What is it?

An all-student email sent each week during term time to deliver news, announcements and opportunities. It contains three sections:

1. News - the big University stories likely to interest the student body.
2. Your college - news from closer to home in the form of a College digest.
3. Offers and opportunities - competitions, surveys, offers and other opportunities for students to get involved.

Why has it been launched?

Audience research showed that students receive a large number of emails from many different sources. In some cases they receive the same information multiple times or may get messages that aren’t relevant to them.

In response, we launched a regular all-student email channel that all staff can feed into. It also has the ability to target individual stories at groups of students, such as distance learners, members of a specific college, undergraduates and postgraduates.

The aim is to reduce the quantity of emails students receive and ensure information is relevant, concise and timely.

How can I submit a story?

Send an email to studentnews@lancaster.ac.uk containing the following information:

• Headline: Keep it short, snappy and to the point
• Story and link: Again, brevity is vital. Each newsletter item should contain just 20-40 words that will likely link to a longer story online. Please either send the story link, or provide a request for a story to be published on the Portal.
• Audience: Who is your story relevant to? International students, undergraduates or all students? The editor may be able to target your story at a specific group.
• Edition: If you would like your story to appear in a specific edition, please note down the date.
• Image: Name your image using the story headline to avoid confusion. Not all stories will have space for an image. If an image is required and you are unable to provide one, an image may be selected by the editor.

As editor, Head of Internal Communications Luke Davis has the final decision on what is included. It’s important that the newsletter remains as concise and digestible as possible. For that reason there may be occasions when your item is not included. Decisions will be based on timeliness, student interest, relevance and newsworthiness.

What is the deadline?

The editorial deadline for each edition is 12pm Thursday. Newsletters are sent out on each Friday of term time. Vacation editions may also be sent depending on need.