Faculty WordPress Service Level Agreement (SLA)

1 General Overview

This is a Service Level Agreement (SLA) between the campus community and the Information Technology Services Division (ITS) to document:

  • The Faculty WordPress service description (FWPS)
  • The general levels of response, availability, and maintenance associated with these services
  • The responsibilities of ITS as a provider of these services
  • The responsibilities of the clients receiving these services
  • Deviations from the standard processes documented in the ITS and Campus SLA

2 Service Description

2.1 Service Scope Overview

Purpose: The service provides users with a content management tool to facilitate the creation of websites.  Users create their own sites – this is not a website creation, design, or site maintenance service, although some functional support staff may choose to make exceptions and directly support end users in the development of their sites.

  • Requesting the Service
    • Account creation: accounts are created dynamically upon login with CruzID and Gold password.
    • Site creation: sites can be created by faculty, researchers, post-docs, and graduate students via a “create site” button after logging in. Multiple sites can be created.
    • Addition of additional site editors:  site owners can add users and assign appropriate roles.
    • Site launch: Website administrators can launch (make public) their site by following the launch procedures on this site.
    • New sites require no special launch activities
    • Transfer of cnames, redirects, and retirement of old sites can be requested via a form on the help site:  https://sites.ucsc.edu/launching-your-site/
    • Cost:  Free
  • Functional support
    • Functional support for graduate students, researchers, and post-docs is available via CampusPress as needed.

2.2 Eligibility

Eligible

  • UCSC faculty (active and emeriti)
  • Research staff including researchers, post-docs, etc. (active)
  • Graduate students
  • For website maintenance roles (added by the website owner)
    • Anyone with a CruzID
    • Collaborators external to UCSC (via local WordPress account)

Not Eligible to create/own websites

  • Undergraduates
  • Staff
  • Administrative units
  • Former faculty, graduate students, and academic staff   (Note: emeriti are actively associated and maintain eligibility after retirement.)

2.3 Removal of Websites

Web sites of authors who have left the university (except emeriti) may be removed. Departing site authors can export content easily using the WordPress exporter tool located in the “Tools” section of the administrative interface.  This content can be imported to another WordPress site. Abandoned websites may also be removed after a reasonable effort has been made to contact the author. Websites that have any security vulnerability will be taken down.

2.4 Service Level Performance

Performance and service metrics are managed through CampusPress. Metrics are available upon request.

2.5 ITS Responsibilities

ITS responsibilities and/or requirements in support of this Agreement include:

  • Service lifecycle management
  • ITS will post scheduled changes on the ITS Maintenance Calendar and notify all account holders of major changes or planned outages.
  • Follow the principle of least perusal, the policy for access without consent, and other specifications in the UC Electronic Communications Policy.

2.6 Customer Responsibilities

Customer responsibilities and/or requirements in support of this Agreement include:

  • Responsibility for monitoring and updating the site as needed when WordPress functionality changes
  • Removal of users who should no longer have access to the site
  • Adherence to UCSC policies, processes, and procedures regarding the use of electronic data. UCSC Policies

3. Requesting Service & Support

See the ITS and Campus SLA for standard methods of contacting ITS for service.

  • Accounts:
  • Site Creation: creating a new website is a simple function within the user’s WordPress dashboard after logging in (faculty, researchers, post-docs, and graduate students only)
  • Help and support for websites are available via CampusPress as needed.

4. Hours of Coverage, Response Times and Escalation

  • Incidents and system outages:
    • Help and support are available via CampusPress as needed, 24 hours a day/7 days a week.

5. Maintenance and Service Changes

Web Services abide by the standard maintenance and service change process whenever possible. See the ITS and Campus SLA for additional detail.

  • Faculty Web Service maintenance window: Mondays and Thursdays from 7 PM to 9 PM
  • Changes are listed on the ITS Maintenance Calendar.

6. Pricing

No cost