9.81 University Communication & Marketing

Purpose

University communication and marketing are essential for engaging with university constituents, conducting institutional business, fostering engagement at UNI, and sharing the University’s story of excellence and impact in teaching, scholarship, service, and outreach. A unified university communication and marketing policy is necessary to establish clear responsibilities and standards for how university entities connect and communicate with constituents.

Scope

The Office of University Relations oversees official university and marketing channels. Official UNI communication and marketing channels include web domains housed under the UNI.edu and the main UNI social media platforms. High-level official institutional UNI email communications from the University President also fall under this umbrella. The Office of University Relations provides input and guidance to Athletics for content on UNIPanthers.com as needed. In addition, UR also maintains the jurisdiction to recommend edits or deletion of posts from UNI-affiliated social media accounts as deemed necessary.

UNI’s marketing and communications operates under a decentralized structure. Individuals residing in multiple colleges, divisions, and departments perform a variety of marketing, communications, and creative work within their areas of focus. These individuals collaborate with their peers and members of the University Relations staff.

Chapter 9: University Services

Policy

The Office of University Relations (UR) is charged with providing leadership, guidance, and strategic oversight for UNI's master brand institutional marketing and communication channels used to reach internal and external audiences.

These duties specifically include the use of master brand logos, marks, affiliated lockups, and graphic treatments. Other components included under the purview of UR include: Visual identity, editorial style, elements of crisis communication, media relations, advertising, university websites, internal campus communication at the direction of the University President, select community outreach activities, parent communication (in conjunction with other campus departments), printing, video displays and contracting for related professional services.

UR shall develop standards, guidelines, and procedures necessary to manage university communication efforts and routinely communicate these to university units.

In alignment with the University of Northern Iowa’s Strategic Plan, the Office of University Relations develops and implements the university's global marketing and communications strategy. UR engages Admissions, Unit Marketers, Alumni Association, UNI Foundation, Athletics, and other university stakeholders in processes designed to implement and communicate the University’s marketing and communication strategies, which include sharing the University’s story of excellence and impact in teaching, scholarship, service, and outreach. The strategic marketing and communications plans for individual colleges, departments, or units should align with the larger objectives set forth by UR. Those individual colleges, departments, or units are responsible for the tactical implementation of their plan as it relates to their specific area and would include activities and events not necessarily addressed in the higher-level University strategic plan.

Marketing & Brand Management

  • UR shall annually develop and make available a marketing and communication plan that aligns with the university’s and UR’s strategic goals.
  • UR shall work with Admissions, Unit Marketers, Alumni Association, UNI Foundation, Athletics, and other university stakeholders to establish processes and procedures for stakeholder engagement in implementing and communicating the University marketing and communications plan.
  • UR shall periodically communicate the marketing and communication plans with University stakeholders such as senior leadership, deans council and Unit Marketers and report progress relative to the goals and objectives outlined in said plans. This includes regular assessment and reporting of internal and external brand awareness to evaluate the success of those branding and marketing strategies.
  • Colleges and other departments outside University Relations shall support the objectives outlined in UR’s marketing and communication plan while also implementing the marketing and communication efforts associated with their units' activities, events, and priorities.
  • UR shall develop, maintain, and make routinely available for use by university units a visual identity and editorial style guide.

Visual Identity Guide: https://ur.uni.edu/uni-brand/visual-identity

Editorial Style Guide: https://ur.uni.edu/uni-brand/messaging/editorial-style-guide

  • University entities shall conform to the standards outlined in the University of Northern Iowa Visual Identity & Editorial Style Guide, including but not limited to the prescribed use of the logo (or approved affiliate marks) on all promotional and electronic communication paid for with university funds. These rules also apply to internal signage and on-campus display concepts developed for or by university colleges, departments, and affiliated units. https://ur.uni.edu/uni-brand
  • All university and university-related web pages shall conform to the development standards outlined in the university web policy --UNI Web Tools: Resources for Web Developers. https://ur.uni.edu/uni-brand/web-guidelines
  • UR shall develop standards, guidelines, and procedures to manage university social media channels effectively and may seek input from other campus stakeholders in this process. University entities managing unit-level social media channels must follow those social media standards and guidelines. Units maintaining social media platforms should provide a point of contact (name, email, cell phone) for the primary gatekeeper(s) of their accounts. This information is particularly critical in the event of a campus emergency. In the event of such a circumstance, only the main university web and social channels will provide official information, and other UNI-affiliated accounts will be placed on pause.  https://ur.uni.edu/uni-brand/social-media-uni

Marketing & Advertising Operations

  • UR or its designee must approve marketing/advertising concepts and tactical materials before production, whether by an affiliated unit/program or a commercial agency. This document defines the designee as a UNI Unit Marketer or UR’s ad agency of record. UR retains the right to grant and rescind designee status based on compliance/non-compliance with UNI brand standards.
  • UNI permits the purchase of advertising in external media to advance the institution and its individual units and programs, so long as the advertisement incorporates the established university graphic identity, reflects key institutional messages, and adheres to the established guidelines and standards.
  • All graphic elements included in any advertising must conform to the standards outlined in the university’s visual identity guidelines.
  • UR is the point of contact for paid advertising for the university. This includes traditional print, radio, and television advertising, as well as online, OTT, programmatic display ads, as well as social media ads. UR and/or its agency oversees all placement of advertising for the university. UR may authorize auxiliary units to serve as a designee with prior approval.
  • UR may determine that a specific advertising or multi-media project, or campaign, is best handled by a commercial agency rather than being produced in-house, and assist campus units in coordinating with approved vendors.
  • UR shall maintain an inventory of event assets for use on and off campus. Rental and set-up fees may apply in some cases.
  • University Relations shall maintain an archive of approved recent photos for publication, website, social media, and other applications by units across campus.  The Rod Library Special Collections & University Archives archives historical UNI photos. Campus units may coordinate photo shoots if working with UR-approved freelancers to ensure that UNI retains intellectual rights to use and archive those images. Before any photo shoot, photo subjects must be vetted via the threat assessment process.

Communications & Media Relations

Crisis Communications

  • UR is responsible for official institutional communication on and off campus related to issues of concern to the UNI community and crises. UNI Public Safety is charged with alerting the community regarding any imminent threats to campus, along with other notices that fall under its purview.
  • UR (or its designee) shall use the automated UNI Alert system to distribute weather messages.
  • In conjunction with the UNI Department of Public Safety and the UNI Director of Risk Management, UR shall develop, maintain, and routinely distribute a university communication Handbook for Issues, Crises, and Emergencies. https://uni.edu/resources/alert

Campus Communications

  • UR is responsible for sharing approved university-wide announcements online. Announcements and feature story ideas can be submitted to UR for distribution.

Parent Communication

  • Admissions shall coordinate with UR to approve automated email and direct mail enrollment marketing communication to parents of prospective and incoming students.
  • UR shall coordinate with appropriate university designees, including Student Life, to ensure messaging to parents and families of current students is accurate and aligns with UNI standards.

Media Relations

  • UR shall be responsible for contact with the news media, including creating and distributing information relating to general university news or topics requiring an institutional response. UR may authorize some departments or auxiliary units to distribute specific information and news releases to the media upon request.
  • News releases related to the university or its respective units shall be edited, approved and distributed by UR or its designee. UR shall develop and routinely distribute guidelines for news release development and media contact. https://ur.uni.edu/guidelines-news-releases
  • News conferences shall be coordinated by or in partnership with UR. University Relations should be consulted to gauge potential media interest in events coordinated by other units, such as dedications, groundbreakings, etc.
  • Student groups are encouraged to consult University Relations to contact/engage/respond to the news media. https://ur.uni.edu/contact-us.
  • Faculty and staff are encouraged to consult with UR when receiving media inquiries. UR may wish to further publicize interviews with media outlets or provide advice on potential questions to anticipate.
  • Faculty and staff are welcome to speak about their areas of academic expertise, research, or areas of study. Media, trade publications, research journals, and other outlets often seek experts to provide insight on a variety of topical issues. In these cases, university employees are considered to be speaking in their individual professional capacity and are not sharing an official university position on a topic or providing any form of endorsement from the university.
  • Faculty and staff receiving media inquiries outside their area of expertise are encouraged to consult with UR before proceeding. University employees are encouraged to refer comments to university leadership or UR should they feel uncomfortable answering questions that may be beyond the scope of their role with the institution. All official communications on behalf of the institution should come from the University President, a UR spokesperson, or designee.

University Relations, approved September 27, 2024
University Council, approved April 14, 2025
President, approved July 1, 2025
[Last reviewed and/or updated: 7/2025, 4/2013]