Social Media Policy

Social Media Policy

Whether you are launching a club or organization, getting ready for the big game, teaching a class at Minnewaska, or attending Alumni Reunion, social media can help you tell the New Paltz story. We want everyone to share their photos or videos using Instagram, Instagram stories, X and TikTok. Be sure you tag the main SUNY New Paltz accounts when you post and our team will help expand your reach by reposting to the larger New Paltz community. 

This policy is intended to foster a thoughtful, responsible use of official University social media channels.  Further, the purpose of this policy is to protect and maintain professionalism in the workplace for all University faculty, staff and student workers.

Compliance with this policy is necessary for collaboration, justification and recognition by the Office of Communication & Marketing, and inclusion in the social media directory. These standards apply to all authorized social media accounts, accounts utilizing the New Paltz logo or an official University department, program or organization for the purpose of conducting official University business or sharing University messaging. 

  • All proposals to create an official SUNY New Paltz social media account must be presented to John Oles, director of marketing, for justification, strategic review and assessment.
  • All social media accounts (both new and existing) must follow University branding and accessibility standards. The Office of Communication & Marketing reserves all rights to deny account creation that violates the guidelines, further fractures the brand voice and/or presents an increased opportunity for institutional risk.
  • All existing New Paltz Policies and Codes of Conduct applicable to University personnel extend to related social media activities.
  • At SUNY New Paltz, we believe in fostering an inclusive online community where diverse perspectives are welcomed. Follows do not imply endorsement. 
  • Posting confidential or proprietary information about New Paltz, its students, its faculty or staff is prohibited.
  • Writing personal communications in a manner that could reasonably be interpreted as an official communication from SUNY New Paltz is not allowed per SUNY and UUP policies (SUNY policy 335.27 /UUP article 9.3: “In their role as citizens, employees have the same freedoms as other citizens. However, in their extramural utterances, employees have an obligation to indicate that they are not institutional spokespersons”).
  • If there is the possibility of confusion about whether you might be speaking on behalf of the University, it will be necessary to specifically indicate you are speaking as a private citizen and not as a representative of the University. The Office of Communication & Marketing can help clarify these situations, and administrators, faculty and staff are encouraged to contact us for advice and guidance.
  • Official University accounts must follow proper use of Information Security Guidelines: Campus Programs & Preserving Confidentiality, Information Security Policy and Information Security Guidelines: Campus Programs & Preserving Confidentiality.

 Social media account managers are expected to:

  • Social media account managers are expected to:

  • Federal ADA Compliance: Ensure all content adheres to ADA Title II regulations and WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards. Under federal law, all digital content must be accessible by default to individuals with disabilities.

  • Mandatory Accessibility Checklist: Utilize the official Social Media Accessibility Checklist for every post to verify that alternative text, synchronized captions, and proper hashtag formatting (CamelCase) are implemented. This checklist must be used to audit and update current posting habits immediately to meet the April 24, 2026 compliance deadline.

  • Strategic Content Management: Create, maintain, and monitor strategic weekly content that is engaging, on-brand, and directly aligns with the unit’s overarching goals and the University’s mission.

  • Active Engagement & Moderation: Actively engage with users and monitor community conversations. Content that violates University policy should be moderated; in the event that deletion is required, screenshots must be taken and archived first for record-keeping.

  • Professional Communication: Deliver timely customer service in a professional tone. Whenever possible, move complex discussions to traditional communication methods (phone, email, in-person) to reduce the risk of misinterpretation.

  • Collaboration & Reporting: Regularly communicate with the Director of Marketing (John Oles). Report and track account performance to ensure growth and alignment with University best practices.

  • Crisis & Emergency Response: Contact the Assistant Director in a timely manner regarding any pending or predicted crises. Ensure all emergency-related content is disseminated in strict accordance with the official social policy.

  • Account Integrity: Respond to inquiries and post content using only official, approved accounts. Personal accounts should not be used for official University business or responding to campus inquiries.

 

Official SUNY New Paltz accounts and administrators are prohibited from: 

  • Posting content that violates, city, state or federal laws and regulations.
  • Commenting on or posting anything related to existing or potential legal matters or litigation without appropriate approval.
  • Using the University brand or name to endorse any view, product, private business, cause, or political candidate.
  • Representing personal opinions as University-endorsed views or policies.
  • Sharing content that is profane, off-topic, violates copyright, or does not properly credit the original content source.
  • Deleting or moderating content beyond the best practices outlined in the social guidelines.

Posts may be reported or removed for any of the following reasons, at any time:

  • The use of obscene, threatening, discriminatory or harassing language.
  • Disclosure of information that is confidential by law or regulation.
  • Comments advocating illegal activity.
  • Posts violating copyrights or trademarks.
  • Advertisement or promotion of commercial products, services, entities or individuals.
  • Endorsement or opposition of any person campaigning for election to a political office or promoting or opposing any ballot proposal.
  • Duplicative comments by the same user or multiple users. In the case of identical comments, only the first submission will be approved.

Comments

The University welcomes reader comments on selected online features and social media outlets. Online comments are moderated by the assistant director of marketing and social media.

Comments posted must pertain to the features they are linked to, and must comply with this policy. The views expressed in reader-posted comments do not necessarily represent the opinions of the SUNY New Paltz or its representatives.

In making the comment feature available, SUNY New Paltz reserves the right to hide or remove comments and/or limit those comments and commentators that do not adhere to this policy and/or create a risk of potential liability.

Prohibited comments include, but are not limited to, those which include material that is:

  • invasive of privacy, defamatory, harassing, threatening or otherwise tortious
  • obscene or vulgar
  • sensitive personal information
  • inciting or advocating violence or prohibited discrimination
  • inappropriately sexual
  • illegal, such as confidential or copyrighted material
  • infringes on the intellectual property of others.
  • commercial in nature, including product descriptions or business URLs that could be viewed as an attempt to solicit business
  • off-topic
  • repetitive posts or spamming on several posts or stories, etc.

SUNY New Paltz retains the right to hide or report comments from anyone whom we believe has violated any of this policy. SUNY New Paltz may block user access, remove or take any other action with regard to its social accounts.

Any user who feels that a comment is objectionable may send a request for removal to olesj@newpaltz.edu.  However, responsibility for what is posted or contributed to this site is the sole responsibility of each user.


Privacy Act Notice and External Sites

We collect no personal information about you when you visit this website unless you choose to provide this information to us. Links from this website to websites outside SUNY New Paltz are for the convenience of the user. Such links do not constitute an official endorsement or approval of any private sector web site, product, or service.

Accessibility & Federal Compliance

When social media content is used by students, employees, and/or the public to carry out or participate in the University's core educational and administrative activities, it must be fully accessible. This is a legal requirement under ADA Title II and WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards.

Mandatory Compliance Checklist

All official accounts must follow the Social Media Accessibility Checklist to audit their posting habits and ensure all content meets the federal enforcement deadline of April 24, 2026.

  • Alternative Text (Alt-Text): You must provide meaningful alternative text descriptions for all images. This is no longer optional. These descriptions are read aloud by screen readers to ensure non-sighted or low-sighted users receive the same information as sighted users.

    • Note: If using aggregation tools like Hootsuite, verify that the alt-text is successfully pushing to the native platform.

  • Video Captions: All video content must include synchronized captions.

    • Closed Captions (CC): Preferred, as they can be toggled by the user.

    • Open Captions: Required if the platform does not support CC or if the CC is unreliable.

    • Manual Review: Automated captions must be manually edited for accuracy, as required by the compliance checklist.

  • Animated GIFs: GIFs have very limited accessibility support. You must not rely on a GIF to convey essential information. Every post containing a GIF must be understandable through its text content alone.

  • Hashtags (CamelCase): When using hashtags with multiple words, you must use initial capitalization (e.g., #SUNYNewPaltz or #NewPaltzHonors). This prevents screen readers from garbling the words into an unrecognizable string.

  • Emojis: Use emojis sparingly and never use them to replace words. Place them at the end of the post so they do not interrupt the flow of the message for screen reader users.

  • Third-Party Content: While these guidelines are not strictly applicable to reposting external/student content, the University encourages adding a descriptive caption if the original post is inaccessible to maintain our commitment to inclusivity.

 

General recommendations for social media
 

  • The keys to success in social media are being honest about who you are, being thoughtful before you post, and respecting the community.
  • There's no such thing as a "private" social media site. Search engines can turn up posts years after the publication date. Comments can be forwarded or copied. Archival systems save information even if you delete a post.
  • You are legally liable for what you post on your site and on the sites of others. Individual bloggers can be held liable for commentary deemed to be proprietary, copyrighted, defamatory, or obscene (as defined by the courts). Be sure that what you post today will not negatively affect you in the future.
  • In personal posts, you may identify yourself as a New Paltz faculty or staff member. However, please remember that you are sharing your views as a member of the higher education community, not as a formal representative of SUNY New Paltz.
  • It is common to include a disclaimer on your social media site if you are discussing higher education. You may want to include a sentence similar to this in your “About Me” section: "The views expressed on this [blog, web site,or social profile] are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of SUNY New Paltz."
  • Make sure that you have accurate facts before you post. It's always better to verify information with a source first than to have to post a correction or retraction later. Cite and link to your sources whenever possible. If you make an error, correct it quickly and visibly.
  • You are more likely to achieve your goals if you are constructive and polite while discussing a negative experience or disagreeing with a concept or person.
  • You are welcome and encouraged to provide a link to newpaltz.edu (or any other official New Paltz sites) from your social media page.
  • Do not post confidential or proprietary information about New Paltz, its students, its alumni, or fellow employees. Use ethical judgment, follow university policies, and federal requirements, such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
  • Do not use any official logos or other New Paltz images on your personal site. Do not use New Paltz's name to promote any product, cause, or political party/candidate. See also: New Paltz Policies on Political Campaign Activities.
  • If you need to discuss a situation involving individuals on a social media site or comments, contact John Oles. As a guideline, don't engage with individuals if the conversation or comments are not constructive.
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