Mount Ida College

Welcome to the Mount Ida College Web Style and Policy Guide, which was developed to assist the College community in designing Web pages that are consistent in navigation, style and presentation. The design standards in this guide will help reinforce Mount Ida’s identity, provide continuity in appearance, protect and regulate the use of proprietary names, logos and graphics in representing Mount Ida College to the public.

Appropriate Usage

1. The college name and logo may not be used in ways that imply endorsement of organizations, their products or services.

2. The Mount Ida Web site cannot be used for private financial gain, personal business or compensation or any purpose other than college business.

3. Web pages cannot be used to intimidate or single out individuals or groups for degradation or harassment in violation of federal or state law. Web pages cannot be used to engage in any illegal activity.

Copyrighted materials
Users may not place any materials owned by others, i.e. copyrighted works, on Web pages without the expressed permission of the copyright owner. (Examples: cartoons, articles, photographs, songs, software, graphics scanned in from published works or other web pages). Assume materials you find on the Web are copyrighted unless a disclaimer or waiver is expressly stated. If you want to include something from another Web page in one of your Web pages, then link to it rather than copy it.

External links
Be cautious when placing external links (outside the Mount Ida College Web site) on a page. The College does not control information that resides with other organizations, and linked pages can change or disappear. Be sure to check occasionally whether your external links remain "live" and appropriate.

Use of Pictures
You may not place any pictures or videos of people on a Web page without the permission of the people in the picture or video. Every person has a right of privacy, which includes the right to restrict the use of his/her own image. In addition, the picture or video may be protected by copyright. Photos should always be accompanied by a caption. A picture may be worth 1,000 words, but it is important to guide the viewer to the correct interpretation and to clarify what is distinct and attractive about Mount Ida College and its people.

Use of College Mark and Name
The Mount Ida logo and academic seal may not be used by for any purpose unrelated to College programs or activities without express permission of the Office of Communications. The logo and seal may not be altered in any way, including but not limited to: the redesign, redraw, animation, proportion alteration, rotation, rendition to three-dimensional format or addition of new elements to the logo or seal. The College will be referred to as Mount Ida College. The abbreviation Mt. Ida is never acceptable.

Do not:

• Use gimmicky features like scrolling marquees, blinking text, and visible "hit" counters.
• Display the "construction sign" or say "under construction." Pages that are unfinished should not be placed online.
• Use bold, italic and colored type in excess.
• Underline type OR use blue text unless it is a hyperlink.
• Use "centered" text for paragraphs. Limit its use to headings. Even for headings, the choice of centering should be made judiciously, as it can affect readability.
• Use different sized text within the same paragraph. 
• Use excessive style differences (color, size, font, bold, italics) in headings. Primary headings should be bold. Secondary headings should be italicized. Make sure to use a consistent style for headings at the same hierarchical level.
• Create pages with large blocks of unbroken text. Try not to have more than 10 lines wrap without a paragraph break (blank line).
• Use frames.
• Use terms like "click here." Instead, make the link text descriptive.