Social Media

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Last Updated: Sep 22, 2026, 11:22 AM

  1. Policy Statement

    The use of social media is increasingly common for University units, students, and employees, and these communications tools have the potential to create a significant impact on organizational and professional reputations. SIU Carbondale supports the official use of social media tools for the purpose of marketing and communicating to stakeholders of the University.  This policy was developed to properly portray, promote and protect the institution and to assist SIU entities in creating and managing their social media accounts.  This policy requires that:

    1. Officially recognized social media accounts must be reviewed and approved through an application process.
    2. Each social media account will have responsible administrators assigned. 
    3. Each officially approved account must include a disclaimer statement, in the prescribed form, regarding content and opinions contained on the site. 
    4. Threatening, obscene, offensive, injurious and illegal content may be removed by SIU employees identified as account administrators or at the discretion of the Social Media Policy Staff. 
    5. Best practices for social media accounts should be considered.  Visit University Communications for more information.

  2. Definitions

    Account(s): Accounts or profiles created in social media sites, including, but not limited to, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, FourSquare, Pinterest and LinkedIn.

    Administrator: A person responsible for an officially recognized social media site.

    Content: All written, linked, and visual data

    Officially Recognized: A social media account that is registered with the SIU Carbondale Social Media Team.

    Unit: All University departments, colleges, programs, and entities.

    User: A person submitting content to any social media site that is officially recognized and/or representing a unit at SIU Carbondale.

  3. Application of this Policy

    This policy will apply only to social media accounts created for the express purpose of officially representing SIU Carbondale groups, departments, programs, entities, etcetera, and will not apply to private/personal social media accounts unassociated with the University. 

    The University does not monitor personal social media accounts, however the University reserves the right to review any site or activity brought to its attention as potentially violating the guidelines established in this policy.  University employees acting in an individual capacity should exercise caution to communicate clearly that they are not acting in a representative capacity, or expressing the views of the University.  Examples of appropriate disclaimers can be found here: on the University Communications and Marketing website.

    1. General

      Do not post confidential information.  Adhere to state and federal laws and regulations related to the security and privacy of information (e.g. FERPA, HIPAA and PIPA) and NCAA guidelines, as well as to University privacy policies.  Do not share unpublished experimental methods and confidential research results or reveal protected intellectual property.

      Adhere to the University’s Visual Identity Policy and University’s Branding Policy when designing profile or background graphics.

      The Saluki logo is specifically reserved for media directly related to the SIU Athletics program; the official seal is reserved for use on formal University documents.

      SIU Carbondale and its logo are trademarked and cannot be used without permission (logo.siu.edu).  Do not use SIU or its logo to promote products, causes, or political candidates.

    2. Administrator

      When participating in the SIU Carbondale social media community, remember that free speech comes with responsibility.  Comments, posts, or photos that are illegal, obscene, defamatory, threatening, infringing of intellectual property rights, invasive of privacy, or otherwise injurious or objectionable will be found in violation of the SIU Carbondale Social Media Policy and should be removed by one of the administrators of the site.

      Administrators will hold individuals liable for any content or material they post to their sites.  Social media site users should be familiar with the respective Terms of Service and respect general copyright and Fair Use policies.

      Administrators must add a disclaimer about the opinions and statements of users on their officially recognized social media accounts.  Policies for each social media platform should also be added to each officially recognized account.

      A list of disclaimers and policies can be found on the University Communications site. 

    3. User

      The University will hold individuals liable for any content or material posted to University accounts.  Social media account users should be familiar with the respective Terms of Service and respect general copyright and Fair Use policies.

      When participating in the SIU Carbondale social media community, remember that free speech comes with responsibility.  Comments, posts, or photos that are illegal, obscene, defamatory, threatening, invasive of privacy, or otherwise injurious or objectionable will be found in violation of the SIU Carbondale Social Media Policy and can be removed by one of the administrators of the site.

  4. Required Guidelines

    University units wishing to launch social media accounts or develop mobile applications must notify the University’s Social Media Team in advance of finalization/deployment of any new social media profile or mobile application.

    Social media accounts officially recognized by SIU Carbondale must have at least two SIU Carbondale employees as administrators at all times to ensure adherence to this policy.  If two employees are not available, please contact the Social Media Team for assistance.  Should an SIU Carbondale employee administrator of an account leave the University for any reason or no longer wish to be an account administrator, it is the unit’s responsibility to designate another SIU Carbondale employee to be an account administrator and remove the former employee’s administrative permissions to the site. 

  5. Violations

    This policy applies to all students, employees and units of the University.  Postings that may be a potential violation of the Employee Handbook or the Student Conduct Code will be referred to the appropriate office for review and discipline.

    Any post considered to be an immediate threat should be reported to the Department of Public Safety by calling 911.

    Comments, posts, and accounts found in violation of this policy can lead to content or accounts being banned and/or permanently removed.  Any appeals should go through the Social Media Policy Committee for review.

  6. Existing SIU Carbondale Policies

    All individuals using social media must adhere to all SIU Carbondale policies and procedures, including but not limited to:

The Social Media Team has posted additional guidelines for university-related social media accounts and applications on its website at socialmedia.siu.edu/.