University Website Linking Policy

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (“the university” or “UTHealth”) complies with the State Website Linking and Privacy Policy, which is applicable to the university’s websites.

The State Website Linking and Privacy Policy is applicable to the websites of Texas institutions of higher education as set forth in Title 1, Rule 206.72 and Rule 206.73 of the Texas Administrative Code.

Related Statutes, Policies, Requirements or Standards

Responsibility

The following are responsible for complying with this policy:

University web developers
Users of University websites
Persons and organizations with websites that are linked to or from university web pages.

Scope

All university websites and all websites that are linked to or from university websites are subject to this policy.

Definitions

Term	Definition
UTHealth Website	A website or web application that is connected to the Internet and is owned, funded or operated by or for the university, including key public entry points, regardless of where it is physically hosted.
Website	A group of World Wide Web pages (see definition of Web page below) usually containing hyperlinks to each other and made available online by an individual, company, educational institution, government or organization.
Web page	An electronic document consisting of a file (e.g. HTML, PDF, dynamic links, and PHP) and any related files for scripts and graphics, and often hyperlinked to other electronic documents.

Standards

UTHealth is committed to ensuring the privacy and accuracy of confidential information. We do not actively share personal information gathered from our Web servers. Refer to the University Website Privacy & Security Policy for more information on the university’s privacy policies, including those required by the State Website Linking and Privacy Policy and 1 TAC 206.72.

Any individuals or entities that place link(s) on their website to any UTHealth website are solely responsible for complying with the provisions of the State Website Linking and Privacy Policy, making reasonable efforts to ensure that persons with disabilities may access their websites, and protecting the privacy rights of individuals, including compliance with all privacy laws and regulations. UTHealth specifically disclaims any and all liability and responsibility for any third-party websites, including those linked to or from UTHealth’s websites.

Further, the university makes no representations, guarantees or warranties as to the accuracy, completeness, currency or suitability for any purpose of the information provided on third party websites linked to or from UTHealth websites. The university makes no effort to independently verify, and does not exert editorial control over, information on pages outside these domains: www.uth.tmc.edu, www.uth.edu and www.uthouston.edu.

UTHealth’s linking to another entity’s website does not constitute UTHealth’s or the State of Texas’ endorsement of the content, viewpoint, accuracy, opinions, policies, products, services, or accessibility of that entity’s site.

Linking to UTHealth Websites

Advanced permission to link to UTHealth websites is not necessary. However, pages within these sites may change at any time without notice. Entities and individuals linking to UTHealth websites should continuously verify those links.

Entities and individuals linking to UTHealth websites shall not capture our pages within frames, present UTHealth content as its own, or otherwise misrepresent UTHealth content. Furthermore, they shall not misinform users about the origin or ownership of the content of UTHealth’s websites or any other UTHealth content. Certain information on our sites may be trademarked, service-marked, or otherwise protected as intellectual property. Protected intellectual property must be used in accordance with state and federal laws and reflect the proper ownership of the intellectual property.

Any link to a UTHealth website should pass the client browser to the site unencumbered. The “Back” button must return the visitor to the original site if the visitor wishes to back out.

Links should be established through the appropriate base uniform resource locator (URL) and not through an abbreviated form.

Links to a UTHealth website should be full forward links that pass the client browser directly to the targeted website.

Links that create a downloading burden on UTHealth’s server(s), such as certain graphics or tables, constitute a misuse of state resources. To prevent that, entities or individuals should contact UTHealth to request permission to post a copy of UTHealth’s graphics or tables within their website.

Linking From UTHealth Websites

This section outlines the criteria and requirements external websites must meet to have a link from our websites. It also details how links are identified and removed from the UTHealth websites. UTHealth reserves the right to link to external websites that provide a service or are otherwise of value to our users.

1) Link Identification

Our websites have links to federal, state, and local governments that provide information and services benefiting Texas citizens, Texas local government, Texas state agencies, and other users of UTHealth websites. We will, at our discretion, consider placing links on UTHealth websites to non-governmental websites that contain information and/or services that further the business goals and missions of UTHealth if there is a public purpose for establishing the link. This may include links to the websites of UTHealth-contracted vendors, relevant associations, and timely and relevant information from publications. To the extent a link constitutes a website solicitation, UTHealth must ensure that such a link complies with the provisions of UTS 122, Guidelines for Web Site Solicitations.

Every link to a third-party website that is proposed to be placed on a UTHealth website must undergo review by the Executive Director, University Web Services or designee to determine that doing so will be in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, rules, and policies (including all of the requirements of this policy). Such a review will include (but not be limited to) determining that the third-party website complies with the requirements of this policy, including ensuring that the website does not:

Advocate or promote hate, bias, or discrimination.
Provide access to, create, store, or transmit sexually explicit materials.
Include libelous, or otherwise defamatory content.
Advocate, promote, or associate with the use of alcohol or of cigarettes or other tobacco products.
Advocate, promote, or associate with gambling services or venues, sexual services and adult entertainment venues, or firearms.
Belong to, support, advocate, or promote a political affiliation, a political organization, or a candidate running for office.
Constitute political lobbying or campaigning.
Endorse the goods, products, or services offered by a person or an entity.

Further, third party websites linked from UTHealth websites should:

Provide the user with access to an email address and/or a customer service telephone number to contact if there are problems with format, accuracy or timeliness.

UTHealth reserves the right to deny links if it determines that a website contains misleading or unsubstantiated claims, conflicts with the purpose of UTHealth, or does not meet one or more of the requirements of applicable laws, regulations, rules, and policies, including (but not limited to) the requirements of this policy.

2) Review Process

All links proposed will be reviewed as set forth above. The decision of UTHealth is final as to whether a link to a proposed third-party website will be placed on a UTHealth website, as well as where and how such a link will be established, formatted, and maintained on the UTHealth website.
UTHealth may require the owner or operator of a third-party website to enter into a written linking agreement with UTHealth before UTHealth places a link to that third-party website on a UTHealth website.

3) Link Maintenance on UTHealth

To provide superior customer service to citizens and businesses accessing governmental information and services through UTHealth websites, UTHealth will periodically monitor links on its websites to ensure that they comply with requirements of applicable laws, regulations, rules, and policies, including (but not limited to) the requirements of this policy.

If a third-party site becomes inaccurate or inactive, the third-party site must notify UTHealth via the Contact Us Web form; choose “Link Change” for the subject line.

4) Removal Process

UTHealth reserves the right to remove links from its websites without notice, and the decision of UTHealth is final as to whether a link is to be removed.

UTHealth will periodically review links to external websites that are placed on UTHealth’s websites to identify any issues or problems including, but not limited to, the following.

The link no longer points to the original information or resource to which it was intended to point;
The linked website contains inaccurate or misleading information or has changed such that it is no longer in compliance with the acceptance criteria;
The linked website violates applicable laws, regulations, rules, and policies, including (but not limited to) the requirements of this policy;
Access to the information has become difficult due to non-standard formatting, lengthy download times, or intrusive advertising;
The link is permanently unreachable or remains unavailable for a lengthy period; and
The external website fails to comply with any applicable law, regulation, rule, policy (including this policy), or written linking agreement.

Copying Information From UTHealth Websites

Information posted on a UTHealth website, and accessible to members of the public, may be copied, provided that it:

is in accordance with any limitations specified by this policy, including, but not limited, those contained in the "Linking to UTHealth Websites" section;
is not presented in a misleading way, and
is not construed to be endorsed by UTHealth or the State of Texas.

Entities or individuals that copy and present UTHealth information must identify the source of the content, including the:

URL for the content or nearest entry point leading to the content if a URL is not available, and
date the content was copied.

Entities or individuals that copy and present UTHealth information on their websites must accompany that information with a statement that neither the entity or individual nor the information, as it is presented on its website, is endorsed by the State of Texas or UTHealth.

To protect the intellectual property of UTHealth, copied information must reflect the copyright, trademark, service mark, or other intellectual property rights of UTHealth whose protected information is being used by the entity or individual.

Enforcement

University websites that do not comply with the requirements of this policy will be removed from service. UTHealth may also, at its sole discretion and without notice, remove from its websites any links to external websites for which UTHealth identifies issues or problems.

Contacts

For questions and concerns regarding this linking policy, contact the Executive Director, University Web Services.

UTHealth Website Disclaimer

This Website provides links to other websites, both public and private, for informational purposes. The university makes no representations, guarantees or warranties as to the accuracy, completeness, currency or suitability for any purpose of the information provided via this website. The university specifically disclaims any and all liability and responsibility for any claims or damage that may arise as a result of the university providing the website or the information it contains, or that may arise in any way with respect to any websites maintained by third parties and linked to the university site. The university makes no effort to independently verify, and does not exert editorial control over, information on pages outside these domains: www.uth.edu, www.uth.tmc.edu, www.uthouston.edu. The university advises site visitors to read the privacy policies of any third-party sites accessed through this site.

The university does not endorse any of the products, vendors, consultants or documentation referenced in this website. Any mention of vendors, products or services is for informational purposes only.

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