Marketing and Communication Services
Start a New Communications Project
Let us do the work for you! We are a full-service communications and marketing team offering design, content, and marketing strategies. If you need professional digital or printed marketing and promotional materials, please send us your content by filling out and submitting a communications form.
Please note that all external marketing pieces must be approved by the marketing and communications team.
Branding and Graphic Design
Our in-house designer will work with you to create professionally branded materials that suit your needs. Design services are free. Please allow ample time for your project to be designed, edited, and produced. The time frame for printed projects vary, but most vendors require two weeks of lead time. For conference programs, please submit all of your materials at least 8 weeks from the date of the event. If you want to use email to promote your event, please compile an excel spreadsheet of email addresses and submit that along with any content provided in a Word doc at least a month in advance.
The College’s policy is that our in-house designer designs all external marketing pieces so that all materials meet brand guidelines and the College’s style guidelines and aesthetics. Please do not send us finished designs created in Canva or Adobe Express. Instead, please send us content in a Word or Google doc along with any high-res images you would like included in the material.
We have instituted a design approval process for promotional materials if you have worked with an external vendor to create your collateral. Please use a communications project form to submit it for approval and select, “I need a promotional item approved.” After items are approved by our office, we will send an approval form to Trademarks. You will need to send the signed approval form to your business office manager for funds to be released.
If you have any questions, please reach out to our designer Natalie Stephens.
Photography and Videography
Professional photography is a great way to showcase the college. UGA stock photos are available for download though the University Digital Asset Library. Faculty and staff also have access to unlimited downloads of photos and other assets through Adobe Stock using their UGA MyID.
At this time, we do not provide photography and videography services. If you need these services, please refer to the link provided below to download a list of local photographers. If you would like to use a photo that is currently on the website, please include that request when you submit a new communications project ticket. These photos are proprietary to the Marketing and Communications Office, and approval is needed to include them in College marketing pieces.
Download a List of Local Photographers (PDF)
Share Your News/Events
Submit a Course Spotlight
This weekly email is provided as a service to our faculty who wish to publicize courses to graduate students. The email sends at 11 a.m. Fridays when new submissions are made.
Submit COEfyi Announcement
This bi-weekly email is sent to all faculty and staff in the Mary Frances Early College of Education. The audience for COEfyi is faculty and staff only.
COEfyi provides a reliable and timely way to announce and receive information about COE news and events. We will post information about UGA events IF the event includes a COE faculty/staff member or department/unit, or provides relevance to a broad COE audience. Please refer to UGA Columns or the UGA Master Calendar for information about University events.
COEfyi is sent at 10 a.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays – please keep this in mind when you are submitting time-sensitive requests. If you want your message to be included in the Wednesday post, you must submit your content by noon on Tuesday and by noon on Thursday for the Friday posting. We only will post emergency information after the posting deadline. This information includes emergency notifications about safety, health, computer/phone/building issues, etc. (In the event of a critical change or emergency, announcements will be sent immediately.)
Event-related reminders (conferences, grant deadlines, speakers, etc.) may run no more than once a week for a maximum of three weeks. Other types of posts may repeat at the discretion of the Marketing and Communications team.
Posts cannot contain matters that are not official College or UGA business, political statements, endorsements, or fundraising; personal items for sale/purchase/rent; or ads or promotions for outside organizations. Content may be edited by a Marketing and Communications team member for clarity and brevity.
Please review the COEfyi editorial guidelines (PDF) before submitting a ticket.
Submit a Calendar Event
Use the event submission form to post an upcoming event related to the College.
If you would like to add your event to the College’s website, please submit the event to the UGA Master Calendar. If you choose a COE department or group when submitting the event, it will automatically be pulled onto the calendar on the COE website. The event also will be added to the UGA Master Calendar.
Add Events to a Web Page
Simply choosing a COE department or group when creating an event on the Master Calendar will cause it to be automatically added to the main COE calendar listing, as well as the COE home page and Events page. (Only the next 8-9 events will show on these two.)
Adding an event to a Department/Unit page or Concentration page just requires selecting the proper Department or Group when you create the event on the Master Calendar.
To add an event or set of events to a non-Department/Unit page, please refer to the information below on Tagging Events.
Tagging Events
Adding an event to any COE web page(s) requires the Master Calendar event to have a special tag. An example tag might be something like: M.Ed. School Counseling Info Session or Kinesiology Open House. This tag will be used to pull the event onto a COE web page. If you have several events that need to be added to the same page, it makes sense to use the same tag for all of the events.
Refer to this Master Calendar event’s “Event Details” section for an example of what Tags should be like:
→ MEd in LLOD Information Session
When you submit your event to the Master Calendar, add a note to the calendar editor in the event description asking them to add your required tag. If you have any questions or issues, you can email them at calendar@uga.edu.
Once the Master Calendar folks have added the tag and published the event, submit a webpage fix/update request to our team and let us know:
- The tag that was assigned
- The URL of the COE page the event should appear on, and
- A brief, “evergreen” summary paragraph and Section Title (optional) to introduce the event(s)
Existing “Upcoming Events”-type section
If the page already has an “Upcoming Events”-type section, submit a webpage fix/update request and include the known/assigned tag associated with the page section. If you don’t know what the existing/already assigned tag for that page is, then please indicate that in your initial request and we’ll look it up for you. Then You will provide that to the Master Calendar people by sending Them an email to calendar@uga.edu.
No existing “Upcoming Events”-type section
If the page does not yet have an “Upcoming Events”-type section, and the event needs to be listed on a particular page, you will need:
- A new, special tag to be created and added to the event(s)
- A brief, “Evergreen” summary paragraph and Section Title to introduce the event(s)
To add a Tag to an event, You must send an email to calendar@uga.edu and request that They add a specific and descriptive tag of Your choosing to the event(s). Refer to this Master Calendar event’s “Event Details” section for an example of what Tags should be like:
→ MEd in LLOD Information Session
Refer to this page for an example of what an “Evergreen” summary paragraph should be like:
→ EdD in LLOD
If you have questions about getting an event or group of events to display on a particular COE webpage, email the Web Team and someone will get back to you asap.
Recurring Events and Conferences
The College’s recurring events, such as annual conferences, have permanent pages on the COE Recurring Events page. These pages should contain general information about the event and can also include information that will not format well in the UGA Master Calendar event entry, such as speaker photos and bios. If you require changes to a recurring events page, please submit a website update request. Please be sure to submit another request once the event is over to remove/update any stale information.
Upcoming event details, especially the event registration, still need to be entered on the UGA Master Calendar, where the event will reach a wider audience and can be updated as needed by the person who submitted the calendar entry.
If you have any questions about setting up a new recurring events page or a new conference website, please submit a web request.
Submit Social Media Items
Send us content to share on social media, including job postings and advertisements. We maintain a presence on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, and LinkedIn with students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of the College.
Please review the College’s social media guidelines (PDF) before submitting a ticket.
Nominate an Amazing Student
Amazing Student profiles provide special recognition to high-achieving Mary Frances Early College of Education students.
Submit a TV Screen Announcement
Promote your event or announcement on the College’s digital screens. Messages need to be submitted at least two weeks prior to the date of your event to allow ample time for circulation.
Please review the guidelines for composing, formatting, and submitting messages (PDF).
Submit a TV Screen Announcement
Submit COE Connection Announcement
Delivered every Monday, the COE Connection is a weekly e-newsletter for students featuring activities, programs, and announcements. Both undergraduate and graduate students are automatically subscribed to the newsletter.
COE Connection Guidelines
Frequency of Publication
The COE Connection is published every Monday by 12 p.m. during Fall & Spring semesters. COE connection is not published during the Summer term.
Frequency of Entries
Each item will run for two newsletters which are equivalent to two weeks. Exceptions to this rule: Submissions with specific dates that occur within the current month. Submissions with dates that occur during subsequent months will be held until the beginning of that respective month.
Headings and Content
- Events:
Date-specific events around COE and campus that would be related or of interest to COE students - UGA Updates:
UGA campus updates and important information found in Arch News to which we want to draw specific attention to our students. - COE Important Information:
A general category for miscellaneous submissions not related to academics - Academic Information:
A general category for misc. submissions related to academics including any submission related to studying abroad - Student Opportunities:
Information about volunteering across campus, campus-wide job postings, and external job postings - College Resources:
Student Resources & UGA Career Center information
Order of Entries
Events are listed in chronological order based on date. Non-Events submissions will be listed in order from newest to oldest.
Significant Events
Preliminary information will be listed once, removed, and held until closer to the date of occurrence. Certain events, such as Convocation information and links, may be listed for longer periods to ensure that students have access to participate in the event by following required information submission materials.
Pictures, Flyers, and Maps
To keep the newsletter more streamlined and maintain an overall look, no pictures, flyers or maps will be included with any event or announcement.
Reoccurring Submissions
Submissions such as the COE School Supply Closet, will be posted 2-3 times per semester such as beginning, midterms, and near finals depending on the specific content and when it is appropriate to list.
Mailing Lists
Both Undergraduate and Graduate mailing lists should be updated at the beginning of each semester. Faculty and Staff mailing lists will be updated annually.
How to submit events and announcements
Events and announcements can only be submitted through the Qualtrics application. If any Connection-related emails are received outside of the application, the submitter will be directed to the Qualtrics link. Only submissions related to COE students will be included in the COE Connection.
Submit an Item to COE Connection
Submit a TV Screen Directory Change
Submit a change for a department or office directory sign.
Check the TV(s) you want to change.
Submit a TV Screen Directory Change
Request a Website Change/Update
Please use our form to submit a website request. Note that we can only update pages that are under https://coe.uga.edu and https://resources.coe.uga.edu. Also note that our web team is not authorized to make personnel additions/removals, changes to titles, or changes to offices/departments/unit affiliations unless they are sent directly from Human Resources.
Website Service-Level Agreement
The web team handles most routine content updates within 24 hours. However, due to illness or external factors, these turnaround times may be extended without notice. As the complexity of a request increases, so does the required time to turn around your request.
Please Note: Your request may be handled without any communication except a confirmation of resolution. This is an efficiency measure as the web team receives dozens of web requests each day. Please review any changes and email the web team if you find any errors or oversights.
Please contact the web team for guidance if you have additional questions about web support.
Turnaround Times
Examples of requests that will be handled within 3 business days:
- Existing text changes or corrections
- Switching out existing photos (without editing the photos)
- Adding or replacing downloadable documents
Examples of requests that might take up to two weeks:
- Updating forms
- Creating tables of data (e.g. event schedules)
- Rewriting larger sections of content
Complex updates or projects may require further discussion and the timeframe is dependent on the current workload of the web team. Examples of complex requests:
- Creating new webpages
- Creating a new form(s)
- Bulk changes to an existing website
- Changes delivered on paper
Making a Request
Use of the web request form is required to request updates to the Mary Frances Early College of Education website. Website change requests are not accepted via email. The web team will ask that you resubmit your request using the web request form. This process allows our team to track the status of your project and meet your needs in a timely manner.
All instructions for changes, including any new/updated text as it should appear on the page(s), must be typed/pasted into the “Request Details” field. The length of the text does not matter… the form can take it.
Please only send us the final wording and links that should be shown on the page and don’t use Word or PDF documents to detail updates/changes, as copying/pasting from those is extremely problematic for our website.
The only document attachments we accept are for items that will be published as downloads on your page. Do NOT attach documents that include instructions or text changes you would like to make.
Attachments
We do not post Word/editable files to our website, and our online form reflects this in its ability to accept files for upload. If we receive your changes as sketches and/or requests written or typed out on paper, this will considerably delay the turnaround for your changes. Training is available if you need assistance with using the web request form.
FERPA and Privacy/Safety of Students
To ensure FERPA compliance and meet privacy and safety best practices, we ask that you receive explicit, written consent from any student before requesting that we post their photo or any biographical information about them.
Accessibility Requirements
Per federal law and the University System of Georgia web content guidelines, a text equivalent for every non-text element must be provided. Any videos requested to be posted on the COE website must include high-quality closed captioning, and any audio clips must be accompanied by a written transcript. These supplements will allow alternate experiences for audio and visually-impaired site visitors. If you need a captioning service, UGA MarComm recommends Rev.
Web Style Guidelines
Headings/Paragraphs/Lists
- Never use directional cues in the text, such as “sign up below” or “refer to the list on the right” because if the layout changes (e.g. mobile devices), these cues will be wrong.
- No duplicate content. If ever there exist two or more pages with nearly identical content, steps should be taken to consolidate information into a single source.
- Never type in all caps. If text needs to be in all caps (like in a heading), it will be accomplished with proper code for styling that way.
- Follow appropriate capitalization rules for proper nouns, job titles, etc. Generally, this means a job title is capitalized if it’s in a list, but not if it’s part of a sentence.
- Avoid acronyms. After the full title is established followed by the acronym in parentheses, then the acronym may be used on the same page. However, for maximum search engine benefit, avoid acronyms in all situations (unless the acronym carries a national reputation).
Hyperlinks
- Always use meaningful text for links. Never use “click here”. Rather, use “email the web team” or “sign up for our mailing list” as your link text.
- Never explicitly show a web URL in text. Always link a URL behind the meaningful text that describes the destination page.
- Never explicitly show an email address in the text. Always link an email address behind meaningful text such as “email Jared Brown.”
- Only open a link in a new window when the link takes the user away from coe.uga.edu. If the link text doesn’t adequately describe the destination page, a title attribute should be used to create meaningful text on hover. (Hovering refers to putting the mouse cursor over a web element but not clicking).
Contact Information
- Name prefixes should not be used except on directory profiles.
- Use this format for displaying phone numbers: 706-542-0000.
- Never show an email address in the text. Instead, link a name or an action phrase (for example: “email us”).
- Use departmental email addresses instead of individual email addresses where possible. This reduces maintenance risk during faculty/staff turnover.
- The first mention of any Mary Frances Early College of Education faculty/staff member on a webpage should be hyperlinked to their directory profile.
- Links to faculty/staff emails should not be used. Instead, a link to their profile should be provided and profile information kept up-to-date.
Files/Downloads
- Word documents must be converted to PDF before posting on the website. Reason: PDF is a universally available format; Microsoft Office is not accessible to all users. Fillable PDFs may be created for documents that a user needs to download, fill out, and submit electronically.
- All PDFs must be verified to meet accessibility requirements set forth by the federal government in what’s called “Section 508” in the popular vernacular.
- Filenames:
- Should not contain spaces. Replace spaces with underscores or hyphens.
- Should not contain special characters. This includes periods, apostrophes, colons, ampersands, etc.
- Should be descriptive but concise. Once downloaded, will a user know what it is when it’s on their computer among unrelated files? Best practice: Filenames should be all lowercase for consistency and ease of reference.
- Should not contain time-related data such as the date of revision. In other words, do not name a file
2013-csse-application.pdfbecause when 2014 rolls around, you have to add a new file, delete the old file, and update the links on the website. If you name this filecsse-application.pdf, simply overwrite the old version with the new and voila! Exception: When multiple files exist for date-sensitive information (example: two versions of a program of study when students who began their program according to the older version have yet to graduate).
Guidelines for COE Research and Outreach Web Pages
The Mary Frances Early College of Education’s Marketing and Communications Office provides web pages within our primary site (coe.uga.edu) for faculty members to include information about grants, research, and outreach projects, provided that the projects have a legitimate connection with the College. The information on these pages can be refreshed from time to time but should not require frequent updates like news posts or blog-like information.
While there are some limitations and guidelines regarding how this content is displayed on the page, there are many benefits to this approach:
- There is no cost to the grant or research program.
- The Marketing and Communications team maintains the page, meaning less work for you or your team.
- Web page content will be edited using W3C web standards and web accessibility best practices.
- Content automatically adheres to UGA and COE branding guidelines.
- Content will link to any appropriate content already on the COE website (e.g., faculty profiles, departmental web pages, etc.).
- The content will benefit in search engine rankings by being directly connected to the official COE and UGA websites.
- The webpage URL will contain official COE affiliation like coe.uga.edu/yourprogram instead of, for example, yourprogram.wordpress.com.
- Your page will be secure and contain no advertisements, unlike some third-party options.
While exceptions are rare, some sites may justify using a non-COE web platform. The web team is happy to meet with you to discuss your needs and if the COE website can accommodate them. If not, a non-COE web platform may be advised. In these instances, the faculty/department will be responsible for any costs incurred (e.g., for a CMS platform, hosting, etc.). Additionally, the Marketing and Communications Office will not provide any technical, editorial, or design support for such sites, and the following guidelines must be followed:
Guidelines for third-party websites
- Obtain permission from Scott Ardoin for research and center/institute websites.
- Use the official UGA Color Palette and fonts whenever possible.
- Include the following text in your website’s footer area:
The content and opinions expressed on this web page do not necessarily reflect the views of nor are they endorsed by the University of Georgia or the University System of Georgia. - Before the website is live, please send it to the COE web team for review and approval. The web team will review sites annually to ensure they comply with UGA and COE branding guidelines.
To request a new grant or research project page or to discuss your options, please submit a Communications Request Form and select “webpage” as the project type.