Subdomain Policy and Procedure for Requesting Subdomains

The purpose of this document is to provide questions that will help determine whether a site belongs in umdearborn.edu or in a different area. When Web Services is contacted regarding a new site, the following information should guide a conversation about your project and lead to a recommendation.
The Web Services team at UM-Dearborn is a central team serving all of campus, but we are a small team with limited resources. Our main focus is to support all aspects of the main campus website, and unfortunately we cannot provide custom support and solutions for every campus web need.  However, we want to provide standard, sustainable solutions to other web needs whenever possible in conjunction with our campus partners.

Web Services offers guidance and assistance to our campus community in finding the right web presence for their needs. Recommendations will typically be one or more of the following offerings:

1. UM-Dearborn Drupal (i.e., content as part of our main university’s website). 
2. UM-Dearborn Drupal siteroot (i.e., content as part of our main university’s website but on its own “branch,” like College of Business)
3. Google Sites (non-branded)
4. Blogger as part of U-M Google (e.g., the Deans’ blogs)
5. Hosting on UM-Dearborn without use of the domain name umdearborn.edu (e.g., a university-related, separate initiative, like michigandifferencemakers.com)
6. Hosting on UM-Dearborn on a different supported platform with use of the domain name umdearborn.edu (e.g., a website supporting specific faculty research, like research.umdearborn.edu/urise). These would also be subject to ITS governance.
7. Hosting off UM-Dearborn without use of the domain name umdearborn.edu (e.g., a website for a student project)
8. Social media (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, etc.)
9. VictorsLink
10. Canvas
11. Course Catalog

Sites in Options 3-6 are subject to review, approval, and semesterly renewal. Sites in Option 5 fall under the governance of ITS.

The existence of a website and/or application does not guarantee its approval and inclusion in UM-Dearborn’s ecosystem. Web Services should be contacted early in the process.

U-M ITS offers several web hosting services options.

All sites on umdearborn.edu or a subdomain must meet WCAG AA standards for accessibility.

University of Michigan-Dearborn’s official domain name is umdearborn.edu. The umdearborn.edu domain name should be used on all University communications and promotions.
umd.umich.edu is the former domain name of the university that is still utilized for certain systems. This domain name should only be used in reference to those systems, if still applicable. This address should not be published externally. It is for internal use only.
 

Subdomains are domains that are part of larger domains, for example, athletics.umdearborn.edu. Subdomains are practical in that they serve as an address for the website. They also have marketing and communications benefits in that they are memorable.

UM-Dearborn allows the creation of subdomains in certain categories and in certain cases, detailed below.

Guidelines and Process for Requesting Subdomain Names

1. Subdomains are not created for parts of the main UM-Dearborn website (on the Drupal CMS). All website addresses are umdearborn.edu/college or unit name
2. The software or product for which the subdomain is requested must be recognized and approved by Information Technology Services before a subdomain is created. Contact Carrie Shumaker. In addition, websites for which subdomains are requested must be recognized and approved by External Relations and ITS. Contact Bailey Ayers-Korpal.
3. Created subdomains adhere to the conventions established by External Relations and ITS. In most cases, subdomains will follow a categorical naming convention:
   For example:
   • Research labs will use labs.umdearborn.edu/[labname]
   • Software services will use services.umdearborn.edu/[servicename]
   • Organizations and groups will use groups.umdearborn.edu/[groupname]
4. Enterprise-level, university-wide software products, services and websites that serve both internal and external audiences outside of the main UM-Dearborn website may use [subdomain].umdearborn.edu. For example, products, services or websites related to CRM.
    

Subdomain Renewal

Subdomains will be renewed yearly to determine visits and activity. If sites are not kept up-to-date, there is no activity or if there is no longer an “owner” for the site and its content, the site will be deleted.

Example Cases

“I want a subdomain created for Financial Aid’s webpages on umdearborn.edu.”
- This subdomain would not be approved. The UM-Dearborn website on Drupal does not use subdomains.

“I want a subdomain for my research lab’s website.”
- This subdomain would likely be approved. The website would need to be recognized and approved by both ITS and External Relations. The subdomain name would be labs.umdearborn.edu/[labname] and subject to yearly renewal.

“I want a subdomain for my enterprise-level, university-wide, ITS-approved software or service.”
- This subdomain would be approved. The subdomain name would be [subdomain].umdearborn.edu and subject to yearly renewal.

“I want a subdomain or redirect from umdearborn.edu to my website created without ITS/External Relations’ knowledge and consent.”
- This subdomain would not be approved. The website would need to be recognized and approved by ITS and External Relations prior to subdomain creation. Redirects from umdearborn.edu to external sites are never permitted.

“I want a subdomain for my software product purchased or created without ITS’ knowledge and consent.”
- This subdomain would not be approved. The software would need to be recognized and approved by ITS prior to subdomain creation.

“I have a website/product approved by the university, ITS and External Relations. Can I have a subdomain or redirect?”
- This subdomain would be approved, but redirects from umdearborn.edu to external sites are never permitted.

*Note: University-sponsored student organizations can have a logo and theme, but Web Services doesn't currently have the capability to support a CMS template for these organizations.

Policy owned by: Information Technology Services and Web Services 
Last reviewed date: 12/17/2024
Last updated date: 12/17/2024
Next review date: 7/1/2026