maintained by ITS.
4. Applications for new non-UNSW websites and domains can only be
approved by relevant Dean(s) or relevant Executive Team member(s).
Draft Interim Guidelines
1. Content being delivered through UNSW domain names must be managed
responsibly by a nominated person as designated by the appropriate
authority indicated in the procedures.
2. Content being delivered through UNSW domain names must have a
demonstrably strong connection to the University’s learning, teaching,
research and administrative activities.
3. Content being delivered through non-UNSW domain names must be
stringently controlled. Non-UNSW domains and websites will generally be
approved for the following reasons:
D:\533580948.doc
i.
The domain may not be UNSW-specific, but UNSW may be one
party, perhaps the driving party, in a cross-organisation research
group. Example, the Australian Centre for Quantum Computer
Technology (www.qcaustralia.org).
ii.
The organisation may require a larger scale national or
international presence. For example, this covers affiliated institutes,
such as the Children’s Cancer Institute of Australia
(www.ccia.org.au), or offices of UNSW that may be based
overseas.
iii.
The domain has already been registered outside UNSW’s domain
space and is being formally inherited by UNSW.
iv.
The domain is for "commercial" activity at UNSW. Example.
www.omnium.net.au, www.learn4life.com.au,
www.www.nsinnovations.com.au.
Definitions
Under the terms of this paper a domain name refers to the root address for a
page or website. It does not refer to the address of a computer or computers.
It is not in and of itself a website, but merely a means of accessing a
website. Additionally, a website may be pointed to by more than one domain
name.
A UNSW domain name refers to a domain name that uses the
“UNSW.EDU.AU” name. For example, www.international.unsw.edu.au.
A non-UNSW domain name refers to domains that are hosted on UNSW
servers, but which do not use the UNSW name or may use the UNSW name
and combine them with other domains. For example, www.aaisnet.org.
D:\533580948.doc
Reference
From section 2 (scope) of the UNSW Web Policy:
Website hosting
Domain naming
UNSW policy
compliance
Legal compliance
Search engines
and metadata
applicability of the Website
UNSW, it is not possible to
As stated in the
of this policy on a case-
Commercial
Advertising &
Sponsorship
Accessibility
Visual Design
(** NOTE 2)
Website
ownership &
management
Content
management
Records capture
Organisational
Grouping
Web branding
“The table below gives a general indication of the
Policy. Given the proliferation of website types at
create a completely “one-size fits all” document.
Introduction, exemptions may be sought from parts
by-case basis.
Corporate

**




 




Administration,
Organisation &
Service units

**




 




Faculties

**




 




Schools
 **
 **




 








 




UNSW controlled
entities

**




 




Personal (staff
/ student)

**

 

 




Non-UNSW
controlled or
affiliated entity
(hosted on the
UNSW network)

**

  
 
  
UNSW Research
centres
*
* Note 1 – Although full branding not required, must retain identity with UNSW
** Note 2 – Recommended guidelines for Visual Design can be found at:
http://www.its.unsw.edu.au/policies/docs/Nav_and_Content_VisDesign_v0.7FINAL.doc
Examples of website types:
Corporate – Corporate website;
Administration & Service Units – VC’s website, Facilities, Research Office;
Faculties – Faculty of Law; Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Schools – School of Accounting; School of Mathematics
D:\533580948.doc

UNSW Research Centres – Centre for European Studies, UNESCO Centre for Membrane
Science and Technology;
UNSW Controlled Entities – Unisearch, NewSouth Global;
Personal (Staff/Student) – Any personal website created by a staff member or student;
Non-UNSW controlled or affiliated entities hosted on UNSW network – Student Guild,
Student Union, Kingsford Legal Centre.”
D:\533580948.doc