Policy Statement

Domain name registration activities at 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ are treated similarly to other activities that require advance permission for the use of the university's name or insignias. Domain names intended for an external audience that include an official university name — whether the "51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ" name itself or the name of any of the university's academic units, administrative units, organizations, or affiliated groups — must be approved by the web communications manager prior to registering the name. In the case of official names of colleges, schools, or similar entities, the web communications manager will also contact that entity's dean or director for his/her approval prior to authorizing the request.

Reason for Policy

Official university names are trade names that communicate the university's image and reputation to the public. To ensure that trade names are used appropriately and in alignment with institutional goals, the university needs to establish a policy for governing future domain name registrations.

Entities Affected by This Policy

Those who are affected by this policy include all academic and administrative units, university affiliates, and academic and administrative staff who are seeking to register a domain name. For details, refer to the domain name guidelines page.

Who Should Read This Policy

  • Provost and vice presidents
  • Deans
  • Directors
  • Faculty
  • Staff
  • Affiliated organizations & groups

Procedures

Introduction

University Marketing & Communications is responsible for managing the university's image and reputation. As part of that responsibility, the unit oversees the use of the university's name and official marks in marketing materials and advertising. Policies for ensuring that logos and other trademarks are used appropriately in printed materials have been in effect for several years; however, a similar policy for managing domain name registrations did not exist. The attached policy is intended to address this issue by providing a process for overseeing the use of official university names in domain name registrations.

University Ownership

Just as trademarks involving the name of the university or any of its units must be owned by the university, any internet address that includes "51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ" or the name of any of its individual units or affiliated groups in any form must be owned by the university. Private individuals and nonaffiliated 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ organizations or groups may not register such Internet addresses. Violations of this policy will result in legal action on the part of the university.

Appropriateness of Internet Addresses

Internet addresses should accurately describe the activity or program to which they refer. An Internet address or other use of "51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ" in any form that suggests sponsorship by the university as a whole or by any unit of the university will be approved only when such a name is accurate. In many cases, the appropriate address will note the group that hosts the activity (e.g., rebelradio.unlv.edu).

Approvals for Domain Name Registrations

As in the case of other uses of the "51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ" name or the name of an official university entity, advance permission from the appropriate official(s) is required. In all cases, the director of Web & Digital Strategy must approve requests for use of official university names to be used in an Internet address or website identification in any form (including abbreviations or in combination with other words). For official college names or similar entities, the director of Web & Digital Strategy will also clear requests with the requesting unit's dean or director prior to authorizing the request.

Hosting for Non-unlv.edu Internet Addresses

In most cases, the appropriate domain name for university activities will be "edu." For all domain name registrations outside of the unlv.edu domain (e.g., com, net, org) that include an official university name in any form, the unit must contact the director of Web & Digital Strategy for approval prior to registering the name. Additionally, units must make arrangements to host the domain name on their own server (if available) or with a commercial Internet Service Provider. Under no circumstances will the domain name be hosted on the official 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ web server. The registering party is responsible for any expenses associated with the registration and maintenance of the URL as needed.

Subdomain Names Set Up For External Audiences

Academic and administrative units, and programs or activities whose websites are housed on the official 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ web server can apply for a subdomain name (unitname.unlv.edu) through the Web & Digital Strategy office.

Groups that wish to use a unlv.edu address on a campus server other than the 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ web server must submit their request to the director of Web & Digital Strategy for approval. In most cases, for organizations or units within 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ, an Internet address that is substantially the same as the applicant group's official name or an already approved name will be approved. For example, the 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Graduate College would be permitted to use "graduatecollege.unlv.edu."

These guidelines apply regardless of whether the subdomain uses unlv.edu or another university- or system-owned domain name (e.g., nevada.edu, nscee.edu). System administrators who are contacted directly with requests for subdomains that contain "51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ" or other official university names should refer the request to the web communications manager for approval.

Subdomain Names Set Up For Internal Use

Subdomain names set up for internal (nonpublic) administrative purposes do not need approval from the web services manager. Such requests may be referred directly to the appropriate system administrator for action.