UTMB Event Calendar Guidelines

Type the name of your event, ensuring the title is strong and informative. This will be displayed as the event’s name in the main calendar listing.

• Titles should be short, descriptive, and clearly convey what the event is about without being lengthy.
• Avoid using the "Event Title” field to categorize events (e.g., don’t prepend “EXHIBIT:” or “WORKSHOP:”).

Include details about your event using complete sentences using clear, on-brand copy:

• Event descriptions should be well written, error free, and enticing to users. Check for grammar, typos, and clarity.
• Provide all essential details in your event description to support accessibility, screen readers, and search indexing. If you have a flyer you wish to share for people to download and post, place it in SharePoint and link to it, ensuring the correct permissions are set for the link.
• Follow UTMB editorial and branding guidelines for consistent formatting, tone, and visibility.

Select “Live” for an upcoming event or “Canceled,” “Postponed,” or “Sold Out” for an approved event with a status change.

Start Date: Enter the event date in the “Start Date REQUIRED” field using letters or numbers.

Start Time & End Time: Enter the start time and end time (if known) for your event. Be sure to include “a.m.” or “p.m.” Please note, if no times are selected, your event will appear as an all-day event.

Repeating: Use this dropdown to indicate if your event is recurring or not.

• If it’s a one-time event, select “Never.”
• If it’s recurring, select the appropriate frequency under “Never” and complete the corresponding dropdowns that appear.
  • NOTE: If your event will occur on one more other dates or at other times that don’t align with the dropdown options, you can manually add them (see second bullet of next section). First select “Never” and move on to the "Date & Preview” section.

The Summary feature allows you to confirm/preview the details before adding the instance to the Confirmed Dates list.

• After entering the date, time and recurrence, click the “Add to Confirmed Dates” button. The date and time details will appear under “Confirmed Dates.”
• To add another date or time for the same event, repeat the steps in the “Event Date & Time” section and click the “Add Additional Confirmed Dates” button. Repeat these steps as often as necessary.
• Confirm that all the date, time, frequency, and recurrence details listed under “Confirmed Dates” are correct. Obvious errors (e.g., “5:30 p.m.–6:30 a.m.”) can cause an event submission to be rejected.

In the “Format” dropdown, indicate whether the event will take place in person, virtually, or both.

• For virtual events:
  • Use the “Virtual” location tag.
  • Provide information in the description explaining where/when invitees can find virtual access instructions.
• For physical events:
  • Use the calendar's suggested listings to ensure the map populates properly.
  • The listings available in the event calendar are cross-referenced with UTMB’s online map.

In the “Location Name” field, type the building name or address.

• Many UTMB locations have already been added to the calendar and will appear in a list of dropdowns once you start typing.
• After selecting the building, the address will auto populate.
• If the location does not appear from the dropdown list, you can add it as a custom location. Be sure to add the address to the “Address” field for any custom locations.

If your event includes a social media hashtag or website, include those details in these fields.

• Only one hashtag and one website are allowed per event.

• All events can be submitted with an image.
  • PLEASE DO NOT use a screen capture/image of your event flyer or a graphic with embedded text as your event art/photo. These images are not accessible to people with visual impairments, such as those who use screen readers. They also don't work well in the platform.
  • PLEASE DO respect copyright and refrain from using an image without permission or of unknown origin.
• If you do not have a photo:
  • “Choose from Photo Library” option displays photos in a pre-selected photo gallery for your consideration.
  • If you don’t upload a photo or choose one from the library, a generic UTMB placeholder image will be automatically assigned to your event.
• If you have a photo to upload:
  • Click “Upload,” select your photo, and click “Open” in the pop-up window.
    • Ensure you have the proper permission/rights to share any image or graphic used in your event promotion.
    • Use clear, accessible, high-quality images, appropriate, and properly cropped. Low-quality images and images containing text will be rejected.
      • Rectangular photos translate better than square photos.
      • Avoid using text in your images.
      • Follow the platform’s recommended image dimensions (commonly 940 × 557 pixels). This helps prevent cropping issues across event cards, listings, and featured sliders.
    • Get additional tips on cropping, resizing and optimizing images for the web.
    • Consider our institutional photo library if you lack a custom image.
  • Add alternative text (alt text) to the “Photo Description” field. This text should describe the photo in 100-125 characters.

• Filters allow:
  • Submitters do divide and assign events to various broad categories or types.
  • Calendar visitors to access a limited number of events, based on their area of interest. For example, alumni can filter their search to show only alumni-related events, students can filter their search to show only events hosted by a certain school, etc.
  • The option to add only select events to certain webpages.
• From each category listed (Event Focus, Location, Event Type, UTMB Area), click the dropdown arrow and select all the filters that correspond to your event.
• While not every category requires a filter to be selected, please select as many relevant ones as possible. Your selections will appear under the corresponding category.
  • Event Focus: Select the Theme and Target Audience (invitees) for your event.
  • Location: Select the hosting Campus and School (if applicable) for your event.
  • Event Type: Indicate if your event is an Academic Event, Health Care Event, or neither (General Event). Then select the corresponding dropdown filters under the applicable category.
  • UTMB Area: Select the relevant Academic Area filter(s), Business & Support Area or Centers, Institutes, Programs filter(s) that correspond with your event. These filters are especially important as they will be used to add events to the area’s website.

After you have reviewed the details in your submission, click “Submit Pending Event.”

• If all required fields have been completed, your screen will change; you will see confirmation that your event has been submitted/saved and is awaiting admin approval. Moderation may take up to two business days; submit your event early.
• If any required fields have not been completed, your screen will not change; the fields with missing required information will be highlighted in pink.