myHumboldt Message Center – Faculty and Staff

A common theme in recent surveys, focus groups and other evaluations of campus communications has been that e-mail is ineffective for communicating news about major policies and processes. Staff and faculty have said that widespread e-mail is used too frequently by too many different groups with too many messages – resulting in important information getting lost in the deluge. At the same time, many staff and faculty said that they did not feel informed about important, work-related changes.

The messaging system within myHumboldt for faculty and staff allows more work-related information to be shared, in a way that is more convenient, more accessible, and archived.

The messaging system is just one part of myHumboldt. myHumboldt is intended to give users a single location where they can log in to use various software tools and systems; check personal leave balances, find policies and forms; access the campus directory; get campus news and event information; and more. Implementation is an ongoing process.

Below is an outline of the current approach for utilizing the myHumboldt messaging system.

myHumboldt Messaging

With any message, identifying the audience is the most effective way to identify the appropriate vehicle. myHumboldt provides several ways to target specific audiences, or to communicate with all faculty and staff. It is NOT an effective tool for communicating with ad hoc groups or smaller groups.

Campus Announcement Pagelet

With its prominent position in myHumboldt for every faculty and staff, Campus Announcements are the vehicle for many of the campus-wide communications previously sent by e-mail. Messages relevant to a substantial percentage of the campus, even if they are not directly affected, are appropriate for Campus Announcements. Examples of Campus Announcements include (but are not limited to):

  • Administrative changes including reorganizations
  • Updates about initiatives
  • New business forms and processes
  • New or changed University policies
  • Information about compensation or benefits
  • Employee-related deadlines
  • Critical facility information

Campus Announcements are coordinated by Marketing & Communications. They are submitted by content coordinators in the President’s Office, the Divisions, and a number of specific offices such as Facilities Management and Human Resources.

Divisional Pagelets (Acad. Affairs, Advancement, Admin. Affairs, Student Affairs):

In addition to the Campus Announcements pagelet, every faculty and staff person has at least one pagelet specific to their division. These pagelets are best for more targeted information specific to the unit, but which still deserve a wide audience. In addition to the examples above related to campus announcements, these could include:

  • Meeting schedules, agendas or minutes (i.e. Chairs meeting)
  • Messages on initiatives or accomplishments
  • Job candidate schedules and application materials

These pagelets are managed by content coordinators within each of the areas.

Unit-level Pagelets (Colleges, ITS, others):

Many faculty and staff will also see a pagelet specific to their College or other unit. The decentralized nature of these pagelets will result in a more diverse range of communications, and units are encouraged to experiment. Some units may keep their pagelet focused specifically on the business of the unit, while others may use it to highlight successful faculty research, or a staff member who has excelled in the workplace. Examples could include:

  • Newsletters
  • Grant funding opportunities
  • Job candidate schedules and application materials
  • Colloquia
  • Awards
  • Events and social gatherings
  • New hires

These pagelets are managed by content coordinators within each of the areas.

Special Options

myHumboldt messages via e-mail

Users can subscribe to message pagelets via e-mail, and will receive a message every time something is posted to a pagelet to which they have subscribed. While one purpose of the messaging pagelets is to take broad-based communications out of users’ inbox, some users have expressed a desire to access the information in their e-mail.

Printable messages

Users may choose to print myHumboldt messages using the “printer-friendly version” link on each message. This may be useful for those in offices where some or most employees do not have consistent access to a computer, or for those wanting to save the message in their paper files.

Searchable

Users can search archived myHumboldt messages. After clicking through to a specific message, select one of the areas on the left navigation bar. Then enter search terms at the top of the page.

Beyond myHumboldt

Not all messages fall into the categories above or are appropriate to deliver on myHumboldt. A number of other tools for internal communication are listed below.

Executive e-mails

While myHumboldt is the preferred venue for sending internal memos and messages, there will still be occasional need for campus leadership to send campus-wide e-mails. The goal is to reduce their use as much as practical. Keeping these campus-wide email messages to a minimum, and for specific circumstances, addresses concerns about their efficacy.

Google groups and e-mail listservs:

For more targeted group (such as all ASCs) Google groups and e-mail lists are an effective tool for communicating internally.

University Notices

University Notices continues to serve as a broad-based “campus bulletin board” and is an effective tool for communicating to all campus audiences.

Events Calendar

Developed in response to a clearly identified need for a location to both post and read about all public events on campus, the events calendar is the primary venue for event-specific information.

Humboldt State NOW

The official university news and information service, Humboldt State NOW highlights innovation and success across campus. Humboldt State NOW serves both an internal and external audience.

Division and department websites

College and departmental websites are a good place for posting programmatic news and information.