University Calendar Support

UComm is happy to set up your feed on your Sitefinity page or walk you through the process if we don’t have access to your website. You may also set up an event feed yourself once we have provided you with your feed URL.

1. 1. Create an RSS Feed in the Content Type section of your website. In Sitefinity, navigate to Content > RSS Feed Reader (under “Types of Content” and click the “Create a rss feed reader” button.
      
      1. Paste the Feed URL provided by University Communications.
      2. Name the Feed with the slug (the part after …feed/) from your feed URL.
      3. Select “Date (ascending)” under “Sort by.”
      4. Select “UComm Denver Feed” under “Feed Type.”
      5. Choose how many events you want to display.
      6. Publish the feed.
   2. Navigate to the page where you want the feed.
   3. Select an RSS Feed Reader widget and drop it in place.
      
   4. Click “Edit” on the RSS Feed Reader widget and select your RSS Feed. Click “Done selecting.”
      
   5. Select the UComm Card as the Select View option.
      
      1. You may also select other display options, but they are not optimized for the Calendar feed, so be aware of display errors.
      2. Leave “Show Article Summary” checked if you want the first 100 characters of your event description to display. Uncheck the other boxes.
      3. Click “Save”
   6. You should see your events in Sitefinity. If they look correct, publish your page to surface the Event Feed on your webpage.
   7. Your feed is now visible. For example: https://www.ucdenver.edu/first-year-experiences

Click the “Add Image” button.

The Select Image window opens, with two tabs:

Upload files

1. Click the “Select Files” button to upload an image from your computer. The maximum file size is 2 MB, but the recommended size is no larger than 500 KB.
2. Upload your image.
3. Add the alternative text in the Alt Text field located in the center-right of the window.
   
   • Alternative text describes the image if the image fails to load, or if a visitor is using assistive technology. Alt text is critical for ensuring web accessibility for all users.
4. Click the “Select” button to apply the image to your event and close the Select Image window.

Media Library

1. Browse images by scrolling, filtering or searching.
   
2. Categories are added over time, such as “General Use,” which are web-optimized, branded images curated for Calendar use by all CU Denver users.
3. Click the image you want to use.
   • Note that you may not be able to edit the Alt Text for images uploaded to the Media Library by other users, but you can use any image in the Library.
4. Click the “Select” button to apply the image to your event and close the Select Image window.

When logged in, Calendar Approvers see an Admin bar on top of their browser.

• Click “University Events Calendar” on the left side of the Admin bar to see the Calendar Dashboard.
• Click “Events” in the left navigation to see your events.
• Click an event title to open the Edit page for that event. Calendar Approvers can edit the event much as they can from the “My Events” page of the Calendar.

When editing an event in the Calendar Dashboard, you have more controls, including:

• Hide From Event Listings – under Event Options, if you select this option the event will not appear in the main calendar but will still appear in feeds. This is useful for events that are only for your particular audience that you do not want to promote to the full community.
• Duplicate an Event – in the “Publish” box to the right of the Event details, there is a “Duplicate” button. Clicking the button opens a duplicate of the current event in a new browser tab. You can change the details of the duplicate event as needed, then publish it. This is useful if you have several events that share details, such as Tags, Department, School/College, etc.
• View and Add Tags – in Events > Tags, you can search all tags, add tags and see all events marked with a tag. This is where you will create new tags that you or a subscriber in your department requests.

When viewing events in the Events section of the Calendar Dashboard, you can customize the columns that are displayed by clicking “Filters & Columns” in the upper left part of the Events screen. Add and remove items from the Active Columns box, click “Apply” to update the columns you see in your event list, then click “Filters & Columns” again to close the Active Filters panel.

To post an event to the calendar, click “Submit an Event,” which takes you to the Event Submission form. You will be asked to log in if you have not already.

All users may submit an event to be published on the events calendar. All events will be reviewed by a Calendar Approver before they are published.

Please email ucommweb@ucdenver.edu to request adding a Calendar Approver, including what department’s event they’ll be approving, and evidence of authorization for the Calendar Approver role. Also, make sure that person has logged in with their CU Denver credentials already.

If you represent a unit that does not have a Calendar Approver, you may still submit your event through our online event submission form.

See the Event Posting Best Practices page for specific guidelines.

A three-week minimum lead time is recommended for submissions, when possible, to make sure the Approver has time to review your request with ample time for your event to be promoted on the calendar and relevant feeds. If an event does not appear to meet the requirements, it may be returned to the submitter to edit or it may be rejected. Publication of events is at the discretion of the calendar editor.

When you post an event to the university calendar, it may be displayed in the following places based on the event’s settings.

• The Main Calendar homepage
• The Place Page of the campus event location or Department Landing page of the unit hosting the event, if there is an Event Feed in place
• Any webpage with an Event Feed that includes filter criteria that your event also contains

Featured events meet the following requirements:

• The event must be of interest to a majority of the campus community
• The event image must be appealing
• The topic or program must be of particular interest

The number of large-scale events being held on campus at the same time will also impact the selection of featured events.

Featured events are displayed in the Featured Event carousel on the main calendar page. We continually monitor all events that have been added to the calendar, and will feature those we feel meet the above criteria. If you feel your event should be featured, please let us know at events@ucdenver.edu.

Special Note about the event Image: All Featured Events must have photo or illustration included with the submission and follow CU Denver Calendar image guidelines. The max photo size is 1080 × 720 px.

1. Add events at least three weeks before the start date.

Don’t wait to add them until the last minute and allow time for approval if you aren’t a Calendar Approver.

2. Put additional event info in the description rather than using a flyer or text-heavy photo.

Information in flyers might be cut off or covered by labels when posted, and flyers or photos with text are often not web accessible or mobile-friendly.

3. Use filters, tags and keywords to classify your event and make it easier to find.

Don’t leave this section blank.

4. Use Recurring when there is more than one instance of an event.

Don’t create multiple submissions.

5. Change the status of an event instead of deleting it.

An event that suddenly disappears may confuse attendees. You’ll also lose all participant data that had been collected.

6. Do not post Zoom links in an event posting without enabling security features.

Use the Register or Waiting Room feature in Zoom to control access to your virtual event.

All officially-recognized student organizations should start by submitting their events to MyLynx so that they appear on the student engagement platform. The Office of Student Life and Campus Community may add student org events to the university calendar.

The calendar is a public-facing event platform, and anyone may view and browse events. Logged-in CU Denver students, faculty and staff with a university credentials have the most access to the calendar and may be given Calendar Approver and/or CU User permissions.

Members of the general public can create an account and log in via multiple avenues. An account gives you access to many of the basic calendar features.

If you do not wish to create an account, you will still be able to see all events and share events to social media.

The optimal size ratio for an image is 3:2, horizontal, such as:

• 540px x 360px
• 720px x 480px
• no larger than 1080px x 720px

Avoid images that include text, which are often not web accessible or mobile-friendly.

Don’t have an image for your event? Feel free to select from our selection of web-optimized CU Denver event images.

Log in to the calendar

Click “View Your Events” in the top right navigation.

You may View, Edit or Delete any of your events from this page.

If adding an event that is multi-day and continuous, make a single event and set the start and end date.

• Examples: exhibitions, spring break, winter break

If adding an event that occurs regularly but is not continuous, make a single event for the first occurrence, then use the recurring feature. Start and End dates should be set for the first single day; each recurring instance will use the same start and end time.  Set the recurrence to “weekly” and select which days in the week the event will occur. Make sure to set the “ends on” date correctly.

• Examples: biweekly information sessions, weekly exercise classes

To post an event to the calendar, click “Submit an Event,” which takes you to the Event Submission form. You will be asked to log in with your CU Denver credentials if you have not already.

All users may submit an event to be published on the events calendar. Even events submitted by Calendar Approvers using the public Event Submission form will have a “Pending” status until reviewed and approved by a Calendar Approver before they are published. Calendar Approvers may approve/publish their own submitted events.

Calendar Approvers may also create events in the Calendar Dashboard. Publishing an event from the Calendar Dashboard takes effect immediately.

All events submitted from the public Event Submission form are sent to await approval by a Calendar Approver before they are published and posted to the calendar.

Calendar Approvers also receive a notification email that they have a new pending event to review.

The pending queue for Calendar Approvers is determined by the School/College or Department assigned to each Approver. For example, a Calendar Approver for the Department of Anthropology will see only events that include the Department “Anthropology” when submitted.

An event submitted with a Department that does not have an Approver will be “orphaned,” meaning no one will be notified to approve it. University Communication periodically reviews the pending queue for orphaned events and makes an effort to identify an approver for the event.

See Event Submission Requirements above for guidance on approval criteria.

Send an email to ucommweb@ucdenver.edu with the following information:

• Full Name
• Name of your department or unit
• Name of your unit’s communicator (if you have one)
• Reason why you are adding or changing the Calendar Approver for your unit