This policy regards the posting of flyers (electronic or otherwise) in all public areas occupied by SDC and intended for visibility to all SDC students, faculty, and staff. This policy applies to the Office Technology Information System electronic message board by the elevator on the first floor of Carpenter Hall (hereafter: OTIS); the SDC website; and social media controlled by the SDC. It also includes bulletin boards, hallways, studios, and classrooms. Material posted in public areas reflects the school and standards for professionalism, and must be treated as such.
This policy does not include postings on student club boards or on personal desks or work stations. However, any material posted in any area of either building is subject to immediate removal by the director or her/his appointees if deemed inappropriate.
The director has the ultimate responsibility for all material posted in Carpenter Hall and SDC-controlled spaces in Daggy Hall, Dana Hall, and EME. However, it not recommended that the director micromanage this process. The appointment of a “point person” (see below) and a system of checks and balances is hereby in place to ensure that levels of professionalism are maintained and that students, faculty, and staff are empowered to post matters of relevance that enhance the school and its programs—as well as professional opportunities for students.
Point Person
On an annual basis, a point person responsible for collecting, formatting, and posting flyers shall be appointed by the director to handle the duty of collecting, formatting, and, if necessary, correcting flyers and other media. Ideally, the point person will have skills in writing, in Adobe InDesign, with Microsoft Office, and will have an ability to work under tight deadlines.
Process, Approval, and Revision
- All posters, flyers, advertisements, images, and other promotional information intended for SDC display areas must first be created or compiled by faculty, staff, students, or outside entities wishing to advertise jobs or opportunities to students in the SDC.
- The point person is not expected to create this material from scratch, but may be asked to do so and should be willing to take such tasks on, or delegate such tasks to others, if time and resources permit. (As the point person likely has other priorities per her/his job description, in the event of an inability to create such material because of time or other factors, the point person is authorized to check with the director for the urgency of such requests.)
- Upon receipt of material, the point person is responsible first for judging the appropriateness of the flyer. If necessary, s/he will revise the flyer to fit standards for quality, graphic clarity, spelling, image resolution, color, and so on. Should changes be necessary, the point person must communicate that changes will be made to the requestor. In the event of conflict, the matter should be referred to the director.
- If the point person is unclear on the appropriateness of the flyer for posting, s/he should contact the original requestor and/or the director before beginning any major editing. Outside entities (e.g. companies wishing to sell products) may require particular scrutiny.
- If the point person sees no need for changes, s/he may post the material.
- If the director or any other member of the SDC faculty, staff, or student body feels that a posted flyer is inappropriate or incorrect for any reason, the point person may be asked to take down the material. If that request comes from anybody other than the director, the point person must refer the matter back to the director.
- The point person, at any time, may be asked to prioritize the creation or posting of a flyer at the request of the director or her/his appointees. If such an urgent request for posting a flyer arrives, the point person must make every attempt to set aside time to create and/or prepare the flyer immediately for posting and, if necessary, send to director or her/his appointees for approval.
- Material from student clubs must be approved by the advisor of the student club before posting. The point person is authorized to ensure that student club-related material has been approved by the student club advisor, and that the material should reflect opportunities for the entire school—not just for the student club or a particular program. If, in the event that the material is deemed inappropriate by the point person, s/he must check with the director before posting. The director may request that student club material be removed, as well, but should approach such matters carefully so as not to deter student effort in this regard.
- Even once flyers are edited by the director or her/his appointees and posted, it is possible that further revisions will be necessary. Should this be the case, the point person must be flexible and revise the flyer further as requested.
Timing
- Event-related flyers should be posted no earlier than three weeks prior to the day of the event.
- Flyers advertising applications with a long enrollment period (e.g. study abroad programs with registration periods from February 1 through April 15) can be exceptions to #1, above; however, it may be best to post such advertisements for the first week of registration and then for the last week, or only periodically.
- No event-related flyer should remain displayed for longer than three weeks, as folks will “tune out.”
Additional duties
- At least once/week, the point person should walk the halls and staircases of Carpenter Hall and SDC spaces in Daggy Hall, Dana Hall, and EME, and check all bulletin boards and display areas for outdated and inappropriate flyers. This may include occasional re-arrangement of flyers to ensure that pet projects are not being unfairly posted. All outdated flyers must be immediately recycled.
- There may be “down times” during the school year when there are few announcements—particularly those flashing on OTIS. In the event of such a lull, the point person is authorized to look for information to post to keep things active. This requires frequent checks of the website or social media for new images and ideas.
Appropriate Flyers for Display Areas
- SDC lectures
- SDC all-school announcements
- SDC gallery shows
- SDC achievements (student achievements, club achievements, faculty achievements)
- Elective course advertisements
- Summer course advertisements
- Study abroad advertisements (sometimes from International Programs)
- Study tour advertisements
- College-related events as requested by the college
- Career fairs
- University-related events as requested by University Communications or other entities
- Images from completed or ongoing SDC events (study tours, conferences, capstone, competitions)
- Images from completed or ongoing SDC classes (design reviews, drawing)
- Information celebrating student and faculty awards or accomplishments
- Job opportunities in design and construction (although these will require some scrutiny)
- Student review announcements
Inappropriate Postings for Display Areas
- Flyers for events happening outside the school, unless otherwise directed from college-level communications staff.
- Meeting announcements particular to student clubs (e.g. AIAS Meeting at 5:00pm today!). Student clubs should use designated bulletin boards on ground floor of Carpenter Hall.
- Items for sale.