CLASS Action submission guidelines

Submission Guidelines
2/11/09 at 3:44:26 PM

The newsletter publishes articles from student communities, Career and Community Learning Center, Office of the Assistant Dean, Student Information Office, McGuire Academic Program, Access to Success, many departments, and several standing committees. The newsletter appears weekly with contributors rotating according to a published schedule.

When contributing an article, focus on issues of professional interest to CLASS staff. Our goal is to strike a balance between the need for professional, informational articles and the need to broaden and deepen a sense of community among our staff members.

Articles should normally reflect the efforts of your community, office, or department to deliver services to students or to further CLASS initiatives. We especially encourage articles that demonstrate how topical issues (e.g., student retention, student engagement, self-authorship, transformative learning) are finding expression in your work and the services you provide. Options include highlighting a student success story from your community, describing a partnership between the student community and one of its related departments, or describing the lessons to be learned from a particularly positive advising session. Articles may provide information on professional development opportunities (including classes, conferences, and travel). Job/staff changes and new staff introductions may also be included.

At times you may want to take a broader view, reflecting on how your community, office, or department has adapted to change; showing how professional development or improvements in service delivery are benefiting new generations of students.

Whatever the content of the article, we encourage you to see it as an opportunity to reflect on the challenges and opportunities, and to highlight your accomplishments. We hope you will use this opportunity to celebrate the successes of your community, office, department, or committee. The newsletter is an appropriate place to brag a little.

Readership includes all CLASS staff as well as some academic departments and collegiate and campus administrators. Given our readership base, it is important to refrain from inside jokes and personal staff information in the update articles.

Include a headline for your article. It's helpful to know what you think is essential in what you're saying.

We welcome the inclusion of photographs, charts, graphics, and video clips -- anything that may add to the reader's understanding or enjoyment of the article.

Special Features (e.g., leadership articles) are published on an ad hoc basis. Ideas and submissions for special features are welcome.

Spell out acronyms on the first use. Though most staff will know that "ADFAB" is the Assistant Dean's Freshman Advisory Board, the newsletter audience includes new staff and some non-CLASS readers.

Avoid repetition and the obvious (e.g., "we're busy", “it’s summer again”). How are things changing? How are your initiatives progressing? What could you say that’s different than what could be said by another contributor?

Article length should be at least 200 words (200-600 is typical).

Submission deadline is noon (Wednesday) for articles that will appear that week. Our intention is to publish the newsletter by the end of the day Thursday so that it will be available to readers on Friday.

Unscheduled Submissions are welcome. We encourage such contributions so don't be shy. Please send any unscheduled articles or newsletter ideas to rds@umn.edu.

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