University Wide Notice Guidelines

• Use a standard font that is easy to read
• Make sure your message is clear and understandable for a wide audience
• Include a brief description and/or caption below any picture for a wide audience
• Limit the use of acronyms or clearly define them if necessary
• Have a specific subject line relevant to the notice
• Provide both an email address and phone number as contact information
• If using an image to relay information, you must include alternate text with the image with the same information presented in the image

Any message that does not meet the relevant criteria above will be returned and will require resubmission.

• Be sent to the University-Wide Notices email account
• Not be duplicate or "reminder" notes (see Note 1 below)
• Pertain to faculty and staff only (RSO & student events should utilize Ferris360)
• Pertain to an event held on campus or a University event
• Not contain third party advertisements, logos or links (one mention of a sponsor in text is acceptable)
• Be submitted on time (See Note 2 Below)
• Meet message format requirements
• Be relevant to a broad campus audience
• Include the following ADA statement for any and all events:
  
  • Anyone with a disability that needs special accommodations to attend this event should contact (231) 591-xxxx at least 72 hours in advance. (xxxx is the event extension for the FSU contact person.)

Note 1: Duplicate or “reminder” notices will not be sent sooner than two weeks after the initial notice unless major changes to the original note have occurred which require a new notice to be sent. Please keep in mind the date of your event when considering how early you need to send your notice to increase effectiveness.  Notices are most effective when sent the week of or the week before the event is set to take place. 

Note 2: University-Wide Notices submitted prior to 3:00 p.m. will be sent out same day.  If your message is received after 3:00 p.m., it will be sent the following day.

• Major University events scheduled with short notice
• Events that promote and enhance the FSU image
• Personnel announcements
• Lowering of the flag
• Parking lot and campus road closings

Any message sent outside of the normal daily notice must meet one the following criteria:

• Major University system outages
• DPS notification about suspicious persons or security threats
• Special notices approved by the Office of the President (e.g. President’s memorandum)
• Severe weather notifications

1. Log into the Office 365 SharePoint site for the University-Wide Notices using your email credentials by clicking on this link: https://ferrisstateuniversity.sharepoint.com/sites/UWN which will bring you to the University-Wide Notices home page.

2. Under the grey image placeholder and the University-Wide Notices heading, you will see the News title. Click the + Add button to create a new News Post.

Note: Do not use the "+ New" dropdown beneath the Ferris logo, as it does not have the same function. The "+ Add" dropdown beneath the "News" title has the correct "News post" button.

3. From this page you can edit the Title Area (Change the Layout & Background Image) and customize your News Post to your liking.

4. Name your news post. This will be the name of the posting that shows in the email digest to the students. Ensure that the name is appropriate to the post and is easily understood.

5. Click the plus icon directly under the title area box to add a new section to the post. The section options allow you to specify the layout of the content of your News Post.

6. Now click the plus icon in the middle of the new section you just created to add your desired web parts to the News Post. There are many web parts to choose from. The most popular selections will be Text and Image.

7. Select the Text web part to type in your content for your News Post. You can then edit the text with the many different text options available to enhance your News Post.

8. Select the Image web part to include an image with your News Post. You can select images from the internet, from your computer, or OneDrive to include in your News Post. You can adjust the images with the tools provided within SharePoint as needed. *Note – If you include an image, it is highly recommended that you include alternative text for the image to help individuals with screen readers understand the content of the picture. Simply click on the pencil icon to edit the image web part to change the alternative text on the right side of the screen.

9. You can add as many web parts as needed to convey your News Post to the students. It is recommended that you keep your messages short and direct, but also include images/context that is attractive to a reader.

10. Once you’ve finished creating your News Post, scroll down to the bottom if needed, and turn off the Comments option for your News Post. The University-Wide Notices owners will not be monitoring comments.

 

11. Now click the Submit for approval button at the top of the New Post to send on for approval.

12. On the next window, provide a Message about the News Post you are submitting and click Submit.

13. Your news post will now be sent to the University-Wide Notices owner for approval. Once approved, your News Post will be included in the next daily email communication. Until it is approved, it will not be shown on the University-Wide Notices site. You will receive an email if your News Post is either Approved or Denied.