Service Summary and Scope
The SUpal Platform, powered by Drupal 11, is a supported web content management environment created by the Division of Marketing for Syracuse University’s flagship website, Syracuse.edu. It is available for use by websites that fall under the following categories:
- Schools and Colleges
- Research Programs and Initiatives
- University Centers and Institutes
- Individual Faculty Websites (for professional, research, and teaching-related content only)
- Research Laboratories (Labs)
PLEASE NOTE: This platform is not intended for the hosting of personal websites, student organization websites, or course-specific content.
Data Management and Backups
Website integrity is ensured through a rigorous backup schedule. This ensures the restorability of a website’s data and functionality in case of a catastrophic failure, breach or human error.
Frequency Retention Period
Daily Backups 7 days
Weekly Backups 4 weeks
Monthly Backups 12 months
Yearly Backups 3 years
Restoration Policy: Should you need to revert your website to a previous date, we can restore the entire database and files from a recent nightly backup.
Code, Hosting, and Platform Integrity
Marketing Web Development maintains responsibility for the underlying platform architecture, hosting, performance, and all source code.
Access Restriction: To maintain the security, stability, and integrity of the platform, direct access to Drupal core files, contributed modules and components, and other 'root' level code is strictly prohibited. This ensures the environment remains consistent and securely managed for all users.
Content and Prohibited Uses
Website owners are solely responsible for the content published on their SUpal sites, including adherence to all university policies concerning:
- Accuracy and Quality: Ensuring all information is current and correct.
- Copyright and Trademarks: Verifying that all media and text respect intellectual property laws and University licensing policies.
- Digital Accessibility: Guaranteeing the content meets the University’s digital accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1 AA) to ensure usability for all visitors.
Prohibited Internal Uses: The SUpal platform is designed for public-facing institutional websites. It is explicitly not intended for use as internal intranets, private workspaces, secure document repositories, or internal collaboration hubs. Please refer to the other University supported options (e.g., SharePoint) for these purposes.
Technical Specifications
Browser Support
The platform is actively supported to ensure full functionality and compatibility across all modern, up-to-date web browsers.
Themes and Starter Kits
The specific design differences between SUpal themes and starter kits (e.g., the Lab Starter Kit vs. the Department Starter Kit) are intentionally implemented to reinforce institutional branding and hierarchy. Therefore, using a theme or starter kit for a designation other than its intended purpose is strictly prohibited to ensure brand consistency across the University digital landscape.
Uptime and Performance
We are committed to maintaining 24x7 system availability. In the event of system instability (e.g., white screens, prolonged page load times exceeding 10 seconds), we will make a good-faith effort to restore the system to operational status as quickly as possible.
Domain Names (URLs)
Domain Name Restrictions: Our managed Drupal environment is designed exclusively for building and hosting SUpal websites.
External Domains: We do not support outside top-level domain names (such as custom .com, .org, or .net addresses).
Redirect Services: This environment is not intended to be a redirect service. If the primary URL for your SUpal site is configured only to redirect visitors to an external, third-party website, we reserve the right to remove the SUpal site from our hosting environment.
Third-Level Domains: Requests for specific third-level domain names (e.g., [name].syr.edu) must adhere to the Domain Name Policy.
Website Management and Removal
Annual Review Process
To maintain an active and necessary digital portfolio, if no login activity is recorded by a Content Author (or a role with equivalent or higher editing permissions) within a year, we will email the designated owner to confirm whether the website should remain active.
Removal of Websites
We reserve the right to immediately remove your website if any of the following conditions are met:
- The content violates the University's Information Security Policy.
- The content violates the University's Copyright Policy.
- The content violates the University's Digital Accessibility Policy.
- The content violates the University's Trademark and Licensing Policies.
- The content violates the University's overarching Rights, Rules, and Responsibilities.
- The website remains inactive (no administrative edits or logins) for one (1) year.
- The designated website owner leaves University employment, and a replacement owner is not formally identified and assigned within 90 days.
Support
Support for all SUpal websites is provided exclusively during University business hours.