Guidelines and Procedures

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.

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:

Sample Project Lead Times:

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.

• UD Brand Style Guide
• UD Editorial Style Guide
• UD Logos
• UD Fonts (OCM Request Form)
• UD Digital Standards

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 guidelines, it will not be placed on the digital screens.

For more information, see the Student Centers' Digital Signage Procedures, 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:

• Step 1: Please use this Google calendar to view the open appointments as of today.
• Step 2: When you are ready to schedule, please make sure to submit a photo shoot request webform, using the date and time you selected in Step 1.

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.

• Student requests must be submitted through the Student Journalist Interview Request form.

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.