This page provides guidelines and expectations for content creation, management, and oversight for marketing and branding College of the Liberal Arts websites and other promotional materials at both the college and unit levels. This page aims to ensure that all content adheres to the University’s brand standards and accurately represents Penn State and the college.
The Office of Strategic Communications provides oversight of all Liberal Arts marketing materials, including websites, social media, and other promotional materials. The primary strategic direction and support are led by the Office of Strategic Communications to achieve the following objectives:
- Alignment with our marketing strategy and brand guidelines
- A visitor-centric approach
- Accessibility
- Commitment to continuous improvement
- Centralized governance with a focus on training and brand consistency
Maintaining Accurate Lists
Any Liberal Arts faculty, staff, or student who has any type of marketing or communications responsibilities for their unit is considered to be a Liberal Arts communicator. Those responsibilities include, but are not limited to, someone who designs marketing materials, manages social media accounts, submits events to the college calendar, sends mass emails, writes stories, or updates unit websites.
Units are responsible for keeping the Office of Strategic Communications apprised on who is serving a communications role for them and/or if there are any changes to the individuals serving those roles. Should there be any changes, units should Email Shree Chauhan so she can update the communicators database and listserv and schedule an introductory meeting with the new communicator. This will help ensure we’re providing resources to the right people.
Student Communicators
Undergraduate and graduate students serving a communications role for any Liberal Arts unit are expected to follow strategic communications guidelines when creating materials for their units. Email Kathy Swidwa with any questions.
Brand Architecture
Brand architecture is a powerful tool that allows us to connect the many entities within our University and college in a clear, logical manner. We achieve this by creating a system for entities that use our mark, as shown here. These entity marks include our college, its administrative/academic units, and its centers and institutes.
Tier 1 – Penn State
The tier 1 mark is the overarching entity to which all other entities are connected.
Tier 1 Example
Tier 2 – Penn State units
The College of the Liberal Arts is considered a tier 2. Additional units are considered tier 2 in our brand hierarchy if they:
- Receive less than 75% of their funding through the College of the Liberal Arts
- Are administratively housed within the College of the Liberal Arts and another tier 2 unit or a unit outside the University.
Tier 2 units should use the Penn State mark on their marketing materials (websites, flyers, programs, etc.). Tier 2 websites are typically created by the Liberal Arts Office of Strategic Communications but may be created by another unit. Tier 2 website URLs should use the format unit.psu.edu and are the sole property of Penn State.
Tier 2 Examples
Tier 3 – Liberal Arts units
Tier 3 units are college-level units within Liberal Arts. These are the units we promote on the Schools, Departments, and Programs webpage and the Centers and Institutes webpage of our college website. Units are considered tier 3 in our brand hierarchy if they:
- Receive at least 75% of their funding through the College of the Liberal Arts
- Are administratively housed within the College of the Liberal Arts
Tier 3 units should use the Liberal Arts mark on their marketing materials (websites, flyers, programs, etc.), and those materials should be reviewed by the Liberal Arts Office of Strategic Communications. Tier 3 websites are created by the Liberal Arts Office of Strategic Communications, and tier 3 URLs should use the format unit.la.psu.edu and are the sole property of Penn State and the College of the Liberal Arts.
Tier 3 Example
Tier 4 – Units within Liberal Arts units
Tier 4 units are those housed within college-level units. This includes many centers, labs, and interdepartmental programs.
Tier 4 units should use the Liberal Arts mark on their marketing materials (websites, flyers, programs, etc.) but are not required to also use the tier 3 mark for the unit in which they are housed. Tier 4 website URLs should use the format unit.la.psu.edu and are the sole property of Penn State and the College of the Liberal Arts.
Tier 4 Example that includes a tier 3 mark
Tier 4 Example
Events
All events sponsored by Liberal Arts units should be submitted to the college events calendar. Submitted events are reviewed by the Office of Strategic Communications before being published to the college events calendar. Event feeds on all Liberal Arts websites will be populated by the college events calendar provided the appropriate units are selected under Event Groups in the “Add an Event” form.
Social Media
Login Information
As part of the process of creating a new social media account, units are required to provide the Office of Strategic Communications with the login information for the account and use two-factor authentication when logging into accounts for extra security. Given the frequent turnover and occasional change/overlap in responsibilities, this step provides safeguards to prevent units from being locked out of their accounts. Units are required to resubmit this form anytime login information is changed for any social media account.
In addition, any unit with a Facebook page must add Kirsten Smith as an administrator. Email Kirsten Smith to learn more.
Content Strategy
Determining your target audiences and creating content specific to those audiences on your social media platforms is a critical component in increasing engagement and loyalty.
The Office of Strategic Communications is available to help units develop a social media content strategy and has established guidelines for creating new social media accounts and numerous other social media best practices.
Websites
Just like our other marketing materials, websites play an important role in our college’s marketing strategy. The primary strategic direction and support for the college website and associated sites are led by the Office of Strategic Communications.
Site Editor Responsibilities
Site editors are responsible for creating and managing written content on designated websites. They are expected to adhere to and understand the college’s brand messaging and University editorial style. Site editors who would like to request changes to the design or visual branding on their unit’s website should submit a unit website change request to work with one of our designers.
Training and Education
Before gaining access to any Liberal Arts website, completion of an approved Content Management System (CMS) training is mandatory. Site editors are expected to stay current with CMS workflow changes and undergo additional training as required.
The Office of Strategic Communications leads initial training and provides supportive documents and resources. It’s the trainee’s responsibility to understand and apply the learned materials and adhere to the provided style documents and other resources.
Annual training requirements for existing editors will be communicated by the Office of Strategic Communications based on the specific needs and design of your site. Additional training may be necessary due to changes in site/CMS/University needs and will be communicated promptly.
For those approved by their unit to be a site editor, submit a ticket to schedule a web training.
Accessibility
Video
All videos should include accurate captioning to ensure content is accessible to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. Use of clear visuals and avoidance of quick flashes and bright, strobing effects are recommended to make the content more accessible.
Images
All images should have meaningful alternative (alt) text to provide a textual alternative to those who cannot see the image. The alt text should accurately describe the content and purpose of the image.
Documents
All uploaded documents should be in an accessible format. Text should be selectable and readable by screen readers. Provide clear headings, use descriptive links, and avoid the use of color as the sole method of conveying information.
Web Content
All web content should be structured using appropriate hierarchical styles and tags. Header tags should be used sequentially to help screen readers and assistive technologies navigate the page more effectively.
Site editors who violate these guidelines, including security and ADA compliance violations, will receive an email notification from the Office of Strategic Communications. The editors will rectify these violations or work with the Office of Strategic Communications to rectify the violations. The Office of Strategic Communications reserves the right to revoke access and site editor permissions.
Sites at Penn State (sites.psu.edu)
Websites not selected for our main hosting platform will be hosted on Sites at Penn State. The Office of Strategic Communications will determine hosting based on factors like site traffic and tier levels. While Sites at Penn State may have less stringent rules, compliance with accessibility and brand standards, as outlined above, is still required for all sites hosted there.
Additional Marketing
Visit our Submit a Request page to learn more about submitting promotional materials for review and distribution. The Office of Strategic Communications reserves the right to edit requests that are not in compliance with Penn State’s accessibility, editorial style, and visual branding guidelines.