Student Life
Question 3.3 Details

Does the institution provide and support electronic space for personal student Web pages?

Many students develop their own personal Web pages, some even before they first enroll in college. Find out if the campus allows students to create and store such pages on institutional computers. Is there software and staff support for this? Some campuses allow such sites and others do not, as they do not believe that this is a priority (and these pages can use significant resources). If having a personal Web page is important to you, you will want to ask such questions as the following:

• Does the campus provide storage space for students to keep personal Web pages on campus–based servers?
• Is there an alternative way to establish a Web site on a non–campus–based server (for example, on a server set up by some student organization)? If you already have a personal site provided by an Internet service provider (ISP), can you migrate/copy the site to a campus–hosted computer?
• Does the campus have a way to list or identify the student Web pages that are present on the campus?
• Is there a fee associated with establishing such a page? Is it an ongoing fee, or does it depend on the size of the student site?

You should be aware that having a personal Web site has some associated responsibilities for which you may well be held accountable. Student sites are often governed by campus policies on appropriate use. If it is a campus owned site, improper or illegal use may lead to judicial proceedings that could include expulsion form the institution. Your site should not include copyrighted materials (images, MP3 files, and so forth), illegal or inappropriate use of trademarks (potentially including the campus logos, crests, seals), pornography, or other inappropriate materials.