The immediate and ever-present nature of social media offers unique opportunities to communicate and engage with Hampden-Sydney's internal and external audience. The College supports the responsible use of the medium to enable interactive communication and relationship building. The same guidelines for civility and conduct that one would follow in person also apply to online interactions.
Hampden-Sydney College’s Official Social Media Accounts
The College’s official Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Twitter and YouTube accounts are maintained by the Communications and Marketing Office. Members of the Hampden-Sydney community who manage social media channels on behalf of the College are not official spokespersons, and posts made on Hampden-Sydney social media outlets are not official College statements unless approved by the Communications and Marketing Office and explicitly stated in the post.
All social media sites must follow College brand; best practices guidelines; and comply with the policies outlined in the employee handbook, faculty handbook, and the Key. Official accounts are prohibited from:
- Posting content that violates city, state, or federal laws or regulations
- Posting or commenting on anything related to legal matters, ongoing investigations, or litigation
- Endorsing any product, private business, political party or candidate, or cause
Sub-Accounts
All proposals to create an official Hampden-Sydney College social media account must be submitted to the Communications and Marketing Office for approval prior to creation. More than one College constituent must have administrative access to the account, at least one of which must be a full-time employee of the College. Any changes in administrative control or contact information should be communicated to the Communications and Marketing Office.
It is the responsibility of the administrator of a social media account to actively monitor the social media account. The College does not tolerate posts or comments that contain hate language; use profanity; or disparages others based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, sex, status as a veteran, or any other classifications protected by local, state, or federal law. Content must be current, accurate and a positive reflection of the College’s image. Should an account become inactive or fail to follow the policies outlined in the social media policy, the Communications and Marketing Office reserves the right to close the account.
Copyright and Fair Use
Copyright and intellectual property rights of the College or any third parties should be respected. Hampden-Sydney College is a registered trademark. The College name, logo, and images are property of the College may not be altered and must follow brand guidelines at all times. Any questions related to usage should be directed to the Communications and Marketing Office.
Media Interaction
Any press or media inquiries should be directed to the Communications and Marketing Office. The Director of the Communications office is the official spokesperson for the College.
Emergency Communication
All crisis and/or emergency communications will be generated by the crisis communication team and will be posted on the main Hampden-Sydney College Facebook and Twitter pages. Sub accounts may never independently post emergency information without the approval of the Communications and Marketing Office, and are therefore encouraged to share the main page’s posts.
Policy Changes
At Hampden-Sydney we are committed to on-going improvement of our services in an effort to bring value to our constituents. For this reason, we reserve the right to change this policy at any time without notice. You are responsible for reviewing this Policy from time to time for such changes.
updated 8/13/19