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TTUHSC IT Policies

9.         WEB STANDARDS

With the proliferation of Internet use and given the importance of the Internet as a communications forum, it is increasingly important to establish guidelines that protect the Institution from liability while extending the Institution’s visual identity to include online publishing.  All web and application development must comply with the security guidelines and coding practices set forth in Sections 1.4.20, 9.3, 9.4, and 9.5.

9.1.       STUDENT WEB PUBLISHING STANDARDS

TTUHSC recognizes the value of publishing on the Internet and supports students in creating personal or curricular web sites and/or web pages.  Free personal student accounts are available through the I.T. Division and are allocated 40MB of server space per account.  Students needing help setting up their web site and/or web page can contact the TTUHSC Information Services in Lubbock at (806) 743-2870 for assistance.  For more information and/or instructions on obtaining student web space, go to the Student Web Server page.

While student web sites and/or web pages are considered “unofficial,” the quality of the information published will still affect the reputation and image of TTUHSC.  To prevent any negative impact to the Institution, the following web publishing standards have been established for student web sites and/or web pages:

  1. All student web sites and/or web pages must comply with the TTUHSC Acceptable Use Policy.
  2. TTUHSC will maintain and support the central web environment.  Students are responsible for editing, uploading, debugging, and maintaining the content of their own sites and/or page.
  3. Texas Tech logotypes and any other official logos may only be used in web documents by schools, departments, and administrative areas.  Unofficial web sites and/or web pages are not allowed to display any official logotypes.
  4. All web publishers/authors must abide by the copyright laws, regardless of whether the site/page is an official or unofficial one.  Refer to the Web Use and Copyright Section for more detailed guidelines.
  5. Student web sites and/or web pages are considered “unofficial” and must be identified as such with disclaimer notices.  All unofficial web sites and/or web pages must prominently display the Notice of Disclaimer for Unofficial Web Sites/Pages.
  6. To avoid unnecessary scrolling, all web sites and/or web pages should be sized no larger than 1024 x 768 pixels.  The best practice is to design the page no larger than 900 pixels wide.
  7. Graphics should be in the GIF, JPEG/JPG, or PNG format with a maximum resolution of 72 dpi/ppi.  Higher resolution graphics will make the site/page unnecessarily slow to load.  If the graphic needs to be resized or resampled, a graphic program should be used rather than manipulating it through the HTML graphics size elements to ensure that the graphic will remain clear, crisp, and fast to download.  For the best quality, it is recommended using the original graphic to modify then re-export as a GIF or JPG as necessary.
  8. Include Alt Tag descriptions when using graphics to ensure persons unable to view the graphic or persons using a text browser will be able to understand and navigate the site and/or page.
  9. All student web sites and/or web pages should include a footer section that provides:
    • A link to the TTUHSC home page
    • The site/page owner’s name and email address
    • Notice of Disclaimer For Unofficial Pages

    These necessary footer codes may be found at Student Web Server page. 

  10. Personal sites and/or pages will be removed 6 months after a student’s last semester at TTUHSC, unless special arrangements are made between the student and Information Services.

For questions or comments regarding these requirements, contact it.webmaster@ttuhsc.edu.

Below is a list of recommended design and procedural standards for student web sites and/or web pages:

  1. Before making any document public, spell check, and proof read first.
  2. Update contents regularly and check all links to ensure they are in working order.
  3. Avoid using large graphics.  It will make the page load time unnecessarily long.  Consider, instead, using a thumbnail where appropriate.  If linking to large files or graphics, add a warning statement to prepare the user for the extended load time.
  4. Use a template or style sheet to ensure visual consistency across the web site and/or web page.
  5. Provide a link to the parent page on all supporting pages.
  6. Avoid browser-specific elements.

All web accounts will be subject to monitoring and audits by the I.T. Division for compliance with the policies contained herein.  TTUHSC reserves the right to remove any web site and/or web page found to be in violation of TTUHSC, Federal, State, and/or local rules, policies, or procedures.  A removal notification will be sent out to the registered web publisher 30 days before the site and/or page is removed and a second notice will follow 10 days prior to the removal date.  However, a site and/or page may be removed immediately with the approval of the CIO.

9.2.       TTUHSC WEB PUBLISHING STANDARDS

Web content should be in the best interest of TTUHSC and not conflict with the mission of the Institution.  TTUHSC encourages its schools, departments, and administrative areas to utilize web publishing whenever possible to accomplish their goals and support the mission of the Institution.

The quality of the information published on the web directly affects the reputation and image of TTUHSC.  In order to prevent any negative impact to the Institutional reputation and image, the following Institutional web publishing standards should be observed:

Sites and/or pages that are not regularly maintained or whose content is deemed outdated by the Assistant VP of Information Services may be subject to removal.  A removal notification will be sent out to the registered web publisher 30 days before the site and/or page is removed and a second notice will follow 10 days prior to the removal date.  However, a site and/or page may be removed immediately with the approval of the CIO.

In accordance with the State of Texas Web Publishing Standards, framed sites and/or pages must not contain any Priority 1 or Priority 2 errors.  See the State of Texas Web Publishing Standards for more information.

Additionally, web sites and/or web pages must not contain any Priority 1 or Priority 2 errors and must comply with the W3C Guidelines for HTML Usage.

9.3.       WEB SITE VISUAL ELEMENTS STANDARDS

All TTUHSC web sites and/or web pages are expected to adhere to the highest level of quality and abide by these web publishing guidelines.

  1. TTUHSC web sites are expected to follow the zone layout guidelines presented in Section 9.4 and comply with the color and typography standards for web sites that are outlined in the Visual Identity Guidelines.  For the text on the web sites, the font should be Arial.  The Visual Identity Guidelines are implemented in the templates and layouts of the Luminis Content Management System.
  2. TTUHSC web sites and web pages should be designed to fit a 1024 x 768-screen resolution.  In order to comfortably fit this size screen with no side scrolling, it is recommended that the layout should fit within the width of 900 pixels.
  3. All graphics that are used on the web sites and/or web pages must be formatted as follows:
  1. Graphics Interface Format (GIF), PNG, or Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG/JPG) file formats only.  (GIF is a graphic file format that uses indexed color graphics and supports up to 256 colors with lossless compression.  It is best used for flat images.  JPEG/JPG is a graphics file format typically used to display photo-realistic pictures that contain thousands or millions of colors.)
  2. Maximum resolution of 72 dots-per-inch (dpi) or pixels-per-inch (ppi) for each graphic.  (DPI and PPI is a measure of sharpness or density of illuminated points on a display screen.)  Higher resolution graphics will make the download time unnecessarily long.  Alternatively, a thumbnail may be used as a link to a separate higher resolution image.
  3. All TTUHSC Official Seals and Logos for the website and web pages are implemented in the templates and layouts of the Luminis Content Management System.  Altering the logos and lock-ups are prohibited.  The logos and lock-ups must be obtained from Official Identities area of the Visual Identity Guideline web site for print and other uses.
  4. When sizing graphics, a graphic program should be used to resize and resample the graphic file, rather than using the HTML graphic size elements for this purpose.  This will ensure that the graphic will be clear, crisp, and does not take an inordinate amount of time to download.  For the best quality, it is recommended using the original graphic to modify then re-export as a GIF or JPG as necessary. 

9.4.       CHANGE MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES FOR OFFICIAL TTUHSC WEB PAGES/SITES

Templates have been used to manage and maintain the website layout and navigation.  Within a web page, a specific command can be used that will insert the contents of another file (the include file) into that web page.  This is especially useful when template components, such as headers, footers, and navigational elements, are the same on a number of pages throughout a Web site.  Using include files allows a programmer to only modify the include file to change a template element, instead of updating every individual Web page.  Include files have been used primarily to maintain consistent navigation.

The web design attempts to maintain a consistent navigation.  To this end, much of the navigation has been integrated on related pages.  Navigational integration exists in situations where a navigational set is deemed important enough to be repeated from page to page.  An example of this is the integration of HSC resources and other global navigation into every page.  At the department level, integrated navigation exists for that department only.  In order to manage and maintain the integrated navigation, include files have been utilized. 

Within the templates, areas have been designated as “not editable” and “editable”.  “Editable” areas are controlled by the appropriate content managers unless it is noted differently in this procedure.  “Not editable” areas and include files that are used for integrated global navigation are controlled primarily by the Web Strategy Council and their appointed work groups unless it is noted differently in this procedure.

Development and Oversight

An integrated information environment that enhances education, research and patient care at TTUHSC requires resources dedicated to the development, implementation, and support of TTUHSC’s Web Presence.  The development and oversight of TTUHSC’s Web Presence including the web sites, the portal, and content management will be under the leadership of the Web Strategy Council.  One member will be appointed to the Web Strategy Council by the:

The CIO or his designee will chair the Web Strategy Council.  The Web Strategy Council will meet on a quarterly basis or more frequently at the call of the CIO or his designee.  The Web Strategy Council will provide the leadership and expertise needed for TTUHSC to develop a coordinated web strategy.  Under the direction of the CIO, the Council will serve as the advisory body reporting to the I.T. Board of Directors to:

The current lifecycles as approved by the Web Strategy Council on June 13, 2006 are:

Modifications To “Not Editable” Areas In All Templates

Modifications to the “not editable” areas of the templates are managed by the following process:

Requests for possible modifications to the design or navigation must be submitted to the Web Strategy Council through the Assistant Vice President of Information Services.  Modification requests are considered by the Web Strategy Council (WSC) during their quarterly meetings.  The modification requests that were accepted for approval by the WSC are referred to the PEC for final approval.  All requests must be approved by the PEC prior to implementation.

Institutional And Campus Home Page Management - “Editable” Areas

The current web design for TTUHSC is based upon the zone layouts described in this section of the I.T. Policies.

Institutional And Campus Home Page Editable Areas

Because the Institutional and Campus home pages represent the entire TTUHSC community, quality assurance is necessary to retain the integrity of the Institution’s identity.  Therefore, modifications to the “editable” areas on these pages are managed by the following process:

Zone 4 - “Prepare for Your Future” and “Make an Impact” and Zone 5 - News and Announcements and Features Areas 

The Office of Communications & Marketing (OCM) at the Institution or the campus manages the information and marketing aspect of these areas.  All text, photos, and links must be submitted to OCM for approval prior to posting.

All other zones contain “not editable” areas only:

            Zone 1 - Logo

            Zone 2 - Search

            Zone 3 - Audience Menus and Health Science Center Menus

            Zone 6 - Footer

Key Public Entry Point Page Management- “Editable” Areas

Key Public Entry Point Editable Areas

A key public entry point is defined as a web page that is specifically designed for members of the general public to access official Institution information.  TTUHSC has designated the following as key public entry points:

Key public entry points represent high profile areas of the TTUHSC web, thus quality assurance is necessary to retain the integrity of the Institution’s identity.  At these levels, upper level navigational elements are interconnected.  The interlocking nature of this navigation ensures consistent and up-to-date access to high-profile information.  Modifications to “editable” areas on key public entry points are managed by the following process:

Sub Page Management - “Editable” Areas

Sub Page Editable Areas

Because the sub pages are connected to their key public entry points, quality assurance is necessary to retain the integrity of the Institution’s identity and navigation.  Modifications to the “editable” areas on sub pages are managed by the following process:

General Process For Web Content Management

The purpose of web content management is to preserve the integrity of the TTUHSC web site while maintaining accurate and up-to-date subject matter.

Web management is about facilitating and encouraging the use of the web.  This means finding a way to enable non-technical staff to publish web-based materials without too much effort, and yet ensuring quality content that will be useful and effective.  Web content management addresses the following questions:

Please note that these processes may change periodically as the TTUHSC web services mature and as movement is made toward a content management system.

9.5.       INFORMATION SERVICES CODING STANDARDS, SECURITY, AND AUDIT CONTROLS
  1. All application development including web applications will have audit capabilities that will allow the construction of a transaction record of activities.
  2. All developers will be familiar with and follow the standards and practices outlined in the following Microsoft Developers Network Resources:
  3. All developers will periodically review the materials at the following sites as part of their training and skills development.
  4. All developers will periodically participate in Microsoft Security Training Events as part of the on-going training and skills development.  Available events can be located at: http://www.microsoft.com/events/security/default.mspx.
  5. Typical Development Phases and Steps to follow (SDLC):
    • Planning
      • Meet with department
      • Gather requirements
    • Analysis/Design
      • Content gathering by department
      • Content organization
      • Navigation organization
      • Application design (User interface, etc.)
      • Database design
    • Development/Testing
      • Create content pages
      • Content graphics
      • Navigation implementation
      • Application programming
      • Database development
      • IS testing
      • Department testing
      • Edits/modifications
      • Re-test
    • Implementation
      • IS approval
      • Department approval
      • Move to production
        • Content Pages
        • Graphics
        • Database
          • Database schema
          • Data migration/creation
        • Application pages
        • Implement SSL (if applicable)
        • Implement authentication (if applicable)
      • Compliance review (TAC, accessibility, etc.)
      • Security code review
      • Post implementation testing/review
      • Post implementation edits/modifications
      • Final testing/review
      • Final IS approval
      • Final department approval
    • Support/Maintenance
  6. All developers will utilize the following tools:
    • Test Environment -
      Dreamweaver Check In/Check Out for static web page development/maintenance; and Visual Studio with Visual Source Safe for web application development/maintenance.
    • Production Environment -
      All developers will publish to the production environment using the HSC Web Version Control System.
    • Luminis Content Management System -
      All content contributors and managers will use this system to develop, maintain, and publish static content to the TTUHSC web sites.
  7. Prior to writing any code or purchasing any software/system at TTUHSC, all developers will:
    • Document the requirements and functionality of a development project.
    • Review the documented requirements and functionality with the individual(s) or department requesting the development project.
    • Insure that they have a thorough understanding of the development project requirements and functionality.
    • Obtain central IS administrative approval to begin the coding process.
  8. All developers will thoroughly test all code prior to implementation.
  9. All developers will require the requesting individual(s) or department to perform extensive testing of all code prior to implementation.
  10. Developed projects or purchased software/systems will not be moved into the production environment until:
    • All code has been thoroughly reviewed and tested.  This includes conducting compliance and security code reviews.
    • Approval has been obtained from the requesting individual(s) or department and a time frame for production implementation has been agreed upon.
    • Production implementation procedures and requirements have been outlined.  These include, but are not limited to:
      • Changes to IIS.
      • Database structure and data migration.
      • Access privileges
    • Approved by central IS Management.
  11. Web publishing from Test to Production
    • The HSC Web Version Control System will be used to publish content from Test to Production for web applications.
    • The content management system will be used to publish static content from Test to Production.
    • Training on the use of these systems will be provided by Information Services.

9.6.       E-COMMERCE APPLICATIONS

9.7.       WEB USE AND COPYRIGHT STANDARD

The use of TTUHSC web and computing resources is a privilege granted by TTUHSC and the State of Texas and is intended to further the educational missions of the Institution.  Each school, department, administrative area, and user is responsible for using the TTUHSC web and computing resources ethically, courteously, and lawfully in accordance with the Acceptable Use Policy. 

This Institution is committed to making the TTUHSC web a premier part of the Internet that upholds the highest ethical standards and abides by Institutional policies and State and Federal statutes regulating the use of the Internet and protecting the copyrights of others.  Web authors are responsible for ensuring the information they publish is free from copyright restrictions and complies with the guidelines set forth in this document.

9.8.       STATE OF TEXAS WEB PUBLISHING STANDARDS

All official TTUHSC web sites and/or web pages must comply with the Texas Administrative Code Section 206 - State Web Sites.  In September 2002, the Governor's Office announced the launch of a Texas Homeland Security web site which provides Texans with links to specialized homeland defense-related Internet resources operated by state agencies and the federal government.  The Governor's office has requested that all state agency web sites link to the new Texas Homeland Security web site.  This site is also part of the HSC footer.

The composition of the footer on the TTUHSC web site is incorporated into the Luminis Content Management System.  Information Services will maintain the links within the footer.

Information pertaining to TAC § 206 - State Web Sites and the links that are required for the TTUHSC footer are available on the TTUHSC TAC Information page.

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