In today’s highly dynamic and digital environment, maintaining an inclusive and engaging virtual presence is an increasingly mission-critical endeavor, since it functions as the primary touchpoint for members of the Harvard community and beyond. To ensure that the Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ web presence, digital content, and branding reflects the FAS’s mission and values while providing a positive user experience for both content creators and users, the guidance and recommendations below are designed to support the FAS community, [which includes faculty students, students, and staff], in their creation and stewardship of digital content and branding.
These resources and guidelines were curated and are maintained in consultation with members of the Office of Communications, Administrative Operations, the FAS Dean’s Office, Faculty Affairs, and Harvard University Information Technology. For questions or comments regarding the content of this website, please contact FAS Communications at comms@fas.harvard.edu.
FAS Web Governance
To support a sustainable and transparent web governance structure for the benefit of internal and external members of the community, the FAS has an established URL request and modification process in place. There are also guidelines regarding the creation and stewardship of Harvard-owned websites.
The website fas.harvard.edu is the sole property of the FAS. While designated staff will have access to edit certain portions of the site, create new content, and remove old content, the site and all its subdomains remain the property of the School and must adhere to Harvard Web Publishing’s Terms of Use policy throughout its digital lifecycle. All sub-domains are similarly administered by designated Harvard faculty, staff, researchers, and currently enrolled degree-seeking students at the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Science and remain under the stewardship of these individuals until they are no longer a benefits-eligible employee or faculty or are no longer a degree-seeking student.
Who can request and maintain a website?
Per the Harvard Web Publishing Terms of Use, site creation is “available only to benefits-eligible faculty and staff employed by Harvard and currently enrolled, degree-seeking students.”
At FAS, term-appointed lecturers, teaching fellows/assistants, research support staff, administrators, and degree-seeking students from the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences are eligible to request and maintain a website, so long as the site will contribute to the teaching, research, and learning mission of their home department or center and there is co-owner for site stewardship who is a benefits-eligible employee or faculty member and will assume ownership once the term appointed employee leaves Harvard. Term-appointed employees will have site privileges for the duration of their appointment, plus 3 months. Site privileges will be resumed upon appointment renewal.
Can I/ should I keep an existing site?
Per Harvard Web Publishing’s Terms of Use, when staff leave Harvard, it is their responsibility to transfer site ownership to another individual with an active FAS full-time, benefits eligible position, i.e. faculty and staff. Faculty and student sites will be removed if the site owner leaves Harvard.
A site should only be kept and maintained if the site itself holds an intrinsic value to a department or center’s current educational mission and administrative function. Websites that are used purely as a repository for archived material, for record-keeping purposes, or as a historical record of static content should not be kept and other services are available at the University for file storage or archival purposes. Similarly, websites that are used purely as a directory or for contact information should be integrated into a department’s directorial page. Please note that departments assume the responsibility and liability for their respective web inventory, including ensuring that the websites meet the Terms of Use and accessibility guidelines.
Requesting a new/modifying existing URL
Fifth-level domain request: REQUEST.Department.fas.harvard.edu can be approved by the department’s discretion using the URL request criteria. (Authorized Requestor in department should be the one placing this request)
Fourth-level domain requests: (ie: REQUEST.fas.harvard.edu) or custom domains (ie: REQUEST.harvard.edu) should be submitted to FAS Communications for approval. Please consider the following guidelines when proposing a new URL:
- Avoid broad terminology or language. Be specific with your request, and avoid language that infers a broader University or FAS meaning.
- If possible, modify your URL request to a fifth-level domain request to associate your website with your home department, center, or unit.
- Use existing resources where possible. Check if your request warrants a new domain and website or if your request can be folded into an existing domain.
Please use the following FAS domain request form to submit a request. Approved requests should be submitted to HUIT via a helpdesk ticket with the department or FAS Communications approval attached. Requests sent to HUIT without approval will be sent to FAS Communications to start the approval process.
Third-level domain requests: Any third-level domain requests such as Request.Harvard.edu should be submitted directly to Trademark. Please use the following form to submit a request.
OpenScholar Transition
Harvard is transitioning away from the OpenScholar web platform, and all Harvard OpenScholar websites will need to move to a new platform by November 2025.
IT at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Search for IT resources and help articles across FAS IT providers’ websites.
