Channel Definition

FlashLine channels are "containers" that hold specific types of content. Some channels will always appear on your My FlashLine pages. You are able to subscribe to other channels and place them on the FlashLine tabs you use the most.

Channel Illustration

Channels appear in a box format. Here is an example.

Example
KSU Links Channel

Official University Business

• Time sensitive information or other information that makes the message critical in nature;
• Applicability to, and of significant interest to, a large segment of the campus community; and
• Adherence to the university’s responsible use policies, which include but are not limited to:
• • 9-01.1 - administrative policy on responsible use of information technology; and
  • 9-01 - university policy on responsible use of information technology.

Personal Announcement Channel

The Personal Announcement channel, to which content can be posted, appears at the top of the middle column on the My FlashLine tab. Information can be customized to appear to the entire Kent State University community or to narrower audiences, such as history majors, all faculty members, etc.

Personal Announcement Placement

Personal Announcement Channel, Appropriate Use Examples

This channel will most often be used when your request is intended to reach a specific subset of a larger population and the request does not meet targeted announcement (e-mail) criteria. So, if you are promoting a business scholarship to business majors or trying to reach female students for your Greek organization membership drive, these types of posts would appear here. Appropriate use examples include:

• Improvements to curriculum in a particular major,
• Scholarship opportunities,
• Other messages intended for a specific audience.

During peak usage months (such as April and October), when the personal announcement channel contains many posts, items of an academic nature will be posted to this channel first. Other events, particularly those that apply to all students or all faculty and staff, will instead by posted to the e-calendar/calendar channels that appear off of the Kent State Web site and in FlashLine.

Targeted Announcement

A targeted announcement is an e-mail that can be sent to a specific group of Kent State recipients, based on various classifications, such as whether an individual is a faculty member, employee or student. Narrower roles may also be identified. This announcement can also appear as a posting on the Personal Announcement channel.

Additional Channels

If you would like to regularly communicate with a particular audience about a specific topic, please e-mail flashlineta@kent.edu to suggest creation of a new channel. If this channel is approved, you could then instruct your audience to subscribe to this channel to receive important information. Criteria will be determined based on regularity of content, size of audience, etc. In some cases, you might be guided to use a FlashLine Group.