This guide outlines the College of Sciences (COS) website standards and procedures and is intended for COS faculty, staff, and web content contributors responsible for maintaining department or unit websites. It provides guidance aligned with the university's HOP Policies 11.09 and 11.10 to ensure websites are consistent, secure, accessible, and brand-aligned.

The guide should be referred to when creating or updating web pages, uploading PDFs so they are accessible to all audiences, proposing or removing existing content such as news and spotlight stories, or managing content that is no longer current. It also includes links to technical resources and oversight guidelines.

Website Criteria and Requirements

As stated in HOP Policy 11.09 Website Criteria and Requirements, The University of Texas at San Antonio's websites are public-facing resources that shall be current, consistent, brand-aligned, secure, accessible, and compliant with all federal and state laws and the policies of the university and The University of Texas System (UT System).

Website Accessibility

College of Sciences websites align with the university's commitment to web accessibility. As listed in HOP Policy 11.10 Web and Digital Accessibility Compliance, all of the college's official websites and digital content must adhere to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. See the latest version of the UT San Antonio ADA Disability Resources for more information.

PDF Accessibility

It is the responsibility of the PDF creator to ensure that the PDF meets HOP accessibility compliance requirements before adding or requesting to add PDFs to COS websites. Below are some resources for creating accessible PDFs.

Maintaining Websites

The college and its departments should aim to keep information up-to-date as it is made official and conduct regular content audits to ensure the information being displayed is still current and accurate. As a general web practice, it is recommended to link directly to the source of a webpage rather than duplicate information across multiple webpages.

Adding/Removing Spotlight Stories

Departments are encouraged to contact the college communicator with the student or alumni they would like to have featured as a spotlight story on college and university communications channels, which can then be linked in the news section of a department's website.

Requests to remove profiles or content related to students, alumni, or faculty/staff (for reasons other than retirement) from a COS departmental or unit website will be reviewed by the Dean and college communicator before removing unless directed otherwise by the UT San Antonio legal team.

Discontinued/Paused Programs and Initiatives

Websites dedicated to discontinued initiatives, programs, etc., should be sunset by the web specialist or website contributors managing the website to prevent students and other site users from seeking opportunities or resources that are no longer available. This includes having the website owner identify COS and UT San Antonio websites that link to the discontinued website and informing the appropriate office or unit to remove the link as well.

If a discontinued program website contains information or resources that are still beneficial to students, the relevant content should be moved to a more appropriate COS website; this will avoid causing confusion between current opportunities/resources and those that are no longer available.

If a program is currently on pause, the website will continue to be listed; no blurb or text box about the program being under review is necessary.

Additional Website Management Resources

The web standards and procedures below offer additional guidance on the two HOP policies (11.09 and 11.10), providing COS staff and faculty with guidelines on building, maintaining, and growing the university's online presence.

These resources are also available on the MARCOM website.