North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
Web Guidelines and Procedures
Introduction
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University’s Web presence is a primary
communications medium used to promote and enhance the university’s image by providing
relevant and up-to-date information about our programs, research, services, and
accomplishments. University Relations is responsible for executing and coordinating
Web communications for the university. As part of these duties, this office is
charged with:

Creating a Web identity that captures the unique brand characteristics of North Carolina
A&T State University

Ensuring that the Web site reinforces and effectively supports the university’s marketing
messages and university goals outlined in North Carolina A&T State University’s 2020
Preeminence Strategic Plan

Ensuring the Web site addresses audience needs and meets high standards of
written and visual content and ease of navigation

Coordinating with the Division of Information Technology to provide up-to-date Web site
tools for Web site administrators and Web coordinators to manage and author sites within
the ncat.edu domain
What is Your Purpose?
The first thing to consider when maintaining a web site is what the primary purpose will be.
Once you establish a purpose for providing content to your web site, then you are well on your
way. Next, identify who your audience is (prospective students, current students, parents, alumni,
etc.). What types of information will they be looking for when they visit your web page? Put
yourself in the seat of the end-user and you will begin to identify their needs. For more detailed
information call the University Relations web manager for helpful hints and guidelines.
Some Rules of Good Navigation
You should always be able to easily navigate throughout your web site and get to documents
with minimum difficulty. Always provide access to the original table of contents, or its
equivalent.
Your "table of contents" in this context is the set of categories, or main topic areas, that you
came up with in the first stage of your web planning. This set of categories should be available to
the web surfer from anywhere within your web site. If visitors to your site have to use the
BACK button several times to go back to the main links, you will lose them. Your site
should be so easy to navigate that the BACK button will only need to be used once at a time, if
at all.
User Experience
The purpose of policies and procedures around user experience is to bring a clear, consistent, and
user friendly face to N.C. A&T State University’s web presence. By striving towards the goal of
a unified web identity, several key benefits can be gained, such as:
•
Consistent user experience across all N.C. A&T sites
•
A unified vision of what each web site should look like means users can tell, at a glance,
that they are on a University property and also instantly know how to navigate and use
the site.
•
A unified identity means that multiple web sites are easier to maintain and components
can easily be used across web sites. This decreases cost and development time.
•
A unified data organization scheme means that data can be accessed in a standard way,
across multiple sites. This aids communication and interoperability.
Information
The purpose of policies and procedures around information is to provide consistent, accurate,
current and secured information to users of N.C. A&T State University web sites. This will
provide several benefits such as:
•
Accurate, current and consistent information across N.C. A&T State University web sites
•
A unified data organization scheme with data that can be accessed in a standard way,
across multiple sites. This aids communication and interoperability.
•
Information that is secured and complies with organizational policies
•
Reducing risks to the organization, its constituents and stakeholders
Standards and Related Policies
All university Web pages must comply with local, state, and federal laws and N.C. A&T State
University’s existing policies and procedures. To ensure that the university is represented with
integrity and consistency, all pages must also meet the standard N.C. A&T State University Web
criteria outlined or referenced below:
•
Information Security Plan: N.C. A&T State University has established a specific policy
applicable to the technology arena. Appropriate use of computing and networking
resources and insuring the integrity of data and privacy is everybody’s responsibilities.
Technological and information resources and the access provided by the University to
campus resources are to be governed by this plan.
o The Information Security Plan applies to technology administered by individual
departments, to student owned hardware connected to the campus network, to the
resources administered by central administrative departments such as University
Libraries or Computing and Information Technology, and to actions originating
from computer systems maintained by members of the campus community offcampus which connect remotely to the University's network services.
o The Information Security Plan applies to all systems owned, managed or
administered by the University and any use of those systems. Many specific areas
and/or systems may have service-specific policies that apply in addition to this
umbrella plan. Please refer to the entire document found at Information Security
Plan.
•
Branding Guidelines: The N.C. A&T State University Web site is one of the key places
audiences can learn about the university and form an impression of the institution. N.C.
A&T Web pages must review and adhere to the N.C. A&T State University’s Style
Guide.
•
Editorial Style: Web coordinators and contributors responsible for preparing text and
visual graphics for Web pages must consult the N.C. A&T State University Style Guide.
It details the correct way to reference how the university name should be written (first,
second, third reference) and the proper use of the seal, logos and word marks.
•
HTML Typefaces– Web coordinators and contributors will receive access to pre-coded
templates and will not have to make any determinations on typeface. However, for details
on N.C. A&T’s color specification chart and primary typefaces refer to the Style Guide.
•
University Official Colors: The official university colors should be the most dominant
colors on any of the university sites. They should anchor all Web site designs. The
Pantone Color Matching System (PMS) codes are PMS 288 (blue) and PMS 123 (gold).
•
Privacy and Collection of Personal or Confidential Information: Individuals
responsible for Web pages within each department should become familiar with the
university’s Web Privacy Policy. The purpose of this policy is to disclose the terms
governing the collection and use of information obtained from visits to the University
home website www.ncat.edu.
o Internal: The privacy policies for University administrative, academic, and
operational entities such as offices, divisions, departments, units, and
organizations may vary from this policy. Visitors are responsible for consulting
the privacy policies for University administrative, academic, and operational
websites.
o External/Third Party: The privacy policies for external and/or third party websites
accessible from the University home website are not governed by this policy,
meaning these entities have their own privacy policies. Visitors are responsible
for consulting the privacy policies for external and/or third party web sites.
•
Copyright: Licensing approval is not required for internal, non-commercial university
use of trademarks on stationery, brochures, reports, etc. However, all users must adhere
to the guidelines of this style manual. The Office of Legal Affairs provides guidance in
selecting the appropriate and legal means for reproducing material in accordance with the
current laws. For additional copyright information, contact the Office of Legal Affairs.
•
Advertising: Advertising on the Web site within the ncat.edu domain is prohibited.
Alternative consideration can be given to sponsors. For questions, contact Nicole Pride,
Associate Vice Chancellor for University Relations.
•
URLs: Official N.C. A&T State University sites should have a URL that is intuitive and
reflective of an academic or administrative unit’s affiliation with the university.
University Relations recommends that all units adopt a domain name that is brief and
marketable. Examples:
o Preferred: http://www.ncat.edu/architecture
o Preferred: http://architecture.ncat.edu
•
Web sites of official N.C. A&T State University units must reside in the ncat.edu domain,
unless approval is granted from University Relations. For questions, contact Nicole Pride,
Associate Vice President for University Relations.
Web Content Management System (CMS) Procedures
To assist the University web manager in managing university web site content, as well as,
provide consistency in organization and appearance of the N.C. A&T State University web site,
the university uses a Web content management system (CMS) for official university Web sites.
Pages within the CMS are designed to be compatible with a variety of popular web browsers and
devices, accessible for persons with disabilities in accordance with Section 508 of the federal
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d) and adherent to industry Web design standards, as
well as N.C. A&T State University standards. Editors using the CMS are then free to concentrate
on developing content and features for their audiences, rather than get bogged down with the
technical aspects of Web site construction. University Relations is responsible for coordinating
with departments and units to move sites into and maintain sites within the CMS.
N.C. A&T State University Web sites and pages should be maintained with the following
principles in mind:
User-centric design

Through every step of Web design and development, consider the needs, goals and
expectations of your site’s users. Clearly define and prioritize your audiences. Then
design the content, layout, organization, navigation, structure and functionality for those
audiences.
Maintaining

While individual units are responsible for keeping their sites up-to-date, University
Relations will continue to review Web sites and offer ongoing information and advice to
assist Web site managers.
Brand consistency

Make sure your users know your site is part of N.C. A&T State University. Design Web
sites in such a way that every element of the site supports the university brand. Contact
the Web Manager at 336.256.0863.
Strong content

Content is the heart and soul of every Web site. Without it, most sites wouldn’t exist.
Create content that is engaging, interesting, up-to-date, accurate, on-brand and most
importantly, relevant and valuable to your audiences.
Usability

Think about what your users want from your site. Consider how they want it to work,
what words and language resonate and what information is most important to them. Make
every element of the site intuitive for your users (not just for the site’s designers or
department heads).
Visual Images

Most people prefer attractive sites, but they must also be functional. Good images and
video should be carefully considered when adding to your page.
Accessibility (Section 508 compliance)

Like our university, our users are diverse. Site content needs to be accessible and useful
to all of those users. N.C. A&T is committed to delivering accessible Web sites, and
requires that sites comply with requirements outlined in Section 508 of the federal
Rehabilitation Act of 1973. [CW: I think a link to some how-to guide is essential. I
doubt that many people know how to make Web sites accessible to the disabled.]
Sustainability

Keeping sites fresh and accurate requires consistent updates, revisions and modifications.
Sites should be built for simple, efficient management and evolution. Web management
tools should be chosen based on the needs of the sites’ managers and contributors, not
simply the Web developers or programmers.
CMS Roles and Requirements of CMS Users

Web Manager: Each site within the CMS is managed by the University Web Manager
located within the Office of University Relations. This person is responsible for overseeing
Web maintenance and development of the site and interfacing with the University
Relations Web team. All Web coordinators and content contributors report directly to the
Web Manager regarding Web site usage.

Web Content Contributors are expected to:
• Organize their web sites in keeping with the practices defined at top levels of the A&T
website.
• Edit and update existing content within their area of the web site.
• Create new pages of content as needed.
• Populate pages with photography and video.
• Add relevant event information to the University calendar.
• Review web site analytics reports that provide insight into how their content is being
used or ignored.

Web Content Coordinators are expected to:
• Work with Web Content Contributors to ensure that their efforts remain strategic and on
message.
• Support, encourage and cajole the Contributors within their purview.
• Review, edit and approve content created by Contributors.
• Create website analytics reports and deliver to Contributors.
• Categorize and tag content for re-use across the University.
• Curate news, events and feature stories for placement on high-level pages of the
website.
• Collaborate with University Relations and Division of Information Technology (DoIT)
on the build-out of new website functionality.
Requirements for Web Content Coordinators and Content Contributors
Staff, faculty, or students assigned to creating and/or maintaining Web pages for university units
will be required to attend the following training sessions before given access to the CMS:

Communications and Web guidelines training by University Relations

Acknowledgement that web coordinators and assistants understand and will abide by
the policies and procedures in this document
Review of Web Sites
Before a site within the CMS can go live, it must be approved by University Relations to make
sure it adheres to policies and guidelines outlined in this document.
After the launch of a unit’s Web site, University Relations web manager will review content
posted to the site to ensure its editorial and information accuracy and adherence to
University branding guidelines. This review will take place after content is live on the
N.C. A&T State University site so as not to slow down the dissemination of timely and accurate
information.
Termination of Link
N.C. A&T State University reserves the right to refuse to provide a link on an official university
web page and to remove a link without notice. Content and/or links to areas found to be in
violation of university policies, or local, state, or federal laws, will be immediately terminated.
The following reasons are also grounds for termination of employment:
•
Content on official university Web sites does not adhere to the university's mission or
policies.
•
Content violates United States copyright laws. To use copyrighted material including
text, graphics, photographs, sound and video clips, and software on a site within the
ncat.edu domain, the site developer must obtain and retain on file written permission for
each use from the originating author or creator.
•
Content is obscene, offensive, or threatening.
•
Content is designed for private financial gain or compensation not relevant to the mission
of the university or in violation of other official university policy, and restrictions for
nonprofit organizations.
•
Content is used to intimidate or single out an individual or group for degradation or
harassment in violation of federal or state law and official university policy.
•
Content is used to engage in or solicit any illegal activity in violation of federal or state
law or official university policy.
•
University Relations upon correction of the infraction(s) may reactivate a terminated link
upon review.