Effective Date: Dec. 2, 2024
Last Updated: Dec. 18, 2024
Purpose
The Drexel LeBow Web Governance Policy is intended to set standards for acceptable use of the Drexel LeBow College of Business web infrastructure and resources, clarify responsibilities and encourage the accurate, useful and appropriate presentation of information.
For many, the LeBow website is the first time a visitor encounters us. Their experience should embody the same considerate welcome and sense of inclusivity as a visit to our campuses. Visitors should expect to have issues resolved quickly, to have questions answered thoroughly and to leave our site satisfied, thinking well of Drexel LeBow and eager to return and continue engagement.
Scope
The Drexel LeBow Web Governance Policy applies to the publication of information on the Internet on behalf of the LeBow College of Business at Drexel University. This policy applies to information published within the LeBow Internet domain (lebow.drexel.edu) and any other subsequent domain names the College officially establishes, such as blog or wiki sites.
Policy Overview
Ownership of Web
The website lebow.drexel.edu is the sole property of LeBow College of Business at Drexel University. While select faculty and staff will have access to edit predetermined portions of the website, create new content and remove old content, the website and all sub-sites remain the property of the LeBow College of Business.
Audiences
The LeBow website’s primary target audience is prospective students. The homepage is the gateway to the College’s digital presence and conveys the benefits of enrollment to prospective students.
Pages throughout the site may pertain to different audiences, so it is important to consider:
- Who is the target audience for this page/section?
- What do users need/want from this section?
- What actions are we hoping that our audience will take?
Guiding Principles
LeBow’s web initiatives are guided by these principles:
- Visitors come first: the needs of our audiences must be top of mind.
- Our brand is our reputation: this must be reflected throughout website language, imagery, design and calls to action.
- Our website is always evolving: we are committed to continuous improvement and embrace data-based decision-making to meet the College’s primary business needs and strategic priorities while ensuring best efforts are made to conform to all legal and regulatory standards, including accessibility, security, protection of Personally Identifiable Information (PII), etc.
Governance Structure/Roles and Responsibilities
LeBow Marketing and Communications, in partnership with LeBow Web Services, has oversight over the following:
- Providing strategic direction for lebow.drexel.edu
- Ensuring the website maintains a cohesive, user-centered focus supported by a consistent look and feel
- Establishing appropriate policies, processes and procedures to govern current and future website standards
- Evaluating effectiveness, content, standards and policies for technology and editorial components
- Editing or removing content that does not comply with the Web Governance Policy, web and editorial guidelines, or web accessibility best practices
LeBow Marketing and Communications and Web Services will be involved in and have decision-making authority over the function, presentation and accessibility of all public-facing branded sites and integrated web features and services.
LeBow Marketing and Communications and Web Services does not support or provide space for personal websites.
Homepage, Navigation and Footer Elements
LeBow’s homepage is a branded resource organized around our primary audience, prospective students. Homepage elements have been carefully selected and placed based on this core audience. Marketing and Communications is the designated authority for selecting topical elements, including events and news, to be placed on the homepage.
The Navigation and Footer elements were designed to be consistent with our brand and University standards. These elements allow for a consistent user experience for our website visitors, regardless of where they land on the site or the device they use to engage with us.
Elements within the Navigation or Footer will only be adjusted when it is determined necessary to support overarching strategic goals and objectives.
Content Liaison Responsibilities
Members of the Drexel LeBow community (faculty and staff) with public-facing web content on lebow.drexel.edu are considered Content Liaisons. They are ultimately responsible for the accuracy and appropriateness of content on their division’s website(s). Responsibilities include:
- Working with Marketing and Communications/Web Services to review public-facing content to ensure it remains relevant, appropriate and accurate.
- Please Note: Failure to respond to repeated attempts to resolve content issues may result in the removal of outdated materials.
- Notifying Marketing and Communications/Web Services of site issues, updates or pending initiatives via the web request form.
- See also: Appendix A: Web Request Workflow
We encourage Content Liaisons to reach out to Marketing and Communications and Web Services to share ideas and concerns, discuss strategy or learn more about the services our teams can provide to the community.
Policy Updates
LeBow Marketing and Communications and Web Services reserves the right to update the governance policy and notify editors of any relevant changes that affect them.
Procedures and Compliance
All pages will be developed using Drexel LeBow’s content management system and brand architecture. Official Drexel LeBow resources, programs and services must be hosted in the lebow.drexel.edu framework or via approved vendors of the College or Drexel University.
- Faculty or students seeking to create or host content outside the official framework must consult with LeBow Marketing and Communications/Web Services to discuss trademark/brand implications along with implementation and technical considerations.
- The Marketing and Communications team will support pages within the lebow.drexel.edu framework and liaise with University Marketing & Communications for updates to drexel.edu as appropriate.
Content Guidelines
As outlined in “Ownership and Oversight of Web,” LeBow Marketing and Communications and LeBow Web Services has broad authority to oversee, edit and remove content that does not support LeBow’s overarching strategic goals or comply with web, brand, accessibility and editorial policies or guidelines.
Our objective is to ensure:
- Written content is audience-focused and follows best practices for writing for the web
- Photos, videos and other visual content are high quality and uphold brand principles
- Content is accurate, useful, appropriate and developed to support visitors
- Information is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of ability or technology used
In addition to following LeBow’s Identity Standards and Guidelines, information published within lebow.drexel.edu must also adhere to Drexel University’s Brand Identity Guidelines.
To ensure site security and brand experience, all external links are subject to the approval of Marketing and Communications and can be removed at any time without notice.
Accessibility Guidelines
Our goal is to ensure visitors have equal access to use and navigate our website. This includes people with diverse abilities, including those with vision, hearing, physical, speech and cognitive differences.
Web accessibility is essential at LeBow, where interacting with our website is a key part of activities like applying to the College, registering for events and showcasing research.
Before content, images or videos are added to the LeBow website, the Marketing and Communications and Web Services teams will review them to ensure they meet industry web accessibility standards as described by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
Website Design and Site Updates
Requests for general assistance should be submitted through the web request form. Any requests submitted to Marketing and Communications/Web Services will be directed to submit the web request form. We will respond to your request with update information and timeline within two business days.
Marketing and Communications/Web Services reserves the right to deny web requests that are not in alignment with the policy or other institutional guidelines. Marketing and Communications/Web Services does not provide support or space for personal websites.
Requests, except for those classified as major projects/initiatives, will be reviewed in accordance with Appendix A: Web Request Workflow.
Emergency Requests
In the case of a website emergency (i.e., the website is down or a prominent page is producing a 404 error), please send an email to lcbweb@drexel.edu with a link to the page and a description of the problem.
For all other requests, please submit a ticket to the web request form. Requests due to operational issues such as lack of approved training/access does not constitute an emergency and will be processed accordingly.
System Status
Status for select publicly available services managed through LeBow Tech and LeBow Web Services can be found at LeBow Tech/Web Services Systems Status Page.
Major Projects/Initiatives
Major projects, including, but not limited to, information architecture restructuring and new website pages must be completed in partnership with Marketing and Communications and Web Services. Your request will be processed according to department and strategic priorities; Appendix A does not apply to major projects/initiatives.
To initiate major projects, submit a web request form.
LeBow Event System
The LeBow Event System is a property of the LeBow website. Events are limited to the scope of events for the Drexel LeBow community, and Marketing and Communications and Web Services reserves the right to deny event submissions.
Event system policies and procedures are available in the Knowledge Base.
Accessing the System
Members of the Drexel LeBow community (staff and faculty) can access the system as “event managers.” Event Managers must be trained on the event system by Web Services; please complete the training by following the steps in our Knowledge Base Article: “LeBow Event System Training.”
Course Listings
To comply with accreditation rules and regulations, courses will be pulled directly from the Course Catalog through a feed maintained by Web Services. Generally, these courses are found in the University Catalog; however, it is important to note the digital catalog is only updated once per academic year.
Appendix A: Web Request Workflow
- Content Liaison submits a request via the web update form
- Marketing and Communications/Web Services evaluates the submission
- Determines if there is sufficient time to complete the request
- Ensures the request complies with the Web Governance Policy and the guidelines contained within
- Evaluates whether the request is appropriate, sustainable, aligned with overarching strategic objectives and can be accommodated with current staff and resources
- Marketing and Communications/Web Services responds to the Content Liaison within two business days. Responses may include:
- Notice that the update has been completed (either published or ready for review)
- Providing a timeline for completion if the proposed deadline cannot be met
- Seeking clarification or additional materials before completing the request
- Requesting a discussion centered around goals, objectives, technical considerations or other strategic matters
- Explaining refinements or adjustments that are required before the request can be completed
- Denying the request if it cannot be refined in a way to satisfy both the requestor and the Web Governance Policy and the guidelines referenced within
- If the Content Liaison(s) fails to respond to repeated attempts by Marketing and Communications/Web Services to resolve the request or related issues, this may result in:
- Mission critical or deadline sensitive content being published without final review
- The request being categorized as denied or indefinitely on hold
- Ancillary or dependent content being archived (e.g., a related page that cannot function without the request being completed will not be presented to site visitors)