Site Policies

Except as noted, the information below applies to University of Massachusetts Amherst Web sites, consisting of designated Web pages or publications of the university, its schools, colleges, departments, administrative offices, divisions, certain registered student organizations, and other units, as well as to the campus home page, or Gateway, at www.umass.edu.

You may also find within the University of Massachusetts domain— signified by the address "umass.edu"—personal Web pages or publications created and maintained by university faculty, staff, students, student organizations and others for which neither the University of Massachusetts nor the Amherst campus is responsible for the content and administration. These pages and their content, including but not limited to factual statements and opinions, are the sole responsibility of their creators and do not represent, explicitly or implicitly, positions, policies or opinions of UMass Amherst. Although the university encourages compliance with all policies and practices at such Web sites, the university serves only as a provider of Internet-related services in these cases.

Copyright and Acceptable Use

All text, images, logos and information contained on UMass Amherst Web sites that is the intellectual property of UMass Amherst gives the owner exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, perform, display, or license a given work. Whether or not a Web site includes a statement about copyright, the U.S. copyright act provides protection for such works, and they may not be used or reproduced without permission.

It is the responsibility of all parties storing materials on Web sites with UMass Amherst umass.edu domain addresses to ensure that such material does not violate other parties' proprietary rights and does not otherwise violate law or applicable University policy. UMass Amherst reserves the right to delete or make inaccessible files that contain material that is in violation of law or of applicable campus or University policy.

UMass Amherst is not responsible for any errors in the material provided on the Web and shall not be liable for any damages of any kind arising from the use of any material found any UMass Amherst sites or on any other sites with umass.edu domain addresses.

The design, pictures, and logos used on Web sites directly managed by University Advancement Communications may not be copied and used or posted by any other person or entity, including other units/offices at the University of Massachusetts. This includes but is not limited to the University's Home Page (umass.edu), and all pages within the Gateway site, signified as those pages beginning with the Web address www.umass.edu/umhome/

Links may be directed to these pages, but images, logos, maps, may not be copied and/or posted for any reason.

Privacy Policy

UMass Amherst is committed to preserving and maintaining the privacy of visitors to its Web sites.

When you access the UMass Amherst Home Page (umass.edu), and all pages within the Gateway site, signified as those pages beginning with the Web address www.umass.edu/umhome, your visit is not tracked by individual name or any other identifiable mark.

Some computer information and automatic and optional information is collected. Automatic information includes:

  • Client information: the Internet domain and Internet address of the computer you are using.
  • Essential technical information: identification of the page or service you are requesting, type of browser and operating system you are using; and the date and time of access.

Optional information is collected only if you choose to send it. For example if you choose to complete an online form, make an online purchase, or send an e-mail. This may include:

  • The time that you sent an e-mail
  • Your name, e-mail address, and the content of your e-mail
  • All the data you choose to fill in or confirm, including credit or debit card information if you are making a payment or donation, as well as information about other people if you are ordering a gift and want it sent directly to the recipient's address.

The Development Office Privacy Policy and Donor Bill of Rights explains the specific policy regarding information collected by individuals making donations to UMass Amherst.

OIT Policies

UMass Amherst's Office of Information Techologies (OIT) establishes, monitors and enforces policies for use of university computing and information technology resources which include, but are not limited to, equipment, software, networks, data, and telephones whether owned, leased, or otherwise provided. This includes policies for:

  • Acceptable use
  • Account activation, deactivation and removal
  • Email communication
  • Netreg
  • Wireless airspace

See OIT Policies for complete details.