Policy on Co-Branding on Websites

Updated April 14, 2025

This policy provide guidance to:

• Business owners of Tufts University websites across schools, centers, institutes, and departments who seek to link to third-party websites to ensure there is no unintentionally implied endorsement of the other party’s products or services.
• Third-party websites on approved use of the Tufts name and/or logo and/or links to Tufts University websites to ensure the implied affiliation is accurate and that the relationship is clearly understandable.

Scope

This policy encompasses all official Tufts University websites including university-wide and school-specific organizational sites that includes third-party logos or links and third-party websites that seek to communicate a relationship with Tufts University, including but not limited to schools, divisions, centers, institutes, offices, faculty labs, and student organizations.

Definitions

A “co-branded” site is a website that is jointly controlled by and/or includes the logos of both Tufts and a third party.

Co-branding on websites must be pre-approved by the University Counsel’s Office and be the subject of a written agreement confirming that Tufts will have approval over material posted on the site.

Policy Statement

Generally, Tufts does not permit links to third-party websites on official Tufts University sites, since this implies an endorsement of the other party’s products or services and could be potentially damaging to Tufts’ tax-exempt status, reputation and brand.

The following links to third-party websites are permitted under these guidelines:

• Social media, e.g. Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
• Scholarly journals in which a faculty member is published.
• Media outlets that reference Tufts in a news article
• Affinity program partners and event sponsors, with prior permission.
• Site that is being used to provide services (including, but not limited to, student/alumni career services, library databases, online registration and giving) to members of the Tufts community.
• Faculty or staff website to a bookseller site (e.g. barnesandnoble.com or amazon.com) to allow purchase of published works.

The following language must accompany all links to sites outside the Tufts.edu domain:

“This site or any product or service provided by the site is not affiliated with or endorsed by Tufts University.”

Many faculty or department sites hosted by Tufts contain links to non–profit organizations with which the faculty member is affiliated.  If a site contains such links, all links should also contain a general disclaimer that the links contained on the site, and the opinions or views expressed in any linked site, are not endorsed by Tufts University.

In addition, Tufts does not permit any language on our official sites that endorses, promotes or advertises products or services of a for-profit business or entity.

Any other exception to these guidelines will be made only if the link promotes the interests or the mission of the university, at the university’s sole discretion.

Questions? Please email nameuse@tufts.edu.