Know and Follow the Rules
Do not post confidential or proprietary information about Illinois State University, its students, alumni, faculty, or staff. Please review all current policies and procedures, and if you are not sure, ask before sharing. Do not share information that is not meant to be common knowledge.
Federal laws (including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or “FERPA”), state law, and Illinois State University policies (found at Policy.IllinoisState.edu) governing the confidentiality of student and applicant records (and information from such records) apply to social media use. Make sure you are not posting any information that is confidential and/or highly restricted or restricted data. Review this procedure for a list of data classifications and applicable protections.
Photo releases
As a public university, Illinois State often uses photographic and electronic images of public campus life, events, ceremonies, and other activities to advance the mission of the institution. The images may appear in print publications, videos and/or websites associated with Illinois State University. The images are not published for commercial purposes and do not violate the privacy of any individual or group.
Important: If you take a one-on-one photograph of an adult and plan to publish it in an Illinois State publication/website, or take any photograph of a child under 18 years of age and plan to publish it in an Illinois State publication/website, you must first have the individual and his or her parent (if minor) sign a photo release form.
Sample release forms are available for download at UniversityMarketing.IllinoisState.edu/Identity/Photos.
Copyrighted material
Do not post work by others without the proper permission, particularly copyrighted work, including music, videos, photos, text, works of art (or photos of works of art), and other forms of media. In general, all permissions must be in writing and the permission letter should include a short description of how the work will be used. In addition, make sure to appropriately credit and/or cite all copyrighted material you have permission to post.
There are a few limited circumstances where it is acceptable to use a copyrighted work without permission. For example, it is generally acceptable to link to other websites that host copyrighted material without securing permission. In addition, the doctrine of fair use authorizes use of a copyrighted work for “criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.” Note that fair use does not normally allow use of whole copyrighted works—even for criticism, teaching, scholarship, etc. More information about copyright and fair use can be found on our Policy on Appropriate Use of Information Technology and Systems.
Recent photos taken by University Marketing and Communications photographers do not need to be credited.
Questions about federal or state law should be directed to the Office of General Counsel at (309) 438-8999 or GeneralCounsel@IllinoisState.edu.
Profile images
It is important to ensure that profile images meet brand standards and are easily viewable for your audience. To use an existing Illinois State mark for your social media account, please consult our Graphic Standards before adding it to your page.
There are also profile and banner images that are available for all units to use on our #RedbirdProud Graphics website .
Terms and conditions
Each social media site has its own terms and conditions, in addition to ISU-specific policies. Facebook, for example, has some strict (and frequently changing) rules regarding how Page managers administer promotions, giveaways, and contests. Facebook also prohibits third-party advertising on Pages.
The manager of your social media account is responsible for following each social media site’s terms and conditions, which can change without notification.