Events Calendar: Guidelines

Please follow all guidelines when adding an event to the University Calendar. The guidelines are in place to ensure a positive user experience and to help increase user engagement. 

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us. 

General Guidelines

• All events must be University of Pittsburgh sponsored and open to the public.
  • Attendance limits and intention of audience can be included, but invitation only events are not applicable for this platform.
  • UPMC and events of other Universities can be listed only if they are partially organized or otherwise linked to a University of Pittsburgh Unit.
• All events posted must be something that can be attended.
  • Deadlines or announcements are not applicable for the calendar.
  • If you’d like clarification that a posting fits the criteria of an event, please contact Anastasia Stolz.

Duplicate Events

• Before you post an event, please ensure it does not already exist in the calendar.
• If you’d like to cross tag an event with another unit, please contact Anastasia Stolz after adding the event into the calendar. 

Title

• Titles should be brief and direct. Avoid long titles that push to three lines (use the description field for additional information).
• Please do not use all caps.
• Avoid including the type of event in the title. Example: Instead of “MyHealth Less Stress Lecture” use “MyHealth Less Stress”. You can tag it as a lecture in the Event Type field.
• We recommend capitalizing the first letter of each significant word in the title. Avoid capitalizing prepositions with fewer than four letters (as, at, by, for, in, to, etc.)

Description

• Use short paragraphs and bulleted lists to keep the information brief and easily scannable to viewers. 
  • Option to link out to a source / webpage that holds more detailed information. 

Event Photo

• If uploading your own event photo, use clear, high-quality images that are at least 588px x 322px. 
• No photos with text (e.g. flyers) or graphic illustrations. 
• No photos with logos.
• No photos with white borders/edges/backgrounds.
• No collage type photos. 
• Use an image that is relevant to your event.
• Use different images for each event as much as possible (this helps generate interest).

Event Type

• The event type ‘Special Events’ is only for very large or important University events that are owned by the whole university. Example: homecoming, graduation, day of giving.

Vanity URL

• Should only be used if printing collateral or there’s a specific reason for needing a shortened/particular URL.

University Unit & Group Landing Page Guidelines

• The landing page photo should be a single photograph.
• The photo dimensions are 588px x 322px.
• The photo must not contain any text or a graphic illustration.
• The photo must not contain a logo.
• No photos with white borders/edges/backgrounds (the photo area already has a border so please don’t add an additional border).
• No collage type photos. 
• Descriptions should be brief so as not to push down upcoming events from the initial landing page view. 
• Please send your landing page image, description and if you have Facebook and/or Twitter to University Communications. We will add it for you.