Roane State Community College

1. The Institutional Publications policy derives from Tennessee Code Annotated, Sections 12-7-106 through 12-7-108 and the rules and regulations of the Higher Education Publications Committee.
   1. An institutional publication shall be defined generally as one that is designed to represent the college in any capacity and of which copies will be distributed off-campus to any group or population.
   2. Any institutional publication prepared by college personnel will be sent to the public relations office for review of content and design to ensure that the institution is accurately represented; that the principles of good practice have been followed; and that where appropriate, the publication is coordinated in style and design with other college publications.
   3. All institutional publications are required to have a publication number. Specific examples include the following: program flyers and brochures, handouts on college resources/services, and magazines. Public relations assigns the publication numbers and coordinates all typesetting, layout and/or other requirements necessary to complete the publication request. Public relations will ensure that an Affirmative Action/EEO Employer statement and a Tennessee Board of Regents Institution statement appear on all publications as well as electronic publications (such as a website), video and/or audio productions as needed. Placement of the publication number and AA/EEO and TBR Institution statements should be consistent, based on the design of the publication, and should be at the bottom of newspaper ads and single page publications and on the back of multiple page publications.
      
      Certain printed materials which are intended solely for internal use may be excluded from the requirement that a publication number be affixed, e.g.:
      1. Undergraduate and graduate catalogs
      2. Admissions applications (unless part of a catalog)
      3. Financial aid applications
      4. Posters, calendars, pamphlets, fliers, programs, etc., promoting cultural or athletic events
      5. Alumni and development solicitation materials
      6. Seminar and workshop registration forms, brochures
      7. Research project reports (if generally distributed)
      8. Agricultural brochures, pamphlets, etc.
      9. Treasurers’ reports and other "outside" financial reports
      10. Campus telephone directories
      11. Employee benefits booklets, posters, etc.
      12. Purchasing requests for bids
      13. Purchase order forms
      14. Employment applications
      15. Placement forms
      16. Athletic ticket applications
      17. Campus, college, and department newsletters
      18. Faculty and student handbooks
      19. Employee training manuals
      20. Work processing forms for internal use, e.g., work orders, requisitions, transfer vouchers, voucher authorizations, vehicle requests, personnel action forms and similar documents
      21. Research project reports not generally distributed
      22. Research survey instruments
      23. Classroom test instruments
      24. Instructional material (even if sold at campus bookstore)
      25. Personnel and fiscal policy manual
      26. Grade reports
      27. Tickets for athletic and cultural events
      28. Student newspapers and yearbooks
      29. Meal tickets
      30. Traffic citations
   4. Public relations will maintain a log of publications. That log will include:
      1. Name of publication
      2. Department requesting publication
      3. Purpose and brief description of publication’s content
      4. Number of copies authorized for printing
      5. A general distribution list
      6. Estimated cost of printing and distribution (if applicable)
      7. Printer’s name and address
2. Media Releases
   Official college media releases for all print and electronic media should be channeled through the Public Relations Department to ensure that the college is accurately/appropriately represented and that the information is presented in a format acceptable to the media. This is in no way intended to infringe upon an employee's individual right to free speech.
3. Social Media
   Please refer to RSCC Guideline G-100 for best practices on college-related social media.

Responsible Party: The Director of Marketing and Public Relations shall be responsible for development and maintenance of this policy for issuance by the VP of Institutional Effectiveness, Planning and Student Success Initiatives.