Frequently Asked Questions - University of Houston
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Frequently Asked Questions

What is CoogNews?

CoogNews is a weekly electronic news digest that provides a brief synopsis of campus information, news announcements and events targeted to UH students. CoogNews is distributed to all students every Monday afternoon during the fall and spring academic semesters, and every other Monday during the summer sessions.

I’m a student. Can I unsubscribe from CoogNews?

Students are unable to opt-out of this official university email communication.

I’m not a student. Can I subscribe to CoogNews?

Faculty and staff can sign up to receive CoogNews.

How did CoogNews start?

Students used to receive an excessive number of individual emails from various UH departments and programs. Not only did this frustrate students, but the emails from UH were frequently treated as spam by email clients due to the volume being sent out.

In order to resolve this problem — to the extent possible — beginning around Fall 2012, many e-mail communications* directed to the student body as a whole have been consolidated into a single weekly e-newsletter compiled and distributed by the Division of Student Affairs.

*Please note that this communication does not affect nor replace announcements regarding academic/enrollment matters, advancement, emergency management issues, and direct communications from colleges and departments to their respective students.

How do I place an announcement in CoogNews?

UH faculty, staff, and student organizations must fill out the UH CoogNews Submission Form to include an announcement in CoogNews. All submissions must appear on a website, preferably a UH-affiliated URL, in the form of a news release, one-paragraph brief, calendar item with a description, or promotional flyer/brochure.

CoogNews will contain links to UH websites whenever possible to obtain additional information. Please spell-check and fact-check items before sending them.

Emailed submissions will not be used.

What’s the deadline to submit an announcement?

The deadline* for submission is Fridays by 5 p.m. CoogNews is put together and scheduled for distribution on Monday mornings.

We reserve the right to edit submitted materials for space or grammatical reasons. We may also elect to hold it for another edition if your announcement can be delayed.

*There is an exception for messages that are truly time-sensitive and where there is good cause for not meeting the deadline for inclusion in the newsletter. Please contact Germaine Washington, director of marketing and communications for DSA, to request an exception by 11 a.m. on Mondays.

What can I submit?

  • News specifically targeting students
  • Large scale, university-wide programs
  • Important events, programs, resources, and services
  • Opportunities for student involvement
  • For a student organization message to be included in the blast, it must announce an event sponsored by a student organization that is open to all students, new officers or members, or competition results.
  • CoogNews can accommodate one special image graphic at the top, but that space reservation is first-come, first-served only. Contact Germaine Washington if you would like to reserve that space for a certain week.

What should not be submitted?

  • Regularly scheduled/recurring workshops and club meetings*
  • For departments/program which hosts the same workshop each week, it is strongly suggested to submit an announcement each month with a descriptive title that references your monthly workshop series and topics with a link to your department's website/calendar where students can find out specific details on dates/times/locations for each month's events (i.e. "UH Wellness Massage Therapy September Workshops" with a link to the respective website/calendar)
  • Events that are not open to all students
  • Non-University events
  • Outside advertising
  • Recruitment information for classes
  • Survey/research requests
  • Job openings

*If you want to advertise a specific date for a program or event, please also use the University calendar.