Policy on University Communications

Explore

Policy Category: Executive

Effective Date: 9/13/2023

Responsible Officer: Associate Vice President of Marketing and Communications

History: New Policy

Responsible Office: Marketing and Communications

Location: Link

Purpose

This policy is intended to provide guidance to Wentworth Institute of Technology’s (the university) community for all external and internal communications.

Scope/Availability

This policy applies to all faculty, staff, temporary employees, and contractors associated with the university.

Legal

n/a

Policy

The information and documents associated with this policy are intended to maintain consistency, professionalism, and adherence to university standards.

All employees are required to make themselves aware of and read the guidelines and best practices documents provided by Marketing and Communications (MarCom) in the areas of branding, writing style, video and photo guidelines, social media, internal communications, crisis communications, talking with the media, and AI-related guidelines.

Employees are strongly encouraged to follow MarCom guidelines in these documents in order to maintain consistency, enhance the university's image, and uphold Wentworth’s mission and values.

Definitions

  • Branding Guidelines: These guidelines define the visual identity, logo usage, color palette, typography, and other elements that represent Wentworth. They aim to establish a consistent and recognizable brand image across all communications.
  • Writing Style Guidelines: These guidelines outline the preferred tone, style, and grammar conventions to be used in various communications including official emails, reports, presentations, publications, and other university-related content.
  • Video and Photo Guidelines: These guidelines provide recommendations for producing high-quality videos and photos that align with the university's standards. They cover aspects such as composition, lighting, sound, and editing techniques.
  • Social Media Guidelines: These guidelines offer recommendations for maintaining a professional and appropriate online presence on social media platforms when representing Wentworth. They outline expectations for content, engagement, privacy, and responsible use.
  • Internal Communications Guidelines: These guidelines pertain to The W newsletter, internal emails, organizational announcements, digital signage, and Intranet usage. They provide recommendations for effective and consistent internal communication channels, ensuring that employees appropriately share and receive relevant and timely information.
  • Crisis Communications Guidelines: These guidelines outline the protocols and best practices for communicating effectively during times of crisis or emergency situations. They provide guidance on the appropriate channels, messaging and/or abstaining from messaging, and coordination required to address crisis-related communication needs.
  • Media Interactions Best Practices: These best practices provide guidance for employees who interact with the media on behalf of Wentworth. It offers recommendations for interviews, press releases, statements, and other media-related communications.
  • AI-Related Guidelines: These guidelines offer recommendations for the ethical and responsible use of artificial intelligence technologies for the purposes of official university communications. They address privacy concerns, sensitive information being shared, transparency, bias mitigation, and other considerations related to AI applications.

Procedure(s)

General Requirements

All faculty and staff are strongly encouraged to follow the Guidelines referenced in this document. Any questions about these guidelines shall be referred to MarCom.

Media Interactions

  1. Before agreeing to participate in a media interview or engaging directly with media, faculty and staff must contact MarCom to review such requests.
  2. Media access to the campus is strictly prohibited unless prior permission was granted by university.
  3. Media who disrupt the normal business operations of the university may be asked to leave campus.

Crisis Communications

  1. During a time of an emergency all communications must follow the plan as specified in the Emergency Management Plan

Sanctions

  1. Failure to comply with this policy may result in corrective action, which may include further training, counseling, or other appropriate measures.

Additional Information & Related Documents

All documentation, including guidelines and procedures related to MarCom initiatives, lives on the online brand portal.

Interpretation & Revision

Any questions of interpretation regarding this policy shall be referred to Marketing and Communications. They will be the final authority regarding the interpretation of this Policy.

This policy shall be reviewed every 3 years, however minor changes and updates can be made at any time.

In instances where two or more policies are implicated, a case-by-case determination will be made to determine what policy will be used.

Review and Revision History

This policy was drafted by representatives from Marketing and Communications. This policy was reviewed by Cabinet approved by the President on 9/13/2023.

This is a new policy.