Scope and Purpose

Using social media can be a fun and rewarding way to share institutional, professional, and personal information about daily life and opinions with family, friends, and colleagues around the world. However, information posted on a social media platform is often available to the public, easily shared with others beyond the intended audience, presents certain institutional risks, and, as it affects the reputation of Beloit College, carries with it certain responsibilities.

All use of campus electronic resources including the network, software, licensed services, computing and communication devices, etc. is governed by the Ethical Use of Computing and Information Resources: Privileges and Policies on Beloit College Computer Accounts, Administrative Policy Manual, Chapter 4, Section Q. The use of social media, whether for official college sites or for personal or professional sites that includes content about Beloit College, is subject to all of the provisions in that policy with the addition of the following guidelines for social media use on behalf of the college and for employees’ personal social media use that may impact the reputation of Beloit College.

What is “Social Media”?

Social media refers to all online and mobile platforms that allow individuals/organizations to create, share, and interact with content and communities. This includes, but is not limited to, social networking sites (e.g., LinkedIn and Facebook), visual platforms (e.g., Instagram and TikTok), discussion forums (e.g., Reddit & Substack), and any other digital space where content about or by Beloit College can be shared publicly. As new platforms emerge, Beloit College is committed to using social media as a tool for authentic storytelling and thoughtful dialogue.

Managing Negativity on Social Media

Social media platforms are spaces for open dialogues and diverse perspectives, and not every comment or interaction will be positive. When disagreement or criticism arises, how our campus community engages online reflects Beloit College’s values and professionalism. This applies to institutional, official, and unofficial accounts managed by staff, faculty, students, alumni, and community members. With this in mind, reposting or sharing content is regarded the same as posting your own.

Account owners and managers should consistently check notifications to stay aware of comments, messages, and emerging issues, and address them in a timely and appropriate manner. If you encounter a negative situation, contact Communications & Marketing at marcom@beloit.edu.

Suggestions for navigating a negative situation:

• Make sure your social media accounts are private. You do not want to attract any more attention.
• Use the block or restrict feature to limit audiences to your profile.
• Delete the post in question.
• If you feel your safety is at risk, contact campus security at 608-363-2355.
• Take a social media break to protect your mental health.

Unofficial Beloit College Affiliated Social Media

Beloit College recognizes that many students, alumni, and community members create and manage social media accounts that celebrate the College’s culture and community. These accounts, such as clubs, athletic fan pages, student-led initiatives, or informal community platforms, play an essential role in showcasing Beloit College’s vibrant personality and fostering engagement.

While these accounts are not officially managed by the College or Communications & Marketing (C&M), their public connection to Beloit College means that their content may still influence the College’s reputation. Account owners must follow the same standards of accuracy and respect outlined in this policy, and clearly identify their pages as unofficial. C&M is available as a resource to provide guidance on best practices for content creation and account setup.

• All unofficial accounts must label their profile as follows: “Managed by (community members, alumni, or students). Not an official account of Beloit College.”
• Beloit College is not responsible for the content posted by students on their personal social media accounts.
• Protect the privacy of others. Do not post personal or identifiable information about students, faculty, or staff without permission.
• While social media training is not required, account owners and managers are welcome to attend.

Institutional and Official Beloit College Social Media

Social media accounts managed by the Social Media Manager and Communications & Marketing team will be referred to as Institutional Accounts. This distinction helps ensure clarity in how Beloit College’s digital presence is represented. Institutional Accounts reflect the College’s centralized voice, while Official Accounts (operated by departments, programs, or offices) represent specific areas of the institution. Beloit College has a social media presence on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X (Twitter), and Bluesky. These platforms play a key role in the objectives of the College and represent and promote the College, its offices, departments, programs, clubs, teams, and organizations. Ultimately, individuals are responsible for what they post online. Online posts should be appropriate and demonstrate respect for the dignity of Beloit College, its employees, students, alumni, vendors, and college-affiliated parties or competition.

Beloit College faculty, staff, and students who use, administer, or manage official College social media accounts, groups, pages, or other types of social media identities must follow these guidelines.

• Beloit College-sponsored social media are for College purposes only, and the College owns the accounts for College-sponsored social media, including all content, communications, and connections created, sent, received, or stored on such accounts.
• Only those who are designated and authorized by Beloit College can prepare content for or delete, edit, or otherwise modify content on College-sponsored social media.
• All account owners and managers are required to complete social media training.

Account Creation/setup

• Notify the appropriate department, program, or supervisor, and Communications and Marketing (C&M) of an intent to create an official Beloit College account by submitting your social media strategy through this application. Upon approval, the account’s first Instagram post will be published as a collaborative post with the Institutional Instagram account, supporting visibility, audience growth, and successful launch.
• Before creating a new account, consider whether the primary Beloit College social media accounts will meet your needs to communicate announcements, events, etc.
• The full Beloit College name should appear in the profile name, but if it’s too long for a username or handle, use a shortened variation that still clearly identifies the College (e.g., @BCEngDept).
• Notify C&M about any official Beloit College account, identifying who is responsible for its content, and who has access to the account. All social media accounts should be tied to a general email created by LITS that can be passed down within the department, club, or sport.
• At least one current faculty or staff person must serve as an account administrator at all times.
• Account administrators must receive social media training from C&M prior to account creation and assuming the role, and annual training each year thereafter to maintain their status as an account administrator.
• Provide account access to C&M. The C&M office may access your group’s account when necessary: e.g., to remove a post or comment that is time-sensitive, inaccurate, or that violates the social media policy. If C&M accesses your account and makes such a change, C&M will then notify the account administrator of the change.
• If creating a new official account or maintaining an established account, the person(s) who maintain and administer the account must participate in an annual day-long meeting with other official account holders and a representative of C&M focused on current marketing strategies and improving campus social media use to better promote the college.
• At least one account administrator should be registered in the Social Media Communication GChat Space. This will enable questions to be answered and provide visibility into events happening around campus.

Account Maintenance

• Official accounts must conform to this social media policy and guidelines and maintain compliance with all applicable College policies at all times.
• To ensure accounts remain active and engaging, each social media account is expected to publish at least two in-feed posts per week. If an account has been inactive for more than 90 days, it may be suspended or deleted. C&M will generally first ask account holders to update or delete the account.

College Representation and Posting Guidelines

• All official Beloit College social media accounts must fully support the mission and goals of the College. Images, posts, and other content should work to help promote the college, retain students, and deliver messages about Beloit.
• All social media content must comply with ADA accessibility standards. This includes providing accurate captions for all video content and detailed alt text or descriptions for all images.
• Anyone representing Beloit College on social media serves as an ambassador and should promote the College in a professional manner, strive to make posts inclusive and accessible, and adhere to policies outlined in the Administrative Policy Manual and, when appropriate, the Student Code of Conduct.
• Posting personal or private information about a Beloit College student, alumnus, or employee is prohibited and is a violation of College policy and may be a violation of privacy laws. (e.g. Any recorded class discussion or any information that relates to students’ performances in the classroom must never be posted on social media.)
• All posts must comply with all applicable laws and regulations (e.g., FERPA, HIPAA, NCAA).
• Public discussion of confidential personnel matters, confidential discussions about college business, or its confidential operations are strictly prohibited.
• No endorsements or advertisements for a political candidate or party, a product, or a business are permitted on official College accounts.

General Guidelines

• Do not comment on trade secrets and proprietary College information (business, financial, and marketing strategies) without the advance written approval of your supervisor and Human Resources.
• Do not use the College’s (or any of its affiliated entities’) logos, marks, or other protected information or property for any business/commercial venture without the applicable unit or department’s express written authorization.
• Do not post any content that may violate FERPA (prohibiting the unauthorized disclosure of a student’s educational records/personally identifiable information), HIPAA (prohibiting the unauthorized disclosure of patient health records), and NCAA Midwest Conference regulations when using social media sites.
• Content that includes discriminatory remarks, harassment, and threats of violence or similar inappropriate or unlawful conduct is not permitted and will not be tolerated
• Any content that violates these laws, regulations, and policies, or contains the release of a student’s private personal information, is strictly prohibited.

Inappropriate postings and content that are in violation of the social media policy may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination. Policy infractions will be handled by the appropriate supervisor(s) in consultation with Human Resources. Infractions involving faculty will be referred to the appropriate department chair and/or the College Provost for disciplinary action. If a student violates the social media policy while working on an official college account, the case will be referred to their work supervisor. Student employment outcomes could include the loss of posting privileges and/or result in termination from their student employment role.

Nothing in this policy is meant to, nor should it be interpreted to, in any way limit the rights of any employee or student under any applicable federal, state, or local laws to engage in protected concerted activities. This policy does not, nor is it intended to, interfere with a faculty member’s right to engage in protected speech.

Affiliated Beloit College Social Media

While these accounts are not officially managed by the College or Communications & Marketing (C&M), their public connection to Beloit College means that their content may still influence the College’s reputation. Account owners must follow the same standards of accuracy and respect outlined in this policy, and to clearly identify their pages as unofficial. C&M is available as a resource to provide guidance on best practices for content creation and account setup.

• All affiliated accounts must label their profile as follows: “Managed by (community members, alumni, or students). Not an official account of Beloit College.”
• Beloit College is not responsible for the content posted by students on their social media accounts.
• Protect the privacy of others. Do not post personal or identifiable information about students, faculty, or staff without permission.”

Individual Accounts (Personal Social Media)

Beloit College recognizes that social media activities can be personal, professional, and institutional in nature. The College values the ways in which social media allows individuals to connect, express themselves, and engage in meaningful conversations. Whether you are a student, faculty member, staff member, or alumnus, it is important to remember that your online presence, especially when your affiliation with Beloit College is visible, can shape how others perceive both you and the institution.

Regardless of whether you are posting personal opinions on your own social media accounts, public affiliation with Beloit College may lead others to believe that your views reflect those of the institution. Because association and affiliation can be easily interpreted as representation, employees are expected to exercise sound judgment and professionalism when sharing content that could be viewed as sensitive or controversial. Including a personal disclaimer does not exempt individuals from College policies or applicable laws, nor does it shield them from potential consequences for inappropriate conduct online.

Employees must keep in mind that if they post information on a social media site that is in violation of College policy and/or federal, state, or local law, the disclaimer will not shield disciplinary action. Privacy does not exist in the world of social media. Always consider what could happen if a post becomes public and how that may reflect both on the individual and Beloit College.

Faculty wanting to use public social media as part of teaching, learning, and research activities should take active steps to prevent violations of FERPA, HIPAA, and NCAA regulations. Any content or online activity created by the site owner or a poster that violates these ordinances or leads to the release of a student’s private information is prohibited and should be removed.

Requiring students to register for, post, upload, or otherwise communicate via a public social media platform (such as Facebook, X (Twitter), and others) raises concerns about privacy, accessibility, and equity that make such required assignments potentially problematic. If needed, the Provost’s office can help faculty determine whether proposed content or use of social media might create the potential for a violation of regulations.

Students should be informed about the public nature of their postings and that the content may be available on the internet years beyond graduation. Copyright law must be respected, and material created by the site owner or a poster must not infringe on someone else’s rights of publicity, privacy, copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights.

For Faculty and Staff

Faculty and staff are encouraged to uphold the same standards of respect, accuracy, and professionalism online that are expected in person. As recommended by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), educators should remember that the public may judge their profession and their institution by their online conduct. Hence, they should at all times be accurate, should exercise appropriate restraint, should show respect for the opinions of others, and should make every effort to indicate that they are not speaking for the institution.”

When using social media for personal or professional reasons:

• Express only your own opinions and never present yourself as a spokesperson for Beloit College.

• Avoid posting confidential or proprietary information about students, colleagues, or the College.

• If discussing College-related topics, make it clear that your views are personal and not official College statements.

• Always consider how your posts might be perceived by students, peers, and the public.
• Privacy does not truly exist on social media. Even private or deleted posts may become public, so always consider how your words and images could reflect on you and the College.

For Students

Students are active and influential representatives of Beloit College’s spirit, both on and off campus. Your personal social media can be a powerful platform for creativity, advocacy, and connection, but also carries responsibility. When publicly identifying as a Beloit College student, participating in campus life, or using College trademarks (club names, hashtags, team names, etc.), students should do so in a way that reflects positively on themselves and the community.

When posting online:

• Remember that your public association with Beloit College (through your bio, photos, or content) can link your posts to the institution. Students must recognize that content shared online, including photos, comments, videos, and opinions, can shape public perceptions of them and of Beloit College.
• Avoid sharing confidential information about yourself, peers, or faculty.

• Be mindful that content shared online, especially under your name or connected to Beloit College, may remain visible long after graduation.
• Harassment, bullying, hate speech, and threats made through social media may violate the College’s Student Code of Conduct and are subject to disciplinary action.
• Students engaged in leadership roles (e.g., club officers, team captains, or student workers) should be especially mindful of how their online presence represents both their peers and the institution.
• Privacy settings can help manage audience visibility, but no online space is fully private. Consider how a post might be interpreted if seen by future employers, graduate programs, or members of the College community.
• Respect copyright, privacy, and intellectual property laws when posting media or using others’ content.

Questions

If you have questions or need further guidance regarding this policy, please contact Human Resources, the Provost’s office, or the Chief Information Officer. For specific questions about opening or maintaining an official College social media account, contact C&M.