Social media is a powerful tool for building pride and encouraging dialogue among College of Science community members. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn have become important and influential communication channels for our community. The College encourages the creation and use of social media accounts, providing that affiliated social media accounts adhere to Oregon State’s social media policy.

Social media accounts created on behalf of the College of Science are the property of Oregon State University, and messages shared from faculty, staff and students must be consistent with the University’s mission and guidelines. Creators and administrators of the accounts do not have ownership rights.

No less than two people must have administrative access to each account. At least one of those people must be a full-time (non-student) employee of OSU. This allows for better regulation of content and creates a backup if an administrator were to leave the University.

If our alumni, faculty, students or staff provide negative feedback, it is important to address the issue. For those that are very upset, give an option to connect offline and away from public view. If you have the ability to contact them directly, make sure to leave a response, in the public forum, so others don't assume the issue was ignored.

For minor grievances or complaints try to solve the problem publicly. Be apologetic, offer to help. Try to find a solution, but make sure to not overpromise or commit to something that cannot be delivered. Negative feedback happens, and it is an opportunity to demonstrate the value of your social network.

If you are unsure on how to respond to a specific situation, please reach out to the College of Science marketing team for help.
Privacy Laws

Use good judgment when sharing recognizable images and information on subjects. Do not include confidential information about the University, its staff, students or materials on any social media sites. All recognizable subjects in imagery must sign a model release form.

If you share external logos, images, videos, articles, messages or user-generated content, be sure to provide appropriate credit to the original creator.

Announcements like University closures will come directly from the University’s main accounts, which College of Science accounts can reshare.

In the event of an emergency or high-level announcement on or off campus, OSU asks that university-related accounts refrain from posting any content, and refer all followers to the @OregonState Twitter account for more information. Use this copy to direct traffic: “For updates on the current situation, follow @OregonState or visit oregonstate.edu. Thank you.”

When serious situations arise elsewhere in the world, the best thing for an account to do is to go silent until the crisis has concluded. Do not engage with other users. Reshare official University updates.

Read Oregon State’s social media policy for further guidance.

Members of the College of Science Marketing Team serve as both brand managers and delegates within the University's brand governance system. They will review and approve externally facing materials for compliance. The College's brand managers are Tamara Cissna and Sharon Betterton (design). All members of the Marketing Team are brand advocates.

Please contact [email protected] if you become aware of any content that violates these expectations or if you have any questions. All feedback from the College of Science community is welcome.