Public Relations

Public relations plays a vital role in enhancing the Greenville Technical College (GTC) brand reputation. As such, the mission of the public relations professionals at the college is to build relationships with internal and external publics including the media, donors, members of the community, decision makers, and employees through the exchange of information. This will include helping audiences understand and appreciate the college’s contributions and helping the college understand and deal with external influences and opinions. Those responsible for public relations will communicate honestly, with the goal of transparency. The function of public relations at GTC consists of a director of executive communications and public relations, responsible for overall college public relations, crisis management, and big picture publicity, along with a director of public relations, responsible for publicizing academic and continuing education programs.

• News Releases and Media Alerts
  Releases and alerts about events, news, accomplishments, and activities will be written and disseminated in a timely manner to convey information of news value to appropriate media.
• Personal Contacts
  Contacts with appropriate media outside of news releases will be made to suggest a story or alert a reporter to an educational trend.
• Inquiries
  Questions posed by members of the media will be answered as appropriate. Experts from various departments will be brought into the discussion as needed. The director of executive communications and public relations will handle media calls related to the college as a whole, find the appropriate person to answer a question, check with that contact to alert him/her as to the nature of questions to be asked, suggest tactics for responding to inquiries, and facilitate contact between the reporter and the on-campus expert. The director of public relations will handle these duties when the inquiry relates to an academic or continuing education program.
• Internal News
  Those responsible for public relations will gather content for the internal portal in an effort to provide employees with information about what is taking place at the college.
• Facebook
  Those responsible for public relations will post information and photos of events on the college Facebook page, being careful not to monopolize content by pushing college messages above student interaction. The PR director will also play a role in responding to questions posed by students on Facebook.
• Online Reputation Management
  Those responsible for public relations will monitor social media outlets, respond to inquiries, and set the record straight should discussion include negative comments that are untrue.
• Press Conferences
  Press conferences, briefings and other meetings with the news media will be arranged as appropriate by the director of executive communications and public relations.
• Website Content
  As requested, those responsible for public relations will edit website content for departments on campus to ensure wording is clear and concise and promotes the college appropriately.
• Speeches
  As requested, the director of executive communications and public relations will work with campus personnel to create or edit speeches for clarity and appropriate content.
• Weather Information
  The director of executive communications and public relations will provide information to the media when inclement weather causes a change in the college’s normal operations.
• Area Commission Meetings
  The director of executive communications and public relations will notify the media of meetings and will attend the meetings as requested for informational purposes and to be available, should journalists in attendance need assistance.
• Crisis Team
  The director of executive communications and public relations will serve on the college Crisis Management Team, helping the college communicate effectively during a crisis.

When the media contacts a member of the faculty or staff directly, that employee should immediately refer the reporter to the director of executive communications and public relations or the director of public relations. In this manner, those responsible can ensure that the responder has all information needed to answer questions accurately and can be aware of potential news coverage for the college.

Greenville Technical College publicly reports significant campus crimes that affect its students and the college community. Significant campus crimes will include, but not be limited to, homicide, robbery, aggravated assault, arson, and hate crimes.

When appropriate the college publicly reports arrests of its members, including students, faculty and staff, for serious criminal offenses that may affect the institution. These include arrests made by GTC police, and in some circumstances, by other law enforcement agencies.

Procedures

1. The chief of police will notify senior management and the director of executive communications and public relations simultaneously whenever an arrest takes place on campus whether the arrest is made by GTC police or another agency. This will ensure that the director of executive communications and public relations is aware of arrests and has facts at hand should an inquiry come from the media.
2. When appropriate the director of executive communications and public relations, working with the chief of police, will gather the information needed to generate a release or statement to the media. The statement or release will be approved by the President’s Cabinet before it is disseminated.
3. Greenville Technical College will generally not issue public news releases on sex crimes unless they represent a serious or continuing threat to the safety of students, employees, and/or the community. In instances when a public news release is generated on a sex crime, GTC will not release the name of, or clearly identifiable information about, the victim in order to protect the confidentiality of sexual assault survivors. Similarly, we will protect the confidentiality of students, employees, and community members involved in other types of relationship violence. However, law enforcement reports and other official documents relating to a sex crime or relationship violence may eventually become public record in the criminal justice system.
4. GTC may also issue public news releases for other serious offenses and arrests for such crimes as kidnapping, high-value property crime, identity theft, computer-related crimes and drunken driving resulting in injury or death. Because alleged crimes and criminal charges vary in circumstances and severity, input on release of information will come from the chief of police, the vice president of human resources, the associate vice president for executive affairs as well as other members of the President’s Cabinet should additional input be deemed necessary.
5. College members charged with serious crimes will generally be identified in a public news release by name and major (if a student), department and title (if an employee), and length of association with the college.
6. Information for release must come from the GTC Police Department or other investigating agency and must be verifiable. All facts in the news release must be attributed to a source such as an official or police incident report, warrant, or ticket.
7. Suspects should not be identified until they are charged with an offense.
8. Following the initial release, and upon consultation with GTC police, a news conference or other action may be initiated to assist reporters seeking information about an incident of potential public interest. The chief of police will speak to the media in those situations since he is the individual most knowledgeable about the arrest.
9. The GTC Police Force and the director of executive communications and public relations will make every effort to assist the news media to facilitate accurate coverage of an event. However, reporters do not have a right to enter a crime scene.

It is public relation’s intent to protect the college’s legal position in all matters that involve legal action, or potential legal action. Legal and privacy issues often require the maintenance of confidentiality that may preclude comment about a specific case or matter. Within appropriate legal constraints, it often is in the college’s interest to provide information to the public concerning our policies, procedures, and practices to assist the public and other audiences in understanding the context in which particular decisions or actions are taken.

Procedures

1. No statement should be issued concerning a legal issue, or a potential legal issue, without first contacting Greenville Technical College counsel (tbd). Any statement concerning legal matters must first be reviewed by counsel for its legal (as opposed to public relations) implications.
2. Senior management should be contacted concerning any issue that has the potential of involving a lawsuit against the college. Such matters would include accidents.

Those responsible for public relations will treat all news outlets equally for breaking news. This means one news organization should not be given preference over another except under special circumstances discussed below.

Rationale

Just as Greenville Technical College expects the media to treat the college fairly, media expect the college to treat them fairly. While it may be advantageous to GTC to give one news organization an exclusive on a certain story, in the long run, such a practice would be detrimental to the college because other news organizations would lose confidence in their relationship with the college. GTC will avoid playing favorites for the sake of expediency.

Exceptions

1. If a news organization is alone in pursuing a story about GTC, the information given to that news organization should not be shared with competing organizations unless they independently request such information. In other words, a news organization’s own exclusive will not be violated by the college.
2. It is appropriate to work with a specific news organization on a story in which that organization has expressed a specific interest. Such a story should not be of the type that would be considered breaking news by competing organizations but which would be more of a trend piece.
3. It is appropriate to identify a specific news organization for possible op-eds, commentary articles, and features.
4. When selecting news organizations to which releases should be sent or contacts made, decisions will be based on the public relations professional’s judgment on whether that organization or journalist would be interested in the information. This decision should be aided by past experience with the organization or individual and past requests for such releases or information.

Publicizing the financial support GTC receives from alumni and friends is important, both as a means of helping acknowledge the generosity of donors and for drawing public attention to the people, programs, facilities, and activities that donors believe are worthy of support. The director of executive communications and public relations supports the college’s fund-raising efforts to the fullest extent possible, consistent with journalistic practices and sound news judgment.

Rationale

An effective public relations effort in support of fund-raising activities is built upon three elements: the needs of the college, the wishes of the donor, and the standards and practices of the news media. Successful gift announcements publicize an important college activity while satisfying a donor’s desire for recognition and also making news. Institutional credibility is undermined when the media’s gatekeepers are forced to deal with – usually by dismissing – a news release that contains information that isn’t news.

Clear guidelines and procedures can help maximize public relations efforts. They are particularly useful during a capital campaign. Gifts of many types and magnitudes are solicited from donors by foundation personnel during a campaign. Good donor relations, which are essential to the college’s success in and out of a campaign, must be accompanied by good media relations. It is counterproductive to sacrifice one for the other, even in the short term.

Guidelines

To support the college’s fund-raising objectives, those responsible for public relations will write news releases about gifts and grants in accordance with the following guidelines.

1. Public announcement of a gift or grant by those responsible for public relations must be approved by the foundation president. Announcements made by any group or individual other than the college’s director of executive communications and public relations (such as a donor or other outside entity) must be made only with the knowledge of the director of executive communications and public relations. In this manner, they can have the facts at hand to answer media inquiries.
2. The director of executive communications and public relations will generally announce gifts and grants in excess of $10,000. However, announcements of grants and gifts of less value will be made if the director of executive communications and public relations believes the gift or grant is likely to attract media interest because of its source, nature, or circumstances; or because it funds innovative programs or facilities that may in themselves be newsworthy.
3. A news release announcing a gift or grant must include the amount of money involved unless a donor has specific reasons for excluding that information.

Procedures

1. The director of executive communications and public relations will prepare a gift announcement in consultation with the appropriate member of the foundation or grants staff.
2. The director of executive communications and public relations will ask the donor or donors for a quote or comment to be included in the news release and will respect the wishes of a donor who wants to remain anonymous or who prefers not to be quoted, but who has no objections to the release of other information about the gift.

GTC welcomes news media to campus just as the public is welcome to the campus. But neither the public nor reporters have a right to indiscriminate access to college buildings or other facilities. The college’s public relations personnel intend to be as helpful as possible to news media seeking access to facilities while upholding the college’s mission of teaching and learning.

Procedures

1. Since television equipment may interfere with traffic or activities, television crews must check with college public relations personnel for permission before setting up on any campus.
2. In general, representatives of the news media not using television cameras do not need permission to enter the campus or to take exterior still photographs for news purposes. However, access may be denied or monitored during an emergency or in situations when the director of executive communications and public relations determines that unrestricted media access may become inappropriately disruptive. The goal will be for students, faculty, and other members of the college community to carry out their activities with a reasonable expectation of privacy and normality while remaining free to speak openly with the media if they choose to do so.
3. News media representatives must seek permission from college public relations personnel if they wish to enter classrooms, labs, or similar facilities for the purpose of reporting. Such permission generally will be granted as long as the reporting activities do not disrupt activities; interfere with the privacy of students, faculty, or staff; or jeopardize the safety of personnel, visitors, or facilities.
4. All commercial, non-news photography or videotaping must be approved in advance by the director of marketing.

Consistent with the institution’s traditions of openness and concern for the well-being of its community members, Greenville Technical College is committed to providing timely alerts of significant computer security violations.

Rationale

GTC maintains databases that may contain confidential information about employees, students, or others. The college has systems to protect against hacking and other threats. However, with the rise of identity theft and other trends, no system can be considered invulnerable, and institutions should determine in advance the values and goals that will guide their response to a problem. GTC recognizes that its long-term credibility and success depend on acting forthrightly. Thus, in cases where the confidentiality of personal information may be compromised, the college’s primary goals will be to remedy the problem and provide those affected with timely, helpful support in responding to the situation.

Procedures

IT will be responsible for procedures for responding to and reporting issues involving computer security to an appropriate level of management.

1. The head of IT or his/her designee will have the responsibility for alerting senior management of possible security violations. At the same time, the director of executive communications and public relations should be alerted.
2. If the computer violation affects confidential information such as (but not limited to) financial data, appropriate senior leaders and others should assemble quickly to determine next steps. The director of executive communications and public relations should be included.
3. In developing appropriate communications for both internal and external audiences, the institution recognizes the tension that exists between gathering all the information about a situation and providing rapid notification to those who may be affected. The needs of law enforcement may also affect when notification can begin. As a general matter, however, GTC errs on the side of openness, providing notification as quickly and completely as possible of significant computer security situations. Simultaneously, it seeks to avoid needless panic, helping affected persons and others to understand and respond effectively to a situation. It also seeks to avoid alerting potential hackers to system vulnerabilities.
4. Those affected will be contacted directly through appropriate, perhaps multiple, means. GTC will also make public what it has learned about significant events, turning to appropriate IT experts for assistance in explaining the situation to reporters and others.