Social media in your personal life
As a member of staff, you should be aware of your association with, and responsibilities to the University. The Social Media Code of Practice applies to personal social media posts which could affect the University or its associated individuals, even if the post does not explicitly mention your affiliation with the University.
Remember that anything you post can reach a wider audience than you originally intended. While it is encouraged for people to keep their online profiles under strict privacy settings where appropriate, using privacy settings does not necessarily prevent your content from reaching a wider audience via screenshots, bystanders or compromised security.
Your responsibilities on social media
You are personally responsible for your own communications on social media. You should take extra care when you can clearly be identified as a member of staff at the university.
You should refrain from posting:
- confidential information
- details of complaints/legal proceedings involving the university
- personal information about another person
- anything from a fake account or an account using another person's name
- anything that is illegal, threatening, harassing, discriminatory, obscene, indecent, defamatory or hostile
- anything that will compromise the safety or reputation of the university or anyone associated with it
Using social media as a teaching tool
Staff who intend on using social media as a teaching and learning tool should do so using our Social Media Code of Practice as a guide.
Our Teaching Excellence web pages and Moodle have specific guidance on processes, tools and techniques that can support teaching and learning excellence.
Freedom of speech and academic freedom
The University is committed to protecting free speech within the law and academic freedom so we can achieve our mission of advancing truth, knowledge and understanding and that students and staff can become acquainted with new information, ideas and diverse viewpoints.
As set out in the Free Speech and Academic Freedom statement, it must be recognised that a commitment to promote freedom of speech and academic freedom does not require tolerance of abuse, threats, incitement to violence, hatred, discrimination, or other unlawful acts.
All use of social media should be consistent with the expectations of the Statement and the Social Media Code of Practice.
Advice for managing University social media accounts
Key principles and requirements
Our values of inclusivity, ambition, openness, fairness and respect underpin the activities of our staff and students and extend to use of social media.
In any context, staff and students should carefully consider any content before posting or commenting and:
- Abide by the principles and requirements of this Code and related policies
- Adhere to applicable laws and regulations, including, but not limited to data protection and GDPR, equality and copyright
- Ensure protection of personal data and confidential information
- Ensure that any activity aligns with the UoN Statement on Free Speech
- Not infringe on the rights or privacy of other students, or staff or third parties
- Have regard to the dignity of others and foster an inclusive online environment
- Make sure that they have appropriate privacy settings and password security on any social media accounts to ensure that they are protecting their own privacy and restricting access to anything that they might post
- Ensure facts are accurate
Identifying affiliation
When posting in relation to their work, staff have responsibility for:
Making it clear that views are their own and not necessarily representative of the UoN when using a personal account for professional use, unless explicitly authorised to do so. It is recommended that staff add the following suggested wording to their personal social media profiles: “The views expressed here are my own and do not reflect those of the University of Nottingham.”
Even if accounts use wording of this nature, staff are still expected to abide by the requirements of this Code.
Incidents and response
Where a staff member is in receipt of any content where it is considered that another member of staff or a student is in breach of the Social Media Code of Practice, in the first instance they should discuss their concern with their line manager.
Line managers should contact the HR Department for advice where required. If the concerns are about the actions or inactions of the immediate line manager, the employee could discuss this with the next level of manager. If a staff member is unclear who their line manager is, or is unable to raise concerns locally, they may contact the HR Department. Staff may also use the Report and Support platform.
Support
You can contact the Media Team for advice and guidance on the use of social media by emailing pressoffice@nottingham.ac.uk.
You can find short training on social media including social media awareness, personal social media in the workplace and twitter polices all staff should know on the short courses for staff and students system. This legal podcast briefing explains the key issues and highlights the University's standards.
Staff who are experiencing challenges with their wellbeing as a result of social media may wish to consult the Staff Wellbeing services here. Incidents should be reported to Security if there is an immediate personal safety risk while on campus.