IB external links policy and acceptance criteria

Policy

Links from IB site to external sites

1. The IB reserves the right to accept or decline requests to link, and the decision of the IB is final.

2. The IB may remove a link at any time, without prior notice to the site owner.

3. The acceptance criteria (see below) are applied to each external link.

4. The owner of the external site is responsible for ensuring that the site content is accurate and up to date.

5. Links are regularly reviewed for relevance, suitability and currency. Although every care is taken to ensure that links are functioning, the IB cannot always guarantee that links will work.

6. External links open in a new browser window.

7. Although every care is taken to ensure that links are suitable and current, the IB is not responsible for the content of external sites linked to. Links do not constitute any endorsement, and none should be inferred.

8. Where an external site links to other sites, the appropriateness of these links is not evaluated.

9. Anyone with a concern about the suitability of an external link should contact communications@ibo.org.

Links from external sites to IB site

1. The IB welcomes links from other sites where the links help to better communicate information about the IB to appropriate audiences.

2. External sites are not permitted to use the IB corporate logo, only a text link. We encourage sites to the use the words “International Baccalaureate” in the link if possible. IB World Schools (schools authorized to offer IB programmes) may use the IB World School logo.

3. URLs and content on the IB website may change at any time. Owners of external sites are responsible for ensuring that the link from their site is still relevant and current for their purpose.

4. External site owners shall not present IB content as their own, or otherwise misrepresent IB content. Furthermore, they shall not misinform users about the origin or ownership of IB content.

Acceptance criteria

External websites are checked against the following criteria before a link is made from the IB public website. Every link request will be measured against these criteria.

Content

External site content must be:

1. relevant to the IB web page on which the link is placed

2. established, respected, dependable

3. well organized and user-friendly

4. correct and current, or displaying a date of last revision

5. appropriate to the needs and interests of IB stakeholder groups.

Unsuitable link

1. We do not usually link to websites that charge for access.

2. We never accept cash, services, or any other offering in kind for placing a link unless the link is required as part of a formal contractual arrangement with the IB.

Ownership

1. Ownership of the external site must be immediately evident on the page linked to.

September 2005