Purpose of the Publishing on the UTSWeb Policy

What constitutes the UTSWeb

Determining what information can be published on the UTSWeb

Roles and responsibilities

UTS Web Standards

Further information

Purpose of the Publishing on the UTSWeb Policy

The purpose of the Publishing on the UTSWeb Policy is to establish:

• what constitutes the UTSWeb
• what information can be published on the UTSWeb
• responsibility and accountability involved in authoring and publishing information on the UTSWeb
• standards and practices for publishing on the UTSWeb
• quality assurance and audit practices to ensure that all information published on the UTSWeb complies with UTS policy and relevant Commonwealth and State Government legislation.

What constitutes the UTSWeb

The 'UTSWeb' is defined in the Publishing on the UTSWeb Policy as including 'all websites that contain the domain name uts.edu.au, or other names as registered by UTS from time to time'.

Determining what information can be published on the UTSWeb

A key feature of the Publishing on the UTSWeb Policy is that it classifies information on the UTSWeb into a number of categories, to create a clear distinction between the different types of information that need to be published. A balanced approach has been adopted in determining the categories of information to make provision for academics, students and organisations associated with UTS to continue to publish appropriate information relating to their services or their area of teaching, research or study at UTS.

The UTSWeb categories of information are:

Category 1 – core UTS information

'Core UTS information' refers to the official authoritative sources of UTS information. Examples of Category 1 information include:

• UTS Act
• UTS By-law
• Rules
• Policies and Directives
• information regarding legislative compliance such as copyright, FOI and privacy
• information published by UTS Council and its committees
• UTS course information.

See the Category 1 – core UTS Information Web Standard for more information.

Category 2 – UTS business information

'UTS business information' refers to all information relating to the official business of UTS. Examples include information regarding the official business of:

• the UTS Executive
• divisions
• units
• faculties
• institutes
• centres

as well as conference, seminar and forum webpages directly associated with the official business of UTS.

Category 3 – UTS teaching and research information

'UTS teaching and research information' refers to all materials that have been recorded on the UTS Digital Resource Register, which UTS staff are authorised to use for teaching purposes. Examples include:

• eReadings
• online lecture notes
• subject material within UTSOnline.

Category 4 – UTS staff and student information

'UTS staff and student information' refers to all information published on the UTSWeb by UTS staff or students that relates to their role and/or area of teaching, research or study at UTS. Examples include:

• staff research groups' webpages
• student-produced webpages related to their study or research at UTS
• staff or student online magazines related to their teaching, study or research at UTS
• conference, seminar and forum webpages hosted by UTS staff or students, related to their teaching, research or study.

Category 5 – UTS controlled entities information

'UTS controlled entities information' refers to all information associated with the official business activities of UTS controlled entities published on the UTSWeb, within websites of UTS controlled entities or within Category 2 information. Examples of UTS controlled entities are Insearch and accessUTS.

Category 6 – Other organisations associated with UTS information

'Other organisations associated with UTS information' refers to all information published by other organisations on websites or webpages that the University has agreed to host on the UTSWeb. Examples of such organisations include:

• UTS Child Care Inc
• UTS Students' Association
• UTS Union
• UTS clubs and societies such as those hosted by the UTS Union
• fIRST.

This category also includes conference, seminar and forum webpages hosted by external organisations who have received permission to publish these webpages on the UTSWeb.

Roles and responsibilities

The Publishing on the UTSWeb Policy defines two key roles in relation to the UTSWeb – 'Owners of Information' and 'Authorising Officers'.

'Owners of Information' are all persons who have been delegated the authority to author and approve the content of information to be published on the UTSWeb. Their responsibilities include ensuring that:

• information conforms with relevant legislation, UTS Rules, Policies and Directives, and UTS Web Standards
• confidential material is stored in a safe location and is only made available to those people who have approval to access the information
• the accuracy and currency of the information is maintained, and
• an internal quality assurance process is implemented within their area for the review of information prior to making it available for publishing.

'Authorising Officers' are all persons who have been delegated the authority to publish pre-approved information on a website or webpage within the UTSWeb. Their responsibilities include ensuring that.

• information published does not duplicate information already published elsewhere on the UTSWeb
• their website conforms with relevant legislation, UTS Rules, Policies and Directives, and UTS Web Standards
• information of an offensive or illegal nature is not contained within their website
• appropriate security control mechanisms (passwords, etc.) have been put in place to manage access to information published on the UTSWeb, particularly confidential information or restricted access information stored on their websites, and
• regular audits are conducted on the information published on their website.

UTS Web Standards

A UTSWeb Standards Coordinator has been appointed by the Registrar to undertake the coordination of responsibilities for agreed UTS Web Standards. This role includes:

• establishing and maintaining a register of all UTS staff and external organisations permitted to:
  • author information for use on the UTSWeb
  • approve the content of information to be published on the UTSWeb
  • publish approved information on the UTSWeb.
• monitoring compliance with the Publishing on the UTSWeb Policy and the associated UTS Web Standards, including providing advice and auditing existing websites
• receiving reports of breaches to the Publishing on the UTSWeb Policy and taking corrective action as instructed.

The associated UTS Web Standards are currently under development and will be published on this website progressively. The Web Standards are being developed in consultation with relevant units such as MCU, ITD, GSU and IML. It is intended that these will help UTSWeb publishers to provide online information and services of a high and consistent standard.

Further information

For further information about how the Publishing on the UTSWeb Policy applies, see:

• Policy FAQs
• UTS Web Standards.

When changes are made to the information on this website or new Web Standards are added, the changes and additions will be indicated in the News section.