General Policies

Memorial Hall at dusk

General Student Life Communications Policies

Thank you for your interest in partnering with the Student Life Communications and Marketing Team. We are excited to use our expertise to showcase all of the fun and impactful experiences provided to students through the Division of Student Life.

On these pages, you will find useful information about our policies and the best ways to reach students. We are a proud part of the University of Delaware and desire alignment with the University and the Student Life brand.

The members of our team and project request form, along with other helpful information can be found on the main Student Life Communications page. Please do not hesitate to reach out with questions, concerns or ideas. Thank you!

- Student Life Communications and Marketing Team (SL Comm)

Request a Communications project

Importance of the University of Delaware Brand and Student Life Identity

It is not of the utmost importance that students be able to name all of the units within the Division of Student Life, but it is important that we have a strong Divisional identity and adhere to the UD brand.

One unified voice is always going to be stronger than multiple voices pushing their own work or resources, thus competing with themselves for the same audience.

We seek to elevate the work of Student Life through providing a louder, stronger unified message that promotes all of the work of the Division in a strategic, coordinated and purposeful fashion.

Being a part of a whole—of the Division, of the University—will make it possible for us to stop competing against ourselves for the attention of our student body and drive their attention in the direction that we desire, thus being able to better promote the work of each unit and break through the “noise” and better reach our student audience.

Project Submission Workflow

When you submit our project request form, you start the process of collaborating with the SL Comm to complete your project.

We ask that all requests large and small be submitted through the form for efficiency and tracking purposes.

Unsure where to start? Request “Project Discovery” and our project coordinator will schedule a time to meet to discuss your needs, gather additional details and determine a timeline and projected costs.

View the full workflow

Once a request is initiated through the form, it proceeds through the following workflow:

  1. The form automatically creates a project on the SL Comm dashboard in Asana.
  2. Type of project:
    1. If multi-team project, time will be scheduled to meet with the SL Comm team to discuss the details of the request. Notes from meeting will be stored in Asana task.
    2. If complex one team project, time will be scheduled to meet with the members of that particular team to discuss details of request. Notes from meeting will be stored in Asana task.
    3. If fast-track request, such as web edits or updating previous existing graphic, no meeting will be scheduled unless specifically requested.
  3. Our Project Coordinator will create subtasks and assign them to the appropriate areas of the SL Comm team and create a timeline for deliverables.
  4. Members of SL Comm will review and complete tasks and communicate within Asana for feedback, questions and final approval.
  5. Members of SL Comm may feel the project is appropriate for a member of the Egg Student Marketing Agency to fulfill, in which case the task will be assigned to the student intern.
    1. The student intern will submit deliverables to SL Comm supervisor for review before sharing with client.
    2. Student intern will make any needed adjustments.
    3. SL Comm member assigned to the task will share with the client and act as a liaison for any additional feedback and updates.
  6. If you have questions or would like an update on your project please reach out to our Project Coordinator at bhazell@udel.edu.
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Lead Times

SL Comms is committed to doing our best to meet requested deadlines, however we cannot honor requested deadlines if we do not have complete or accurate information during the agreed upon timeline and/or if we are not given enough lead time for the project. The SL Comms Project Coordinator will reach out to you if a submitted request is incomplete and/or the requested deadline cannot be met for any reason.

Annual Event Lead Times:

Annual Event Event Date Submit Requests by
Summer NSO June–July Early March
RA Fair August Early June
Fall opening (Move-in, Welcome Days, Welcome messages) September Mid June
I Heart UD Day May Late March
Spring NSO and Welcome Days February Mid November

 

Sample Project Lead Times:

Project Type Lead Time
Multi-page print material 4–6 weeks (including printing)
Multi-page digital designs and multimedia campaigns 2–4 weeks
Single-page print or digital materials 2–10 days
Web edits or web content updates 1–2 days
New web pages or page redesigns 2 weeks
Website redesign Project specific
Photography and videography Project specific
Storytelling/featured stories (initial draft) 2–4 weeks
Social media posts 1–3 weeks
Newsletter inclusion 1 week prior
Environmental branding projects Expect longer lead times as time depends on project complexity

Accessibility

Accessibility is of the utmost importance to the University and the Division. SL Comm works hard to ensure all of our materials are accessible and meet University standards. This includes, but is not limited to alt text on digital images and color contrast on web pages and creative elements, etc. Learn more about the University’s accessibility policies.

Asana

SL Comm uses Asana as our project management platform. If you would like access to Asana please reach out to our project coordinator, BreAshia Hazell at bhazell@udel.edu.

Bit.ly Links and QR Codes

For tracking purposes the SL Comm team will use Bit.ly links and QR codes. Please do not create your own Bit.ly links or QR codes.

If either of those elements is necessary for tracking purposes in campaigns, the SL Comm will create those for your project from our central account. This will allow for better tracking of metrics and benchmarking of campaigns.

Please also note that QR codes are for print campaigns only and should not be used for digital campaigns.

Brand Adherence

The most effective way we can realize our goals is to communicate through one voice and one cohesive institutional brand. By doing so we showcase our amazing activities and achievements happening throughout the University.

UD’s Office of Communications & Marketin (OCM) maintains style guidelines to help all those working at and with UD to be the best stewards of its image, reputation and story throughout the world. Be sure to check these links often, as changes are made frequently.

Please note that the University brand standards are periodically updated by OCM which may result in the introduction of new elements and/or the retirement of legacy elements. While we will do our best to protect the identity of both the University and SL, we can not guarantee that historically approved design elements will continue to be approved.

UD Branded Presentations

UD branded templates for presentations can be found on OCM's website.

Crisis Communication and World Events

The Division will not make any public statements without institutional approval.

The Director of Communication, Student Life will coordinate with OCM to find out what messaging the President and institution are going to release.

In most cases the Division will amplify and mirror the official University statement.

If additional information needs to be shared or the message needs to be reinforced for our student audience, the details of that communication will be handled by the SL Comm team with approval from OCM.

Digital Signage

Appspace is the supported digital signage Content Management System. We share the license cost with other departments across campus. License fees are charged to each department per device.

If you are interested in implementing digital signage for your area or adding additional displays, please reach out to the Web and UX team. We can provide information on software pricing, and assist with the coordination of purchase, installation and training.

Graphic design requests for digital ads must be submitted through the Comm Team Project Request Form.

Advertising in the Student Centers

Requests for digital ad space in the Student Centers must be submitted through the digital ad request form (fees apply!).

If a digital ad design does not meet the requirements established in the policies, it will not be placed on the digital screens.

For more information, see the Student Centers' Digital Signage Policy, Pricing and Locations.

Email Signatures

Email signatures should follow the University guidelines and can be generated through the UD Email Signature Generator.

Event Promotion

We do our best to look for events that appeal to UD students in multiple places, however the most efficient way for your event to receive attention is to submit it through the project request form to be featured in the appropriate newsletters.

Please be sure that when events are submitted the information is complete as possible (i.e., it is already submitted to Student Central or Localist and details for obtaining tickets or RSVPing are available).

All events must be added to the main UD events calendar. For assistance, please contact Stephanie Clatworthy at sclat@udel.edu.

Headshots

Headshots for professional staff within the Division of Student Life are handled through OCM. Individual headshots cost $25 and can be scheduled through the steps below:

If headshots are needed for three or more staff members, then a request must be made through OCM’s photo request form to better coordinate the photographer and staff scheduling.

Interview Requests

Requests to be interviewed must be approved by the Media Relations Team in OCM.

For non-student requests, email media-relations@udel.edu.

Name Badges

Name badges should be ordered by the department or unit, through University Printing.

Format should be as follows:

  1. Full Name, Credentials (pronouns)
  2. Title
  3. Department/Unit name
  4. Division of Student Life
  5. University of Delaware

Paying for Purchases / Purpose Code Requests

The party requesting services will be expected to provide a purpose code and pay for any costs associated with output of the requested project (i.e., costs of printing posters or wall clings, fees for hanging window clings, etc.).

SL Comm will do our best to provide a cost estimate at the beginning of the project. Please note that items such as wall clings and banners have a significant cost associated with them and will need to be budgeted for accordingly. If you are unsure of what to expect for the cost associated with your requests, please note that in the project request form and SL Comm is happy to provide an advanced quote.