WNBU Submission Guidelines

Who can submit events?

Postings should meet these criteria for inclusion:

Student groups whose event has already been approved in Baylor Connect.
Any official department on campus.
All events should be open to the entire campus community, accommodate at least 25 individuals, and appeal to a broad audience (for example, individual club meetings on campus are likely too small in scope to be appropriate for the What's New BU emails.).
University-sanctioned events held on campus by outside organizations. Inclusion of non-Baylor events is at the discretion of Student Life leadership and there is no promise of promotion.
All postings must be consistent with the Baylor mission and values.

Student Life events and promotions are given priority over other University events and Student Organizations. Inclusion of events and promotions is at the discretion of the Student Life leadership and space availability.

When should I submit my information?

Friday at 8 a.m. is the deadline for emails coming out the next Monday.

What if I want to advertise something that isn’t an event?

The format of the emails is chronological running Monday – Sunday with a section at the end called “Awesome Opportunities.” If you are submitting information that is not an event (i.e. job applications, symposium registrations, etc.), your post will be included in the “Awesome Opportunities” section. Posts of this type fall further down the email. This is by design as the emails are intended primarily to increase student engagement through University events for that week.

Can my event be advertised more than one week?

Because these emails are designed to act as a weekly calendar of events for the students, we do not include more than a single week’s calendar. Students are extremely busy, and getting the information in front of them more than a week in advance does not necessarily improve attendance. Information provided in the “Awesome Opportunities” section (i.e., job applications, conference registrations, etc.) should not run for more than two weeks. If an upcoming event requires ticket sales or volunteer requests, we can both advertise for the upcoming event as well as solicit a call to action in a post in the "Awesome Opportunities" section.

What can I do to draw attention to my event?

The best practices you should follow include:

Give your post a catchy headline. “Have a blast at Six Flags with Student Activities!” is better than “Student Activities Trip.”
Keep your event description concise. No one will read more than a sentence or two. There is a 300 character limit in the submission form to help keep your information within an appropriate length.
Include a graphic to bring attention to your event. See more information below.
Provide a link to more information. (This does not have to be a link to a Baylor website. It could be a link to a guest speaker’s biography or other information. It can even be a link to a PDF file sitting in your campus Box if you don’t have a website.) Providing more information helps interested students learn more about your event and helps keep the email more concise.

Providing Graphics

Adding a graphic above your post increases the chances that your event will attract attention. Here's what you need to know:

Inclusion of graphics is dictated by space limitations in the email. We will always attempt to include as many graphics as possible, but cannot promise inclusion. We also reserve the right to not include graphics that don't meet Baylor's minimum expectations in terms of design quality (or possibly use images that infringe on non-Baylor copyrights.)
Beginning Fall 2022, ALL graphics are required to be in 16:9 aspect ratio. You'll recognize this as the standard sizes for digital displays around campus. Because most of our students read these emails on their phones, we are implementing this change so that a single event image does not consume the user's entire screen. This also allows for less scrolling while reading and the ability to see the event graphic and the text description under it. From a practical standpoint, it should make your work easier as you can utilize the same graphic for both digital signage on campus and in WNBU emails.
To submit a graphic for use with your post, email it to whatsnew@baylor.edu.