Communications

The purpose of this Policy is to ensure a consistent public image of Lynn University.

Design and/or editorial approval from the Chief Marketing Officer in the Office of Marketing and Communication is required for all communications that:

• Bear the name or likeness of Lynn University;
• Use the university seal, logo or marks;
• Are paid for with Lynn University funds;
• Are produced by, or in partnership with, an internal or third party;
• Are intended for distribution to external audiences; or
• Deviate from the Lynn University brand guidelines.
• Items exempt from this Policy include:
  • Materials produced by student organizations not bearing the Lynn University name or logo;
  • Scholarly publications;
  • Person to person internal correspondence;
  • Internal reports (exception: report covers and reports with off-campus distribution); and
  • Course materials.

All communications shall reflect the non-biased, non-discriminatory nature of Lynn University.

Communications: The activities undertaken by Lynn University to communicate with external audiences.

Logo: The central brand symbol; a graphic representation of our organization's name.

Seal: An insignia that authenticates official university business, e.g. diplomas.

Mark: A symbol that represent subsets of our organization such as athletics teams or student organizations.

Media: An individual, group of individuals or organization whose main objective is the mass communication of information across broadcast, print, online or other mediums.

I. External Communications

A. Crisis Communication

The Office of Marketing and Communication-and specifically the public information officer(s)-operate as the university's crisis communication arm. In the event of a campus emergency, severe weather event or similar occurrence, working in collaboration with Campus Safety, the office will contact the campus community (faculty, staff and students, and those individuals registered as students' or employees' emergency contact) using the university's emergency notification systems, as applicable. See the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report for information.

B. Media Relations

The Office of Marketing and Communication is accountable and responsible for the university and its employees’ communication with the media.

C. Media Management

Lynn University’s Director of Marketing and Communication and Public Relations Manager are responsible for evaluating all media opportunities and determining an appropriate course of response. They alone engage any with media. They must be informed of all incoming media and outgoing media inquiries about the university or its persons (faculty, staff, student or student group). They must also be notified of and approve any paid or unpaid advertising or promotion of university appointment, news or event, regardless or the medium the advertising is for.

The Athletics Communications Director may engage in media activities related to sports information. Athletics must collaborate with Marketing on all other university matters.

All members of the media, including photographers, must be accompanied on campus by a member of the Office of Marketing and Communication, unless appointed otherwise by the same office.

D. Communicating as a Lynn Representative

The Director of Marketing and Communication or Public Relations Manager may facilitate opportunities for Lynn faculty, staff and students to speak with members of the media. In these instances, marketing will ensure spokespersons’ preparedness, which may include and is not limited to preparing talking points and providing media training.

Faculty and staff may engage, as experts in their fields, with the media. In these instances, the participant must clearly and explicitly indicate that their opinions are solely their own and do not represent those of the university. Faculty and staff may request support from the Director of Public Relations Manager to ensure Lynn University is appropriately represented in any media appearance when that employee's media engagement as an expert supports but is otherwise unrelated to the university's ongoing media relations activities.

E. Institutional and Program Accreditation Reporting

The following statement must be used within the description of Lynn University for all institutional and program accreditation reporting:

Lynn University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate, master's and doctoral degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call +1 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Lynn University. © 2021 Lynn University.

The Vice President for Academic Affairs ensures the statement above is used in all accreditation reporting.

F. Print and Electronic Communications

See guidelines at lynn.edu/brand.

G. Print Projects

The Office of Marketing and Communication is solely responsible for the University’s design and print projects. The initiation of any print project, for external audiences or promotional design, must involve the Office of Marketing and Communication.

Materials may include, and are not limited to, any/all advertising, broadcast productions, brochures, campaigns, environmental branding, flyers, postcards, posters, programs, promotional items (including clothing), publications, signage and other materials that market the university to external audiences.

H. Social Media Opportunities and Requirements

The Office of Marketing and Communication oversees university-wide social media efforts and is solely responsible for the management of primary Lynn University channels.

Social media platforms include, but are not limited to: Facebook, Flickr, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Reddit, Snapchat, Tik Tok, Tumblr, Twitter, WhatApp, YouTube.

Social media is an external communications tool; therefore, Lynn University authorized pages must follow all university communication policies, brand guidelines and copyrights. Any social media account that represents university business or programs must be approved and accessible by the Office of Marketing and Communication.

1. Social Media Monitoring
The Office of Marketing and Communication monitors social media in the context of everyday business using enterprise social media management platforms and individual channels.

Should Marketing identify content—about Lynn University, a student, an employee or vendor accounts—that potentially violates university policy, it will flag the content to the Dean of Students, the Department of Campus Safety, the Office of Compliance and/or the supervisor, as appropriate. Should Marketing identify content that poses a risk to the university's reputation, it will activate an appropriate response to mitigate risks and manage the specific circumstance.

2. Department, College, Program and Faculty Accounts
Marketing maintains the record of official/allowed Lynn University social pages and accounts and maintains the right to suspend or delete accounts that do not adhere to university policies and brand guidelines (see lynn.edu/brand). Any department, college or individual wishing to open their own Lynn University account must first receive approval from the Public Relations Manager, who helps establish goals, confirms appropriate use and defines strategy.

If an employee’s account names his or herself as a Lynn employee, the account must clearly and explicitly indicate that their opinions are solely their own and do not represent those of Lynn University. Any employee who wishes to use a personal social media account as a representative of Lynn must receive permission from the Public Relations Manager and adhere to university policy and marketing guidelines. Marketing and Communication maintains the right to revoke this permission for accounts that do not adhere to stated policies.

3. Student Clubs/Organizations Accounts
The Office of Student Affairs maintains the record of official/allowed student organization and student club social media accounts. The Office of Student Affairs and the Office of Marketing and Communication each maintain the right to suspend or delete accounts that do not adhere to University policy and student Code of Conduct.

I. Social Media Advertising

See Advertising below.

J. Advertising

The Office of Marketing and Communication editorial and design services must be used for all university paid and in-kind advertising and promotion to ensure brand consistency, adequate distribution, optimal pricing and accurate reporting. Marketing must approve all advertisements for all channels, including and not limited to traditional print, broadcast, digital and social media.

K. Web and Digital Marketing

The Office of Marketing and Communication is solely responsible for the university’s digital strategy. This includes all advertising, digital campaigns and website projects across physical and online channels on and off campus.

L. Website
Domain names, web sites and social media tools bearing the name or likeness of Lynn University, its departments, colleges, clubs or organizations, may not be purchased or established without the Office of Marketing and Communication’s consent.

1. Website Advertising

Lynn University’s website and marketing materials must not be used for commercial, non-mission-related purposes. Accordingly, advertising for commercial purposes by businesses, organizations, entities, or individuals not associated with Lynn University is generally prohibited. For purposes of this policy, “advertising” refers to any situation in which Lynn University or one of its departments, divisions, or colleges receives payment or in-kind gifts in exchange for a link or brand placement on a Lynn University web page.

While advertising cannot be sold at any level, links to vendors or other commercial entities may be made in the following specific situations upon written approval from the Vice President for Development or the Chief Marketing Officer, as appropriate, on a case-by-case basis:

1. Links to a Contracted Vendor: The logo or link is to a vendor or other entity separately contracted to provide services to the university.
2. Sponsorship Recognition: The logo or link acknowledges a vendor or other entity’s support of a university mission-related activity through sponsorship. The sponsorship announcement must meet IRS guidelines and be exempted from unrelated business income tax assessments; payment may not be accepted for the link or logo.
3. Educational Purposes: The text link provides information for educational or other mission-related purposes and the university has received no consideration for incorporating that link.
4. Links to Licensed Software Required for Web Viewing: The logo or graphic represents licensed software for a core function of the page at issue, e.g., Adobe Acrobat Reader.

In all of these cases, the approved link shall provide information for educational or other mission-related purposes and the university cannot receive financial consideration for incorporating the link.

Such links should in no way imply endorsement of products or services offered by the external commercial vendor or entity. Moreover, approval of links to web pages of commercial vendors and entities does not convey or imply approval to use the Lynn University seal, logo, marks or other images without specific permission from the Chief Marketing Officer.

2. Website Privacy Policy

We have created this statement to demonstrate our firm commitment to your privacy. We do not collect personally identifying information about you when you visit our site, unless you choose to provide such information to us. Providing such information is strictly voluntary. This policy is your guide to how we will handle information we learn about you from your visit to our Web site. The information you enter on our site is held in confidence between you and us. We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to others.

Use of Links

Throughout our Web pages, we provide links to other servers that may contain information of interest to our readers. We take no responsibility for, and exercise no control over, the organizations, views, or accuracy of the information contained on other servers.

Creating a text link from your website to our site does not require permission. If you have a link you'd like us to consider adding to our website, please email [email protected] with the subject "Link request."

Use of Text and Images

If you would like to publish information that you find on our website, please send your request to [email protected]. Where text or images are posted on our site with the permission of the original copyright holder, a copyright statement appears.

For information about using our logo, seal, mark or images please e-mail [email protected].

Accessibility

This website is designed to be accessible to visitors with disabilities and to comply with federal guidelines concerning accessibility. We welcome your comments. If you have suggestions on how to make the site more accessible, please contact [email protected].

Reading or Downloading
We collect and store only the following information about you: the name of the domain from which you access the Internet (for example, aol.com, if you are connecting from an America Online account, or princeton.edu if you are connecting from Princeton University's domain), the date and time you access our site, and the Internet address of the website from which you linked to our site.

We use the information we collect to measure the number of visitors to the different sections of our site, and to help us make our site more useful to visitors.

OurLynn Username, Password, and Online Profile Updates

If you register as an OurLynn user, complete the Profile update form and share your personally identifying information, this information will be used only to provide you with more targeted content. We may use your contact information to send further information about Lynn University or to contact you when necessary. Your password is encrypted; a site administrator is available to help you reset your password when needed by supplying you with a temporary password. However, your personally selected password is never viewable by the site administrator. You may always opt-out of receiving future mailings; see the "Opt Out" section below.

Sending us an Email

You also may decide to send us personally identifying information, for example, in an electronic mail message containing a question or comment, or by filling out a web form that provides us this information. We use personally identifying information from email primarily to respond to your requests. We may forward your email to other employees who are better able to answer your questions. We may also use your email to contact you in the future about programs that may be of interest.

We want to be very clear: We will not obtain personally identifying information about you when you visit our site, unless you choose to provide such information to us. Providing such information is strictly voluntary. Except as might be required by law, we do not share any information we receive with any outside parties.

If you sign up for one of our email lists, we will send you the information you have requested. We won't share your name or email address with any outside parties.

Opt-Out or Change Your Contact Information

Our site provides users the opportunity to opt-out of receiving communications from us through an online form. You may choose to receive only specific communications or none at all. You may also update your contact information previously provided to us through another online form. You cannot remove yourself from our database, but you can prevent unwanted communication.

Questions about our Policies

If you have any questions about this privacy statement, the practices of this site, or your dealings with this website, please contact us at [email protected].

II. Internal Communications

A. myLynn

myLynn is the university’s intranet. It contains security features that allow university students and employees to find business services and complete business transactions, such as paying bills and purchasing meal plans.

Many myLynn applications such as Help Desk, Cashnet, etc., are supported by the IT Department. Questions about those should be directed to IT Support Services at itsupport.lynn.edu or +1 561-237-7979.

Event Publicity: Once an event is approved through University Events and posted on the R25 calendar system, the Office of Marketing and Communication will then publicize the event through other avenues and formats it deems appropriate.

B. Content Submission Guidelines

1. Each department or division oversees the content for their respective myLynn pages.
2. Marketing and Communication oversees content for only the For Your Safety column on myLynn.
3. All lynn.edu content intended for employees only is published at lynn.edu/employees. Send content submissions to [email protected].
4. Marketing and Communications manages all Lynn People news, which helps share the professional accomplishments of our employees (conferences attended; literature/papers published, etc.). Lynn People announcements do not reflect successes arising from an employee’s secondary employment or personal business endeavors, including work with other businesses.
5. All university meetings, activities and events must be submitted through 25Live. If your meeting or event is marked public (open to all students and/or employees), it will ALSO be added to lynn.edu/events.

If your meeting or event is canceled, postponed or moved to a virtual platform, you must:

1. Email Events to cancel/change in 25Live.
2. Notify guests by contacting [email protected]. Note what audience segment needs to receive which information.

Within one business day, you will receive approval and/or a confirmation. Before an event is posted, a request form must be submitted and approved through University Events (with the publicity box checked).*

To learn more about this policy or the supporting procedures, please contact Marketing and Communication.