B4: Communications and Public Relations

Responsibility for Maintenance: Office of the President

Date of most recent changes: March 28, 2016

I. Policy Statement  

Employees, agents and representatives of Onondaga Community College may not issue Public Statements on behalf of the College unless they have the authority to do so pursuant to this policy.

II. Reason for Policy  

Public Statements that are attributed to or associated with the College necessarily impact the College’s reputation in the community at large. This policy limits the persons authorized to issue Public Statements in order to protect the interests of the College and to ensure that public statements are consistent with each other and with the College’s established position with respect to the underlying issue(s).

III. Applicability of the Policy  

This policy applies to all employees of the College.

IV. Contacts  

Subject	Office Name	Title or Position	Telephone Number	Email/URL
Incoming media inquiries and issuing of public statements as directed and approved by the President   Approvals of Public Statements and designation of spokespersons as required by this policy	Office of the President	Executive Director of Communications	(315) 498-2054	r.h.mirabito@sunyocc.edu

V. Definitions  

Term	Definition
Public Statement	Any verbal, written or electronic communication of statements relative to College policy, operations or other institutional matters that is publicly accessible, including without limitation any statement made to print or broadcast or online media outlets (in an interview or otherwise), a letter to the editor, or an online posting.

VI. Procedures  

Public Statements – General  

Public Statements that define official positions of the College or disseminate information on behalf of the College shall be issued by the President or by others designated by him/her as official spokespersons. The Executive Director of Communications will often be designated to communicate the College's official position.

All College employees, agents and representatives are expected to contact the Executive Director of Communications if and when they:

• Receive inquiries from educational, local, regional or national media seeking interviews, comments, or public statements of College policy or position. Inquiries requiring the individual professional academic expertise of faculty members may be handled at the department level, with a courtesy call made to the Executive Director of Communications.
• Wish to contact media, hold a news conference or otherwise issue a public statement regarding the College.
• Learn of situations within their area of responsibility that are sensitive and could become a crisis, or learn that stories about their department or division will appear in local, regional or national media.

Letters to the Editor  

Letters to the editor or other similar public statements of personal opinion written by College employees should not be sent on College letterhead or via College email as such use automatically associates the institution with matters of personal opinion. Employees should be clear that their personal opinion does not represent an official College position.

Endorsements, Use of College Logos, Etc.  

Any use of the College’s trademarks, service marks, logos and/or symbols must be approved in accordance with the Policy L3 on Trademark and Service Mark Use.

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Approved by OCC Board of Trustees April 3, 2006

Updated and approved by the President March 28, 2016