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Web
Linking Policy

Standards governing how external parties may link to UT Austin websites, and how UT Austin links to third-party websites from its own domains.

EffectiveFebruary 2025
CategoryCampus IT Policies

About this policy

UT Austin aligns with the State Website Linking and Privacy Policy. This policy establishes rules for public linking to UT Austin websites and sets standards for linking to third-party websites from UT Austin domains. It applies across all UT Austin academic, research, and administrative websites operating under University domains or web addresses.

Linking to UT Austin websites

No advance permission is required to link to UT Austin pages. However, those who link to our sites must observe the following requirements.

Verify links regularly

Pages may change without notice. Entities linking to UT Austin content should verify their links remain valid and current.

No framing or misrepresentation

Framing UT Austin content or presenting it as one's own is prohibited. Content modifications cannot be misrepresented as UT Austin material.

Respect intellectual property

Trademarked or copyrighted UT Austin materials must be protected. Large-scale downloading that burdens servers constitutes misuse.

Unobstructed navigation

Links must allow unobstructed browser passage with functional back buttons. Linking entities should ensure disability accessibility compliance.

Linking from UT Austin websites

Third-party links from UT Austin websites are permitted when they advance the University's mission. Linking does not constitute endorsement of the content, viewpoint, accuracy, opinions, policies, products, services, or accessibility of external sites. UT Austin may decline to link to sites with misleading claims or conflicts with university policy.

UT Austin policies cease to apply once visitors leave the University's domain. Users should direct concerns about external sites directly to those entities.

Copying information from UT Austin websites

Reuse of UT Austin web content is subject to Federal Copyright Law and University policy. Those who reproduce UT Austin content must:

Identify the source

Include the URL and the date the content was copied when reproducing UT Austin web content.

Include a disclaimer

State clearly that UT Austin does not endorse the copied content when it is reproduced elsewhere.

Preserve attribution

Intellectual property rights must be preserved and clearly attributed in all reproduced materials.

Contact

Questions about this policy should be directed to the University Communications Standards Committee at communications-standards@utlists.utexas.edu.