Overview
Our digital presence conveys the University of Mississippi to users all around the world. Often times, our digital channels are the first experience that our users (especially prospective students) have with our institution. Whether it be a graphic on social media seen by a high school student, an email delivered to the inbox of an alumnus, or a website visited by a parent, it’s important that our digital experience reflect our brand personality and provide an intuitive user experience.
To help members of our community deliver a consistent experience that aligns with our brand, University Marketing & Communications offers training, access and ongoing support to several tools for the delivery of digital content.
Please follow the steps below to receive access to digital tools available from University Marketing & Communications and the Office of Information Technology.
Step 1: Accessibility Training
Essential to the success of our online brand experience is our commitment to digital accessibility. For more information and resources related to electronic accessibility, see our University accessibility statement. To support that commitment, web accessibility training is required prior to any faculty, staff, or student gaining access to the university’s web content management system, email marketing system, and our social media management system.
Representatives in Accessibility Solutions have a number of resources and training courses available to all community members and may grant access to the necessary Blackboard trainings required for all users. Please visit this site and complete the form. Be sure to select the “web” option under “Digital Accessibility Course.” Upon completion of this course, you will receive a certificate from an accessibility specialist within 48-72 hours. Be sure to save your certificate of completion as you will need to upload it to request access to the following systems.
Step 2: Select the Appropriate System; Complete the Form
Web Content Management System
The university’s website, olemiss.edu, is managed through the Cascade8 content management system (CMS). Prior to requesting CMS access, please review our web governance plan to become familiar with web content community expectations and standards. That document, combined with accessibility as a standard, allows our campus community to manage our website as a valued university asset that includes flexible, mobile-responsive page design options with a clearly defined data infrastructure and search engine optimization (SEO) strategy.
Under our web governance plan, supervisors of staff wishing to gain access to the CMS must first complete a CMS User Role Submission form. Once that form has been submitted, the individual may request access to the website via the link below.
Upon completion of the web accessibility course, please complete this form to request access to the website CMS.*
Email Marketing System
Email marketing is an important tactic that enables us to plan, create, and distribute content to specific audiences within the extended university community. Email marketing is also a federally regulated distribution channel that requires heightened levels of institutional accountability. The university maintains an enterprise account with myEmma, an email marketing platform that offers current distribution lists for campus units to communicate with all segments of the university community.
To ensure compliance with both the CAN-SPAM Act and federal digital accessibility standards, the Web Content Management Team in University Marketing & Communications is charged with the development of email marketing standards, processes, approvals, and resources. These efforts are designed to preserve the effectiveness of university email outreach while also protecting brand integrity.
Upon completion of the web accessibility course, please complete this form to request access to the myEmma platform.*
Social Media Management System
Social media is one of the top ways we reach prospective and current students. With an evolving set of tools that changes frequently, it can be a struggle to manage and maintain multiple accounts on behalf of the university.
The social media team in University Marketing & Communications manages and oversees an enterprise account with Sprout, a social media management tool. In addition, the team has created several resources for social media managers across campus including best practices, guidelines, and how to ensure adherence to the university’s social media policy.
Upon completion of the web accessibility course, please complete this form to request access to the Sprout platform.*
*Reminder: Please have an image of your course certificate handy to upload before submitting this form.