The following outlines the policies for linking to, using, or copying information from institution of higher education Web sites and protecting the personal information of members of the public who access information through an institution of higher education Web site. It also requires that institutions of higher education link to the policy.

1. (1) Requirements Applicable to Those Linking to Institution of Higher Education Web Sites.

   1. (A) Linking to Institution of Higher Education Web Sites. Organizations and individuals (the site owner) are encouraged to link to institution of higher education information. Advance permission is not required before linking. Links should be made using the appropriate base uniform resource locator (URL). Because institutions of higher education may change subpages at any time without notice, the site owner should routinely verify links to institution of higher education subpages.

   2. (B) What State Agency and Institution of Higher Education Site Owners May Not Do in Linking to Institution of Higher Education Web Sites.

      1. (i) Site owners may not capture institution of higher education pages within the site owner's frames, present institution of higher education Web site content as that of the site owner, otherwise misrepresent the content of the institution of higher education pages or misinform users about the origin or ownership of the content of the institution of higher education Web site.
      2. (ii) Any link to an institution of higher education site should be a full forward link that passes the client browser to the institution of higher education site unencumbered.
      3. (iii) The BACK button should return the visitor to the site owner's site if the visitor wishes to back out.
      4. (iv) Although the content of institution of higher education Web sites is available to the public, certain information on some institution of higher education Web sites may be trademarked, service marked, or otherwise protected intellectual property of the institution of higher education. All content is protected by federal copyright laws. Use of protected intellectual property must be in accordance with federal and state law and must reflect the copyright, trademark, service mark or other intellectual property ownership of the institution of higher education.
      5. (v) Site owners should not link to individual institution of higher education graphics or tables within institution of higher education pages, especially in an effort to place the downloading burden on the institution of higher education servers. Such an action may be considered a misuse of state resources. Site owners should contact the appropriate institution of higher education to request permission to use a copy of the institution of higher education's graphics within the site owner's pages.
   3. (C) Accessibility. Owners of sites linked to institution of higher education pages shall use reasonable efforts to ensure that persons with disabilities may access these sites.

   4. (D) Copying and Use of Information by Web Site Owners Linking to Institution of Higher Education Web Sites.

      1. (i) Much of the information posted on institution of higher education Web sites is owned by the individual who posts it rather than by the institution of higher education, pursuant to the institution of higher education's intellectual property policies. Whether information is owned by the institution of higher education or by an individual, permission should be obtained from the content owner for any use beyond fair use.
      2. (ii) Such materials may only be used in accordance with any limitations requested by the owner.

   5. (E) Links from an Institution of Higher Education Web Site.

      1. (i) An institution of higher education that only provides links to other institutions of higher education and state agencies will post a link to this State Web Site Link and Privacy Policy.
      2. (ii) An institution of higher education that provides links to private Web sites shall publish a linking policy that includes its standards and criteria for linking to the private Web site. Institutions of higher education are strongly encouraged to publish a disclaimer policy that specifically disclaims liability and responsibility for private Web site content. Institutions of higher education that link to private Web sites will post a link to this State Web Site Link and Privacy Policy from the Web page that identifies their specific policies.

2. (2) Protection of the Privacy Rights of Individuals by Non-Judiciary State Governmental Bodies.

   1. (A) Under Texas law, Chapter 559, Texas Government Code, unless a state governmental body, other than a state governmental body that is part of the judiciary, is allowed to withhold requested information from an individual pursuant to Chapter 552, Texas Government Code (the Texas Public Information Act), the individual is entitled to be informed about information collected by the state governmental body about that individual.

   2. (B) Each institution of higher education that collects information about an individual by means of a form that the individual completes and files with the institution of higher education in a paper format or in an electronic format on an Internet site shall prominently state, on the paper form and prominently post on its Internet site in connection with the electronic form, that:

      1. (i) with few exceptions, the individual is entitled on request to be informed about the information that collected about the individual;
      2. (ii) the individual is entitled to receive and review the information; and
      3. (iii) the individual is entitled to have the institution of higher education correct incorrect information about the individual.

   3. (C) Each institution of higher education that collects information about an individual by means of an Internet site or that collects information about the computer network location or identity of a user of the Internet site shall prominently post on its Internet site:

      1. (i) what information is being collected through the site about the individual; and
      2. (ii) what information is being collected through the site about the computer network location or identity of a user of the Internet site, including what information is being collected by means that are not obvious.
   4. (D) Each institution of higher education must establish a reasonable procedure under which individuals may have incorrect information about them corrected. The correction procedure may not unduly burden the individual seeking to have information corrected.
   5. (E) Each institution of higher education shall identify its information collection practices and post that information in its Internet site privacy and security policy. The e-mail addresses of members of the public that are provided to institutions of higher education for electronic communication are confidential and may not be disclosed by the institution of higher education unless the affected member of the public affirmatively consents to the disclosure of his or her e-mail address.

3. (3) Requirements Applicable to Institutions of Higher Education.

   1. (A) With the exception of confidential information, information protected by laws designed to protect an individual's privacy interests, information that might assist terrorists or other malevolent actors in exploiting, creating or enhancing vulnerabilities, and information not subject to disclosure under the Texas Public Information Act, institutions of higher education are encouraged to post information on the Internet in an accessible format. Refer to guidelines in §206.70 of this chapter.
   2. (B) Institutions of higher education may not sell or release the e-mail addresses of members of the public that have been provided to communicate electronically with the institution of higher education without the affirmative consent of the affected member of the public.

Source Note:The provisions of this §206.74 adopted to be effective November 28, 2004, 29 TexReg 10712; amended to be effective September 16, 2008, 33 TexReg 7737.