Web Initiatives and Engagement
The IT Communications team oversees the development and maintenance of all Northwestern IT-related web communications, including websites, social media accounts, email newsletters, and Northwestern IT events on Planit Purple, the University's event calendar.
Content for the IT Service Management Portal, including Knowledge Base articles and the service catalog, is managed by Technology Support Services. Please contact Ivette Bravo, IT service management analyst, for assistance with creating new information or updating existing content.
The following resources are intended to help IT staff engage with and maintain these essential elements of our brand and know when to contact our team for assistance.
IT Website
The IT Communications team is the content administrator for the IT website powered by Cascade, the University's web content management system. We develop new content, review existing content, identify areas of improvement, and partner with the Office of Global Marketing and Communications, the University's Cascade administrator, to ensure the site is searchable and content is accessible.
We also work closely with designated Cascade contributors within IT to ensure the site's content is up-to-date and adhering to established style guidelines.
Cascade Access and Training
Department directors assign a maximum of two content contributors to receive Cascade training and be responsible for submitting any web updates for content owned by their department. Updates are submitted through workflow, reviewed by IT Communications, and approved for publishing.
To request Cascade access, please send an email to it-communications@northwestern.edu.
IT Newsletters
We collaborate with the Northwestern IT community to identify and develop content for the IT newsletter, Bits, Bytes, and Buzz. There are two versions of the newsletter—one for faculty and staff and another for students— with just-in-time technology updates, new service announcements, IT initiatives, and other IT-related topics. See current and past issues of the IT newsletter.
We also develop content for Inside IT and the monthly IT internal newsletter, Take 5. The newsletter informs and connects Northwestern IT staff to our University community, focusing on "need to know" and "opportunity to engage" information, including organizational updates and features on colleagues and project teams. See current and past issues of the Take 5 newsletter.
Social Media
IT Communications maintains an editorial calendar to ensure that social media posts are timely and relevant to our audiences. Follow us on X to learn more about IT-related news, support, and services.
Planit Purple Calendar
We maintain the Northwestern IT event calendars in Planit Purple, the University's event calendar. Events posted there feed into the IT website event calendar, where they are filtered by event focus, teaching and learning, and research computing and data. View the Northwestern IT Event Calendar.