Links to UT Southwestern Medical Center
Advanced permission to link to UT Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern)’s Web site(s) is not necessary. However, pages within these sites may change at any time without notice. Links to UT Southwestern should be continuously checked. 

Entities and individuals linking to UT Southwestern shall not capture our pages within frames, present UT Southwestern content as its own or otherwise misrepresent UT Southwestern content. Furthermore, they shall not misinform users about the origin or ownership of UT Southwestern content. Certain information on our site(s) may be trademarked, service-marked or otherwise protected as intellectual property. Protected intellectual property must be used in accordance with state and federal laws and reflect the proper ownership of the intellectual property.

Any link to a UT Southwestern site(s) should be a full forward link that passes the client browser to site(s) unencumbered. The "Back" button should return the visitor to original site if the visitor wishes to back out.

Links from UT Southwestern
This section outlines the criteria and requirements that external Web sites must meet to have a link from our Web site(s). It also details how links are accepted and removed from the UT Southwestern Web sites(s). We reserve the right to link to external Web site(s) that provide a service or are otherwise of value to our users. 

1. Acceptance Criteria
Our Web site(s) have links to federal, state and local governments that provide information and services benefiting users. We will, at our discretion, consider link requests to non-governmental Web site(s) containing information and/or services that further the purpose of UT Southwestern, including sites of UT Southwestern-contracted vendors, relevant technology-related associations and timely and relevant information technology publications.

Our Web site(s) are not forums for public communication and debate. The criteria outlined in this section have been established to ensure our Web site(s) remains a non-public forum.

Each link request we received must undergo review to determine its relevance and appropriateness to the purpose of UT Southwestern. Approval is based on the following criteria: 

• The external Web site corresponds with the purpose of UT Southwestern.
• The Web site's content is appropriate with respect to the purpose of UT Southwestern
• The Web site does not:
  • exhibit hate, bias, discrimination, pornography, libelous or otherwise defamatory content;
  • advocate or promote the use of alcohol or tobacco;
  • belong to or support a political affiliation; or
  • further the agenda of a political organization or candidate running for office.

UT Southwestern reserves the right to deny links we determine a Web site contains misleading or unsubstantiated claims, conflicts with the purpose of UT Southwestern or does not meet one or more of the criteria out in this policy.

2. Review Process

• E-mail link requests the UT Southwestern Webmaster, placing “Link Request” in the subject line. Each link request should address how the site meets the two acceptance criteria outlined above.
• The link request will be reviewed against the acceptance criteria set forth above. The decision of the UT Southwestern General Counsel is final as to whether the requesting site may have a link from our Web site(s).
• Approved sites must comply with the following conditions for link maintenance and may be required to enter into a written linking agreement with UT Southwestern.

3. Conditions for Link Maintenance on UT Southwestern
To provide superior customer service our Web site(s), we require any Web site(s) with a link from our site meet the following conditions to maintain that link:

• The linked site must provide the user with access to an e-mail address and/or a customer service telephone number to contact if there are problems with format, accuracy, timeliness or payment processing.
• Linked sites should not excessively burden the UT Southwestern customer support system or the link will be removed.
• Users must have easy access back to UT Southwestern Web site(s) one of two ways: 
  • a link to UT Southwestern Web site(s) established on the external Web site's main page; or
  • a "Back" button returning the user to the UT Southwestern Web site(s).

Linked sites must have a privacy and security policy accessible from the home page informing the user of what personal information is collected, how it is collected and how it is used. UT Southwestern encourages linked sites to comply with industry-accepted accessibility standards to ensure users with disabilities may access these sites.

Linked sites must notify UT Southwestern Webmaster if the site becomes inaccurate or inactive.

4. Removal Process
UT Southwestern reserves the right to remove links if it determines Web site contains misleading or unsubstantiated claims, conflicts with the purpose of UT Southwestern, or does not meet one or more of the criteria set forth above in this policy. The decision of the UT Southwestern General Counsel is final as to whether a link is to be removed. Links will be reviewed regularly and may be removed for the following reasons:

• The link no longer points to the original information or resource to which it was intended to point.
• The linked Web site contains inaccurate or misleading information or has changed such that it is no longer in compliance with the acceptance criteria.
• The linked Web site violates the conditions for link maintenance.
• Access to the information has become difficult due to non-standard formatting, lengthy download times or intrusive advertising.
• The link is permanently unreachable or remains unavailable for a lengthy period.
• The external Web site fails to comply with the written linking agreement, if any.

Contact Information
For questions and concerns regarding the linking policy, e-mail the UT Southwestern Webmaster.