Email Guidelines
UT Tyler utilizes the email tool Emma to send internal and external email communications. Emma provides reporting, including open rates, click-throughs and more.
To prevent inappropriate or ineffective internal email usage, the university’s Strategic Communications team determines who can send to internal audiences. Any questions should be directed to Associate Vice President for Strategic Communications and Media Relations Beverley Golden (bgolden@uttyler.edu). Both the communications team and the web team will review content for appropriateness, compliance and branding for UT Tyler.
Access and training for Emma is available through the web team at UT Tyler.
Sign-up for Emma Access and Training
- All communications will be submitted for review by both Strategic Communications and the Web Teams.
- The communications team will review the content for appropriateness, timing and whether the message is suitable for the audience. For example, one department would likely not be permitted to send a daily email for a week; instead, a single email with links to the events throughout the week may be allowed.
- The web team will review content for accessibility and opt out of being on or off, depending on the audience.
- All messages will be reviewed for audience, content, brand, accessibility and timeliness. The marketing team reserves the right to edit messages as needed before deployment.
Content and Accessibility
University Content Style Guidelines
- University Name: In external communications, use the full university name (The University of Texas at Tyler) on first reference. The ‘T’ in ‘the’ should be capitalized. In internal communications, it is appropriate to use the abbreviated name.
- Abbreviated University Name: The correct abbreviation of the university name is UT Tyler, no periods. Please do not use UTT, UT at Tyler, UT or UT in Tyler.
- Academic Degree Abbreviations: Do not use periods when listing degrees (ex. PhD, MD).
- Dates: University style is ordinal (1, 2, 3), not cardinal (1st, 2nd, 3rd), numbers in dates. Also use a long hyphen instead of the word ‘to’ when listing date ranges (Oct. 1 – 3, not Oct. 1 to 3).
- Times: Use a long hyphen instead of the word ‘to’ when listing times (9 a.m. – 3 p.m.,
not 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.).
- Do not use ‘:00’ for exact hours (3 p.m. not 3:00 p.m.).
- Acronyms: Use the full name on first reference and the acronym in all subsequent references. There’s no need to add the acronym in parentheses after the full name. If the acronym is not clearly understood on second reference, please do not use it.
Accessibility
Accessibility is everyone’s responsibility, and there are a few easy steps you can take to ensure your message is as accessible as possible. A few essential items to remember as you create, review or approve emails to help ensure your content is accessible.
- Images with text are not generally accessible. While they are visually appealing,
they should never be the sole method the information within the email is conveyed.
- The information within the email should be conveyed via text, not solely as an image with text on top. All images should have alternative text to support what is shown for a screen reader.
- If a reader uses a screen reader or another adaptive tool, they cannot read the content via the image and can only read what is set up in the alternative text.
- Avoid light text on dark backgrounds (such as yellow text on a blue background).
- Links should be descriptive, such as “Register online”, “RSVP now”.
- Do not use “Click here” or “Read more here” as the word ‘here’ is a visual term and is not considered accessible.
- QR codes should not be used within digital communications; they are intended for printed pieces.
Recommendations for emails
- Use a header image of the UT Tyler logo, your department or division logo lockup or a Marketing and Communications approved header.
- Insert the copy for your communication into the body of the message.
- Check that the language for each link is accessible and that the links open as expected.
- Visit our brand marketing page for more information.
Lists for Emails
- It is important that email messages are sent to the appropriate audience; not all communications are appropriate for the entire campus.
- The web team will be responsible for updating the faculty and staff listing once a month from an IT data feed and student list each semester. There are additional segmentations for employees, including main campus and Health Science Center employees; clinical and academic; and faculty and staff segments.
- If the email you are creating has an external list, it should be uploaded via the Marketing Request Form. Additionally, we need to ensure the group has opted into communications.
If you have any questions related to setting up campus emails, please reach out to: