Style Guide - SUNY Orange

Using Grapevine
The Grapevine is the College’s primary internal communications tool. It is distributed twice weekly (Tuesday and Thursday mornings)
via e-mail to all faculty and staff (Campus Grapevine) and students (Student Grapevine) with an @sunyorange.edu e-mail address.
The Grapevine is also posted on the College web site with public announcements retained in an archive section for later reference.
Grapevine content will be restricted to official College-related business only. It can be used for such things as: announcing an
official policy or procedure; delivering news of broad importance (inclement weather, security, etc.); announcing an official
College event; delivering messages that must be communicated to the entire college community (required safety training, etc.).
Deadlines for submitting items for Grapevine consideration are Noon on Monday (for Tuesday’s issue) and Noon on
Wednesday (for Thursday’s issue). Items that are submitted following the established deadlines can/will be considered for the
next available Campus Grapevine distribution.
The only method for submitting information to the Campus Grapevine is through the online form available at www.sunyorange.edu/wea/posting/new.
The form accommodates submissions of events (for the online College calendar), announcements
or an event/announcement combination.
As a security measure (to confirm the poster’s identity and relationship to the College), an e-mail confirmation notice will be
generated for each submission request to the Grapevine. When users receive this notice, they will be required to access the
included “confirmation link.” Submitters can then edit their submission, or simply confirm. Upon confirmation, the items will
enter the system, where they will await approval.
Submitted items for the Grapevine will be reviewed for approval by Mike Albright, Communications Officer, or Steve
Hedderton, Assistant Director of Communications for Publications, utilizing the criteria above. Employees who have
submissions that are denied or suspended (pending further review, information or editing) will be notified via e-mail of the
reason for the denial or suspension.
When using the Grapevine submission form, you will be given a range of dates for when your item may be included in
the Grapevine. If you are submitting an announcement ONLY, your range of dates will include all available Tuesdays and
Thursdays within the three weeks following the date of your submission. If you are submitting an event/announcement
combination, you will be given a range of dates that includes all available Tuesdays and Thursdays within the three weeks
preceding your event date. The rationale is that “announcements only” are items that will need to be distributed soon, while
event/announcement combinations may be entered into the system early — to take advantage of exposure on the College
calendar — but submitters will want to hold the announcement until closer to the event. If you post an “event only,” the
information goes directly to the online calendar and you will not be presented with a series of dates on the form.
On those rare instances when items of importance must be delivered to the campus community outside of the framework
of the Grapevine, information will be distributed campus-wide via an “urgent@sunyorange.edu” listserv. Items that must
be sent via this method will be distributed via a Cabinet member, who has authorization to enforce the criteria above when
determining the urgency of the message. Items that can be held for a future Grapevine issue will be rejected by Cabinet
members and submitters will be asked to utilize the submission form.
Faculty and staff have the option of including their announcements and events only in the Campus Grapevine, only in the
Student Grapevine, or in both areas simultaneously. Items intended for the Student Grapevine should have some relevance to
students. Any announcements for student clubs or organizations will be processed through the Student Activities Office.
Submitters may occasionally have an announcement that is intended only for the campus community and is not suitable for
viewing by students or external community members. In these instances, the submission form has a “Show on Public Website”
check box that, when left unchecked, will allow the notice to be included in the e-mail version of the Grapevine, but not in the
online version of the Grapevine.
Students are encouraged to submit announcements for clubs and organizations, however, all submissions must have the confirmation
routed to the club advisor or sponsor so that the College is assured that the event/announcement meets all College and
Grapevine criteria.
SUNY Orange Style Guide
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