Social Media Policy

This policy does not apply to faculty. 

Social media at Rhodes extends existing communication efforts to raise the profile and manage the reputation of the College. “Social media” as referenced in this policy refers to any website, platform or application that allows users to create and share content or participate in digital social networking. Participating in social media sites on behalf of Rhodes College is not a right, but a privilege and should be taken seriously and with respect to the broader community. Social media platforms develop and change at a rapid pace, and the policy may be revised from time to time as new platforms are developed and new concerns are identified. The lack of explicit reference to a specific site does not limit the extent of the application of this policy.

Use at Work

• College employees seeking to represent Rhodes via social media outlets, including departmental accounts, must do the following:
  • Observe all obligations, policies and requirements of Rhodes College concerning privacy and confidentiality. 
  • Conduct themselves at all times as representatives of the College, and accordingly, adhere to all College standards of conduct and observe conventionally accepted protocols and proper decorum.
  • Identify themselves as an employee of the College.
  • Refrain from using language or images that are obscene, sexually explicit, threatening, intimidating, or harassing; or language that ridicules, harasses, maligns, disparages, or otherwise expresses bias against any person(s) on account of race, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, or any other protected characteristic.
  • Respect the intellectual property rights of others.
  • Do not combine your personal social media account with the social media account you maintain on behalf of Rhodes. 
  • At Rhodes’ request, promptly take down any posts or other information deemed to violate this policy.
• College employees using social media on College-provided devices must not:
  • Circulate or post commercial, personal, religious or political solicitations, chain letters, spam or promotion of outside organizations unrelated to the business of Rhodes College.
  • Use working time to post on social media unless part of an employee’s job duties.

Personal Use

Rhodes recognizes the important part social media may play in the personal lives of its employees. However, in this interconnected world, an employee’s personal social media presence may affect the reputation of Rhodes College. For this reason, Rhodes expects employees to observe the following rules for the personal, off-duty use of social media:

• Employees engaged in the personal use of social media, whether it be the employee’s own sites, the sites of others, media pages, professional sites or other information exchange forums, must not state or imply that they are speaking or acting on behalf of Rhodes or presenting or representing the interests of the College. 
• Employees may not post, transmit, or otherwise disseminate any confidential or proprietary information such as student information, social security numbers, personal health information, business strategies, future planning, or attorney-client communications to which they have access as a result of their employment. 
• Employees may not display the College’s name, seal, or logos on their personal web pages in such a manner as to give the appearance of an official site of the College. 
• Employees must refrain from using language or images that are obscene, sexually explicit, threatening, intimidating, or harassing; or language that ridicules, harasses, maligns, disparages, or otherwise expresses bias against any person(s) on account of race, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, or any other protected characteristic.
• Rhodes employees should expect that any information created, transmitted, downloaded, exchanged, or discussed in a public online forum may be accessed by the College at any time without prior notice.
• Rhodes employees should recognize the importance of maintaining professional boundaries between Rhodes employees and Rhodes students when communicating with students on social media platforms.