Mitchell Hamline School of Law

Mitchell Hamline Policy Repository

Social Media Policy

Posted: August 6, 2024

Applies to: Faculty, Staff, Students

Policy Holder: Director, Marketing and Communications

Responsible Office: Marketing and Communications

Contact Information: Director, Marketing and Communications

Effective Date: August 1, 2024

I. Purpose and Scope

  1. Mitchell Hamline School of Law (the “School” or “MHSL”) recognizes the importance and prevalence of social media in communicating with the community, promoting the School, and engaging with peers, colleagues, and the public.
  2. MHSL recognizes and acknowledges the importance of students’ rights to engage in activity protected by the Freedom or Limitation of Expression Policy and ABA Standard 208 concerning academic freedom and freedom of expression.
  3. MHSL recognizes and acknowledges the importance of faculty and staff rights to engage in activity protected under the terms and conditions of employment with the School, including the protections provided in the 1940 AAUP Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure and ABA Standard 208 on Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression, in addition to protections provided in the Staff Handbook, Faculty Handbook, Faculty Bylaws, and the Tenure Code, as amended from time to time.
  4. This Social Media Policy (the “Policy”) sets forth the expectations and requirements for social media use by MHSL faculty, staff, and students. The purpose of this Policy is to ensure that applicable MHSL policies, as well as relevant federal privacy and intellectual property rights laws (listed below), are observed and to maintain appropriate oversight and control of MHSL-related social media. Another purpose of this Policy is to clarify that social media, even individual social media, is not exempt from MHSL policies safeguarding our community from discrimination, harassment, retaliation, violations of privacy, and other violations of related policies.
  5. “Social Media” is broadly defined and includes websites and applications that allow users to create and share content or to participate in social networking such as (but not limited to) Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter/X, Blogs, Vlogs, Wikipedia, TikTok, and YouTube. “Social Media” does not include private forms of communication, such as text messages or telephone conversations.
  6. “Social Media Use” encompasses both the posting of original content created by the individual user as well as the reposting or sharing of content created by someone other than the individual user.

II. Official and Associated MHSL Social Media Accounts

  1. Definitions of Official and Associated MHSL Accounts. An “Official MHSL Account” is any Social Media account that represents the School as a whole. An “Associated MHSL Account” is any Social Media account representing any School department, office, or center or institute. An “Associated MHSL Account” does not include any Social Media account representing any student organization.
  2. Limitation on the Creation of Official MHSL Social Media Accounts. No individual, other than the Director of Marketing and Communications (or their designee), may establish an Official MHSL Account.
  3. Inventory of Associated MHSL Accounts.
    1. Current Associated MHSL Accounts. Individuals managing Associated MHSL Accounts in existence at the time of the initial effective date of this Policy must notify the Marketing Department within 60 days of the effective date of this policy with the type of account and the login access to the account
    2. New Associated MHSL Accounts. No individual may create a new Associated MHSL Account without first notifying the Marketing Department with the type of account and the login access to the account.
    3. The Marketing Department will monitor all Associated MHSL Accounts and have the authority to request removal or modification of any posts which the President and Dean finds to be in violation of one of the MHSL policies in III.B.(1) or IV.C.(1).
  4. Compliance with Standards and Federal Law. Official MHSL Accounts and Associated MHSL Accounts must comply with all MHSL design and branding standards. Official MHSL Accounts and Associated MHSL Accounts must comply with the Family Educational Right and Privacy Act (FERPA) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), as applicable.
  5. Intellectual Property. All Official and Associated MHSL Accounts must respect intellectual property rights and comply with federal copyright law. Any individual using an Official MHSL Account or Associated MHSL Account must ensure that they have the necessary permission for the use of any intellectual property on any Official MHSL Account or Associated MHSL Account.

III. Personal Use of Social Media by Students

  1. Individual Rights. This Policy is not intended to and does not limit a student’s right to engage in activity protected by the Freedom or Limitation of Expression Policy and ABA Standard 208 concerning academic freedom and freedom of expression, as amended from time to time.
  2. Application of MHSL Policies to Personal Social Media Accounts. The following Social Media Uses by students are prohibited:
    1. Any Social Media Use that violates any of the following MHSL policies:
      1. Disability Discrimination
      2. Hate Crimes
      3. Non-Discrimination and Non-Harassment
      4. Sex Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct
      5. Non-Retaliation (as included in other policies)
      6. Student Code of Conduct
    2. Any Social Media Use that claims to speak on behalf of the School or to express an official position of the School unless authorized to do so by the President and Dean, the Vice President of Enrollment, or their designee; and
    3. Any Social Media Use that violates any state or federal law including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Violations of the provisions of III.B.(1) will be subject to the same process as any other violation of those policies would be subject. Violations of the provisions of III.B. (2)-(3) will be subject to the Student Code of Conduct.

IV. Personal Use of Social Media by Faculty and Staff

  1. Individual Rights. This Policy is not intended to and does not limit a faculty or staff member’s right to engage in activity protected under the terms and conditions of employment with the School, including the protections provided in the 1940 AAUP Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure and ABA Standard 208 on Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression, in addition to protections provided in the Staff Handbook, Faculty Handbook, Faculty Bylaws, and the Tenure Code, as applicable and as amended from time to time.
  2. Affiliation. Even when an individual engages in Social Media Use on a personal account, an affiliation with the School necessarily arises if the individual’s affiliation with the School is apparent on the account. Therefore, any employee of the School who identifies an affiliation with the School on any Social Media Account must take reasonable steps to make clear on any such Social Media Account that the employee is not speaking on behalf of the School, such as including a clear disclaimer in their bio section of their Social Media account that the employee is not speaking on behalf of the School.
  3. Application of MHSL Policies to Individual Social Media Accounts. The following Social Media Uses by faculty and staff are prohibited:
    1. Any Social Media Use that violates any of the following School policies, as applicable to the individual employee:
      1. Disability Discrimination
      2. Hate Crimes
      3. Non-Discrimination and Non-Harassment
      4. Sex Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct
      5. Non-Retaliation (as included in other policies)
      6. Professional and personal conduct standards in the Faculty Handbook, Staff Handbook, Tenure Code, and Faculty Bylaws, as applicable, and as amended from time to time.
    2. Any Social Media Use that claims to speak on behalf of the School or to express an official position of the School unless authorized to do so by the President and Dean, the Vice President of Enrollment, or their designee; and
    3. Any Social Media Use that violates any state or federal law including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
    4. Violations of the provisions of IV.C.(1) will be subject to the same process as any other violation of those policies would be subject. Violations of the provisions of IV.C.(2)-(3) will be subject to the processes outlined for violations of any applicable professional and personal conduct standards in the Faculty Handbook, Staff Handbook, Tenure Code, and Faculty Bylaws, as applicable, and as amended from time to time.