When we set out to build a new website for the college, we hoped that we would also be able to provide a new, online public events calendar for the college. Over the years, we have heard from many members of the campus community that they would like to have an improved public events calendar that is attractive, easy to navigate, and easy to use when it comes to promoting their events. We’re pleased to announce that in conjunction with the launch of the college’s new website, we will also provide a new online public events calendar.
This new calendar is powered by LiveWhale, a calendar content management system that is designed for campuses to tell their best stories through their events calendars. In searching for a new calendar, the project team (members of the Communications Office, Events Office, and Information Technology Services) sought a solution that serves those campus needs and integrates seamlessly with EMS, our space and event support services scheduling system.
Welcome to events.trincoll.edu
When it launches during the week of August 27, the new calendar will be located at http://events.trincoll.edu. You will also be able to find events feeding into the homepage of the college’s website and into various pages within the website.
Space and Event Support Services Scheduling Will Remain the Same
The process for reserving space and accessing event support services at the college has not changed. Please continue to use http://reservations.trincoll.edu. Student groups should continue to work with the Office of Student Activities, Involvement, and Leadership (S.A.I.L.) to book space and event support services for their events and programs. As with the current system, events that will be visible on the calendar will come directly from the reservations system into the calendar.
The Events Office will be rolling out additional tools to help event managers use campus operations information to look ahead and plan their events. More on that will be communicated soon.
Trinity Today is Changing
Trinity Today as a website and daily email are changing. Master Calendar—the product that has powered the events and announcements feeds on Trinity Today—will no longer be used for announcements and as a public events calendar. We recognize that this is a big change for the campus community, particularly when it comes to broadcast announcements.
The Trinity Today email (which went out weekly during the summer, daily during the academic year) has already ceased to allow for the transition to the new calendar system. The Trinity Today website, though, will continue to exist for now to serve campus needs for internal communications.
We are working to provide a replacement for Trinity Today, but the transition will take time, and we need the campus community’s help and input to determine the best solutions. In the meantime, here are ways your announcements can be shared with the campus.
Global Emails
In this period of transition, we will ease the rules and practices around the use of the campus global emails. If you have previously used Trinity Today for announcements will be able to send their messages to the campus via email. Contact Caroline Deveau in the Office of Communications for access to send to the global distribution lists for faculty, staff, and students. You’ll also receive instructions and guidelines for using the global distribution lists.
Announcements on the Trinity Today Website
We understand that some announcements must remain visible for a certain period of time, which is a need that cannot be met by email alone. The Trinity Today website will be adjusted so that announcements will be visible to readers. To have your announcement posted on the site, email the Office of Communications with your content and publication dates, and your announcement will be posted for you on the site.
A Weekly Digest of Announcements
While there are mixed feelings about efficacy of the daily Trinity Today email, we recognize that an email push has been helpful to increase visibility for announcements and events. In this transition period, the Communications Office will send a weekly digest of announcements that are published on the Trinity Today website, as well as a link to the events calendar and other event resources.
Training for Users in the New Calendar
In September we will provide information about training sessions for users to learn how to use the new events calendar. Once trained, users will be able to log into the calendar and provide additional information (images, descriptions, and other details) to promote their events.
Our Path Forward
Implementing the new events calendar is just the beginning for improving campus communications and information sharing. We recognize that there needs to be a replacement for Trinity Today, and it has to be a whole lot better than what Trinity Today was. Figuring out the best solution(s) takes the work of many people and perspectives in our community. When the academic year begins, a cross-campus communications advisory committee will begin the work of determining solutions. We will provide updates to the community as that work gets underway.
We look forward to partnering with campus users in launching this events calendar, supporting your needs during this transition, and in ultimately building an improved system for campus communications.
We welcome your ideas, questions, and feedback, and we hope to hear from you. You can contact us using the form below, or feel free to send an email.
Photo by Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash