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Communication Requests

1. Become familiar with the criteria in the accordion below.
2. Complete the online form, it will be routed to the appropriate platform editor for consideration.

Email Requests

1. Please allow two working days for UCM to obtain approval of the message distribution from the respective executive officer or dean.
2. Once your request has been approved, UCM will prepare the message for dissemination to the requested population(s) and send you a test email to review and approve.
3. If you request that your message be sent to a ‘subset’ of a target population, a data extract will need prepared based on your listed parameters. As a result, allow for an additional two days for UCM to secure the list.

FlashLine Requests

1. Please allow two working days for UCM to post your message and/or to route a FlashLine banner/hero image request to the appropriate team for consideration.
2. For a FlashLine notification to a ‘subset’ of a target population, a data extract will need prepared based on your listed parameters. As a result, allow for an additional two days for UCM to secure the list from the appropriate department.

If your request meets the designated criteria, it will be approved. Here are the instructions for submitting your targeted announcement request.

Email or FlashLine Notification?

For the instances when an email or a FlashLine notification is the preferred outlet, consider:

• An email must meet email criteria and be approved by the Vice President of the requesting area.
• In FlashLine, options include:
  • A notification within the university's portal behind the red bell
  • Banner / hero image on an audience-specific view or the home page for all university community members.

In each instance, the message can be distributed to everyone in the university community or a subset of individuals within the university community.

Email Criteria

Email requests should be submitted at least 48 hours in advance. A request for an email must be one of these criteria:

• Campus-wide critical notification, such as campus closings or presidential announcements
• Important campus deadline or other time-sensitive information for students related to payments and registration dates
• Important changes in student services
• Announcement of official policies or changes in policy
• Announcement from governance groups (USS/Faculty Senate/GSS)

If your request does not meet one of the criteria, it will be posted as a FlashLine Notification. 

To provide scenarios that will help you determine the most appropriate communication vehicle for your information, examples of acceptable and unacceptable email requests appear below.

For email requests, please be aware that:

Approval from the requesting area's vice president or dean must be provided and/or UCM will contact the respective individual for approval. In some instances, approval may also be requested from the vice president or deans of the identified recipients. 

Student organization requests must first be submitted to the organization's advisor.

Additional approvals by the Office of the University Registrar may be necessary in cases where the university must ensure compliance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which is the federal mandate that protects the privacy of student education records and outlines the process for each university to define student directory information. Again, UCM will work to obtain this approval.

Examples of the approval process are:

• If you are emailing a group of students within your college, the request must be approved by the dean of the college and the Office of the University Registrar.
• If you are emailing students from multiple colleges, your request must be approved by the provost and the Office of the University Registrar.

*Reminder: If your request does not meet one of the designated criteria, it will be channeled to another outlet for dissemination. UCM will notify the requestor if an alternative outlet is identified as the appropriate medium.

University Communications and Marketing (UCM) Email Administrators

The role of this unit is to provide a preliminary review of requests, make an initial decision about the most appropriate communication vehicle and, eventually, prepare and release the information in the agreed upon manner.

Upon receipt, UCM will review a request to ensure it meets criteria.

If appropriate for distribution of an email, UCM will:

• Forward to respective EO (and Office of the University Registrar at registrar@kent.edu if students will receive the communication).
• Await approval by both the approving EO and Office of the University Registrar.
• Upon receipt of approval, prepare the information for release.

If inappropriate, UCM will send a test message to the requestor for review and approval and, thereafter, disseminate the information. Tip: Test all links in your message.

Roles of the approvers may vary. Please find your role below.

Executive Officers (EOs) and Deans

The role of these individuals is to ensure appropriate, consistent use of emails to prevent overuse of this communication vehicle.

1. EOs will receive an email from a UCM designee with a subject line that includes "Dated Request: SUBMISSION communication request."
2. Review for appropriateness.
   • If you approve the request, forward the email attachment to flashlineta@kent.edu.
   • If you decline the request or require content modifications, please notify the requestor.

Office of the University Registrar

The role of this unit is to review the content to verify that the request does not infringe upon FERPA and/or university policies.

If a data extract is necessary:

1. Conduct FERPA review of content.
2. If appropriate, prepare extract.
3. FTP extract data to designated directory.
4. Email approval to flashlineta@kent.edu so University Communications and Marketing can prepare the material.

If a data extract is not necessary:

1. Conduct FERPA review of content.
2. Send approval or decline comments to flashlineta@kent.edu so University Communications and Marketing can prepare the material.