Communication Channels & Guidelines

Find out what channels we use to communicate within LFS, with others on campus, and with our external audience of potential students, alumni, donors, research partners and the general community. Also, review the guidelines to ensure external communication is consistent with the Faculty and University’s overall style and messaging.

LFS Today
  • LFS Today is a daily news e-bulletin, and is our primary format for internal communications to faculty and staff.
  • Sign up to receive LFS Today.

LFS Digital Signage

  • There are two digital sign boards located in MCML (main entrance and the Agora Cafe) and one in FNH that can be used to display events, deadlines and updates from all areas of the Faculty.
  • You can submit your digital signage here. Please allow two days for your sign to be uploaded.

Bulletin Boards

  • We use the bulletin boards in the staff common areas of both buildings (MCML Mailroom, MCML Coffee Room, FNH Lunchroom) to display posters relevant to LFS faculty and staff.
  • Signage should not be affixed to windows, doors, or walls, as per UBC Policy #120.

UBC Today

  • UBC Today (ubctoday.ubc.ca) is a website run by UBC Internal Communications, which features the latest news, updates, events, and useful dates from across UBC, curated for faculty and staff.
  • We can submit story ideas and events that affect the campus community to UBC Internal Communications.

UBC Digital Signage

Faculty Album

  • Visit the LFS Flickr website to download some of our Faculty event and student images.

For Student Audiences

Newslettuce

  • The LFS undergraduate student bi-weekly e-newsletter prepared by the LFS Student Services team. Sent every other Thursday.
  • To sign up, email lfs.programassistant@ubc.ca with the subject line “Newslettuce Subscription” and your preferred email address in the body.
  • To submit content, please fill out the “Newslettuce Submission Request Form” here.

    Note: Submissions must be received by noon on Monday in order to be included in that week's Newslettuce.

Undergraduate Events Calendar

ReachOut

ReachOut Print Newsletter
    • Twice a year, LFS produces our Faculty magazine, ReachOut, to highlight major accomplishments and stories.
      • Print versions of the magazine are available from the Dean's Office and other places in MCML and FNH.
      • A digital version is available www.landfood.ubc.ca/reachout
ReachOut Email List
    • To coincide with its printing, we also send an email version of the newsletter to our donors and alumni. We use a paid service, Industry Mailout, which adheres to Canadian privacy and anti-spam legislation.
      • We will occasionally send invites to major events (such as the Centennial Dialogues series) using this email list, in consultation with our Development and Alumni Relations team.

Social Media

Main Social Media

Other social media

    • Some of the Faculty's subunits maintain their own social media channels (mostly on Facebook and Twitter): Dietetics Major, Animal Welfare Program, Dairy Centre, UBC Farm, Wine Research Centre, International Nutrition Major).

Guidelines for social media

Before starting a new social media account, either in an official or personal capacity, ensure you review the UBC Social Media Toolkit of resources, training tools and best practice advice. If you are unsure whether a communication is appropriate, please consult with your manager or the LFS communications director and refer to the UBC Social Media Guidelines.

LFS Community Connects

  • LFS Community Connects is a monthly e-newsletter created by the LFS Development & Alumni Engagement team, sent to the broader LFS community of alumni and donors. For more information, contact jane.miller@ubc.ca.

UBC News

  • Managed by UBC Media Relations, news.ubc.ca is primarily directed at journalists, to help promote press releases and major news stories from the university. Stories are categorized by beat areas most relevant to journalists.

UBC Events

Design

Faculty members, student groups and project managers interested in creating sub-sites (i.e. for labs, research projects, etc) should consult with our Web Communications Coordinator for template information. Design must adhere to the Faculty common look and feel (CLF) (an example of which can be found at landfood.ubc.ca), which in turn complies with the UBC common look and feel.

Additionally, a link back to the LFS website and analytics tracking code should be included.

UBC's Communications and Marketing office has released a new version of the UBC Common Look and Feel (CLF), which relies on responsive web design to automatically optimize a webpage for both desktop and mobile viewing.

A guide to the new responsive CLF can be found at http://clf.ubc.ca/.  The LFS Web Team is currently working with stakeholders to migrate existing LFS sites to the new CLF.

Responsive websites use the dimensions of a user's device display to optimize the page for viewing on large desktop devices, or small mobile devices, such as tablets or smartphones.

Domain Names (Vanity URLs)

To allow for greater flexibility and federated control of content, the domain names of Faculty sub-sites (such as lab pages, research projects) should appear with the lab/research project title (aka “sub-domain”) before the Faculty’s name, i.e. http://wine.landfood.ubc.ca(as opposed to http://landfood.ubc.ca/wine).

Subdomains of landfood.ubc.ca must only be used to communicate Faculty and UBC business. Please see our IT department (it@landfood.ubc.ca) to create an custom domain (URL).

Key Guidelines

Vendors have found that UBC’s endorsement of a product can substantially add to its value and marketability and may ask you for such an endorsement. Your personal endorsement of any product does not constitute UBC’s endorsement and should not be given in any way that might lead anyone to believe it does. You can read the whole policy on the university counsel website.

In order for UBC to continue to attract and retain its students, faculty, and staff, it must take active steps to protect its reputation and identity. One way the university protects its reputation is by registering and policing its trademarks. The portfolio of UBC trademarks is managed by the Office of the University Counsel.

You can read the complete list of University Trademarks on the Office of the University Counsel’s website for more information on trademarks at UBC.

UBC Brand has created a Visual Identity Guide, which provides guidance for LFS and our designers when developing materials.

The office of UBC Communications and Marketing manages the oversight and project management of the UBC Brand. Please refer to the UBC Brand Website for information on using UBC logos, wordmarks, fonts, photography, templates and more.

The UBC Media Relations team provides oversight and management of the university’s external reputation. If you are ever approached by a broadcast news outlet, or want to tell a story outside of UBC, the first step is to contact Media Relations.

Taking photos of people for marketing materials?  Remember to have the consent form signed by all involved before the image can be published. More information about the process can be found in the FAQs.

UBC has more than 300 Twitter accounts and 150 Facebook accounts.

Social networking tools are growing in number and they can be exciting channels to share ideas and connect with others who have the same interests. They provide an opportunity to advance our mandate to disseminate knowledge and build effective relations with the community through dialogue and academic freedom. However, they also have the potential to affect professional and organizational reputations.

Before starting a new social media account, either in an official or personal capacity, ensure you review the UBC Social Media Toolkit of resources, training tools and best practice advice. If you are unsure whether a communication is appropriate, please consult with your manager or the LFS communications director and refer to the UBC Social Media Guidelines.