Undergraduate Education Marketing and Communications support
The Enrollment Management and Undergraduate Education Marketing and Communications team provides strategic support and consultation for marketing, communications and branding projects for all Undergraduate Education (UE) units.
We work to advance UE's strategic goals through strategic, effective, UC-Davis branded communications, and to empower the UE units and initiatives to do the same.
Read more about UC Davis brand standards.
Branding and marketing
Our primary focus is to create outstanding communications for UE initiatives and high-priority, high-impact projects.
We foster a greater awareness of UE's work by providing information, materials and messaging for communication projects.
Request forms
To request support, please complete a project form.
Share news
To submit news, events, announcements or updates for consideration, please use the share news form.
Undergraduate Education Brand Guide
Digital first for digital natives
UE websites
Centralized Model
UE Marketing and Communications aids in maintenance of UE websites in SiteFarm, the campus-approved web platform. Our goal is to focus on reinforcing campus, unit and department brands, maintaining a high level of accessibility, developing web strategies based on data and developing comprehensive management and maintenance plans for websites once they have launched.
Working with Marketing and Communications
Marketing and Communications is here to help with building, developing and maintaining SiteFarm sites for UE. To address turnaround times for web-only projects, we developed a Web Project Request Form. We expect edits, troubleshooting and non-development requests to be addressed within 24–72 hours. Large scale projects like website redesigns, new websites or significant web restructuring will take much more time.
Cross-Promotion, Site Structure and Gen Z
Current students navigate websites differently than previous generations. When it comes to finding something on your website, Gen Z will search on Google or other search engines. Data shows that Gen Z will not navigate through your website. Instead, they go to Google, search a term, go to the result and then go back to Google if they didn’t find what they were looking for. With that in mind, there are specific strategies we can employ when we want to cross-promote departments, services or organizations.
- Place cross-promotion within the first paragraph or on your landing page, if possible.
- Use imagery, colors and the UE brand to tie like services together.
- Highlight the main points in the top half of the page.
- Ensure that your content is easy to skim.
Tools
Canva
Canva is an enterprise-level design template platform that allows users to easily create social media graphics, presentations, posters and other visual content using approved UC Davis colors, fonts and logos. Units within UE are provided one seat in the UC Davis enterprise account and UE brand kit. Additional seats may be purchased by departments. Review process to be determined.
Social media
When done correctly, social media is a great way to reach and interact with UC Davis students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members. That said, there are a lot of things that social media is not:
- Social media is not a quick fix. Creating an account will not suddenly fill your events or build your audience. It takes a lot of effort, strategy, planning and staff time to effectively utilize a single social media account.
- Social media is not a student job. Student employees are invaluable assets to our teams, but social accounts are direct extensions of your brand and must be overseen by full-time staff. Students can manage the day-to-day posting and community building, but it is essential to have your career staff set the vision and multiyear strategy for your accounts.
- Social media is not always the right option. Just because Instagram is popular with Gen Z, doesn’t mean it’s where students want to hear from you. You need to ensure your content is correct for the social channel. This generation has lived their whole lives with social media, and a poorly run channel can actually hurt your department’s reputation.
- Social media is not always nice. For every account you’ve created, you are now taking responsibility to manage any hateful, upsetting, insensitive or derogatory comments and speech. You are also taking on direct responsibility if your accounts are part of an online crisis. Please contact us immediately should this arise.
UE units must have two career staff members as administrators on your accounts. If you don’t have two, you will need to ensure that a member of the Marketing and Communications team is included. This is to ensure account recovery is possible. Please note, student employees should never be account administrators.
New accounts should be requested of the Marketing and Communications team. The team is also available to provide support for existing channels in the development of strategic plans and editorial calendars.
Mass emails
Mass emails are emails to more than 250 recipients, whether students, faculty or staff. Your email plan must be approved by Marketing and Communications and UE leadership prior to making your data request.
UE units may request permission to send mass e-mails to UC Davis students.
Steps
- Plan your content
- Data request: To obtain a list of current student emails, follow these steps
- Request permission from the marketing and communications team using the Electronic Mass Communication Form. Submit your request to
EM-MarketingComms@ou.ad3.ucdavis.edu - Submit your data request via sisweb (see below).
- Request permission from the marketing and communications team using the Electronic Mass Communication Form. Submit your request to
- Send your content
Make a data request
Requests to send mass communications to students must be reviewed and approved by the communications and marketing team and the Assistant Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education.
- Plan and request your mass communications during the quarter before you intend to send them.
- Complete the Electronic Mass Communication Form and submit your request to
EM-MarketingComms@ou.ad3.ucdavis.edu - Submit your data request. After your communication is approved, submit your data request. Once you have initiated the request, you will be asked to submit your signed form.
Send your email upon receiving data
Campus bulk email is free but does not support images.
About mass emails to students
Mass communications sent to UC Davis students and admitted students are governed by UC Davis Policy 310-18 and UC Davis Policy 320-40. Authority to approve the use of mass email to connect with students belongs to the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs. Student data is governed by the University Office of the Registrar. You must use current data for mass communications.
The Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs reviews communications to ensure students receive communications that are appropriate in message, quality and quantity.