Advisor's Greeting

Welcome to Student Publications at Appalachian State University. Your time spent here will be a chance to grow and learn from each other, to develop skills and confidence as future media employees through the real-life experiences you will have, and to learn some difficult lessons through your mistakes.

As you begin or continue your work at The Appalachian, you may find it a frightening place to work. Certainly, most others have. But let go of your fears, let go of your ego a bit, and remember, it is absolutely the best place to learn skills associated with professional media work. Your efforts will bring about a much better informed and educated university community. May you grow and learn much, at your own pace, for what you give to the newspaper, the yearbook and others you work with, so shall you receive. Welcome to the Student Publications experience!

• Policies & Procedures
• Student Media at ASU
• Office Policies

INTRODUCTION
The student publications at Appalachian State University are rich in tradition. Throughout the decades the University has served North Carolina, students at Appalachian have served their fellow students, the faculty and staff of the institution by producing high quality, informative, and entertaining publications. As the institution has grown in complexity with a broader mission, so too has student publications. Today, more students than ever produce the campus newspaper, The Appalachian, and its electronic, on-line version and the campus annual, The Rhododendron. These publications and any student publication created in the future, fall under the guidance of the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership.

STUDENT MEDIA BOARD

THE RHODODENDRON ADVISORY BOARD

STUDENT PUBLICATIONS ADVISORY BOARD

Role of University Administration in Student Media
Supervision of Student Publications at Appalachian State University rests with the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership in the Division of Student Development. Student Publications is defined as The Appalachian student newspaper, The Rhododendron yearbook, and any future publication produced by students. The Director of Student Publications is responsible for fiscal supervision, production support, and editorial advice. Supervision of WASU-FM radio station rests with the Department of Communication. An adviser, appointed from within that department, is responsible fiscal supervision, production support, and editorial advice.

Role of Student Publications Advisor
The Director of Student Publications is to provide resources for students to learn the responsibilities of a free press, to help them develop appropriate leadership and management skills, and insure proper technical support for production of a twice-weekly student newspaper and a yearbook, and any future student-produced publications. These publications shall be produced in an economically efficient manner. To fulfill these obligations, the Director may work with the student leadership of each publication in orientation sessions, budget planning and review, workshops, and special classes in leadership and organizational development. As an adviser, the Director shall be available to counsel members of the newspaper staff, the yearbook staff, and the staff of any future student publication; provide advice at times appropriate determined by the Director and/or the student staff; and promote a healthy understanding of collegiate journalism to the University community. The Director holds no authority to censor or otherwise control content of any student publication, to review copy prior to publication, or to practice prior restraint. However, the Director does have the authority to halt distribution and to have removed from distribution points copies of any student publication in which it has been determined a legal liability exists. The Director serves as the chief financial officer of each student publication with the responsibility of determining the operating budget for each publication. The Director holds sole responsibility for business office operations.

The Appalachian
The Appalachian is the recognized student newspaper at Appalachian State University. It operates as a part of the Office of Student Publications in the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership, which operates within the Division of Student Development. As a university newspaper, The Appalachian has two primary functions: (1) to serve as an instructional tool, provide practical experience in management, reporting, and print production for interested students; and (2) to provide timely, accurate, and entertaining reports to the public about the people and events that affect the University community.

The Appalachian has an editorial division, led by the editor in chief and associate editors for news, online and production; a business/advertising division, headed by business manager; and a production division, under the supervision of the production coordinator. The Appalachian employs a combined staff of reporters, business assistants and sales representatives and graphic designers. This combined staff numbers approximately 35 students.

The primary responsibilities of the editor in chief of The Appalachian includes organizational planning and personnel management. The editor is responsible for working with the business manager and the Director of Student Publications to maintain the organization’s budget, and with the Director for training staff, establishing and maintaining editorial deadlines which conform to predetermined schedules for typesetting, layout and printing of the paper

The editor in chief determines the editorial tone of The Appalachian as it is presented on the editorial pages and works with the associate editor for news and each beat reporter to define the content of each issue of the paper. The editor in chief is responsible for all content of The Appalachian, including advertising.

The associate editor for production is responsible for oversight of the newspaper’s photography department, cartoonists and graphic designers. The associate editor for production is responsible for the design specifications for page layout.

The associate editor for news is responsible for the editorial content of The Appalachian, including oversight of reporters and desk editors. Desk editors and the associate editor for news shall edit all copy for publication. There are three desk editors: lifestyles, sports and news.

The associate editor for online is responsible for The Appalachian Online. This includes coordination of online exclusives, such as calendar events, multimedia packages and story exclusives, as well as the upload of all content from the physical newspaper. The online editor is also responsible for moderating comments to stories, and reports directly to the editor in chief.

The business manager works with the editor in chief and the Director of Student Publications to plan and prepare the newspaper’s budget to meet the needs of The Appalachian and to insure that sufficient advertising revenue is generated to fulfill recommended budgetary requirements as approved by the Vice Chancellor for Student Development. The business manager works with the Director of Student Publications to train the ad sales staff and the circulation manager.

The Rhododendron
The Rhododendron is the recognized student yearbook at Appalachian State University. It operates as a part of the Office of Student Publications in the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership, which operates within the Division of Student Development. As a university yearbook, The Rhododendron has two primary functions: (1) to serve as an instructional tool, provide practical experience in management, writing, and print production for interested student; and (2) to provide a historical view of the University in yearly slices.

Student Media Board Selection, Dismissal of Editor and Business Manager
The editor in chief of the student newspaper, the editor of the yearbook, and the editor of any future student publication are appointed by the Vice Chancellor for Student Development, while the business manager of the student newspaper is appointed by the Director of Student Publications. The Student Media Board accepts and reviews applications for each position, interviews qualified candidates, and makes a recommendation to the Vice Chancellor and the Director of Student Publications. The Board has the responsibility of reviewing the performance of each student appointed as editor in chief of the student newspaper, editor of the yearbook, or business manager for the student newspaper and may, in its own judgment or at the request of any individual, investigate questions of malfeasance, negligence, or incompetence and recommend appropriate recourse to the Vice Chancellor for Student Development.

Selection and Dismissal of Student Publications Staff Members
As an agency of the State of North Carolina, Appalachian State University follows the policy of affirmative action in employment practices. As agencies of the University, The Appalachian and The Rhododendron should follow a similar policy for the sake of consistency and to allow qualified but previously unknown candidates to surface to prevent favoritism from pervading the organization. Such policy should not deter either staff from recruiting and grooming staff members for promotion from within.

Following the lines of responsibilities and boundaries of authority that prevail in any organization, individuals should be employed and dismissed by the supervisor to whom they report. It is advisable, however, for the editor in chief, associate editors for news and production, chief copy editor, photography editor, or business manager (for The Appalachian), and editor of The Rhododendron to be aware of the qualifications of individuals employed or of problems which developed before the termination of employment.

As organizations that have an educational purpose, employees of The Appalachian, The Rhododendron and any future student publication should take all possible steps to avoid dismissing employees. The supervisor in charge must make sure the individual in question fully understands his/her responsibilities and has been given every opportunity to improve her/his skills. When performance falls below the necessary or expected, the supervisor in charge should review the responsibilities of the position in question with the employee, clearly state expectations, and provide a fair timetable for improvement to take place. At the same time ways should be offered for the individual to improve his/her skills. No individual should ever be dismissed without at least one conference with her/his supervisor to discuss the problems and solutions. Appeals for punitive action or dismissal may be reviewed by one or more of the following ways, in the stated order: (1) The individual, supervisor, and editor or business manager; (2) the editorial board of The Appalachian (or when appropriate, the editorial board of The Rhododendron); (3)the individual, supervisor, editor and Director of Student Publications; (4) the Student Media Board; (5) the Vice Chancellor for Student Development.

OPERATING GUIDELINES FOR THE APPALACHIAN EDITORIAL DIVISION

OPERATING GUIDELINES FOR THE RHODODENDRON EDITORIAL DIVISION

TRAINING
Student Publications will conduct several workshops, starting with the Editor-in-Chief pre-fall staff development workshop and including workshops on news writing, news editing, photography, ad sales, production and computer use. These workshops are mandatory for Student Publications employees. These workshops are a part of each employee's employment contract and no exceptions shall be allowed.

Open Meetings Law: the revised N.C. open meetings law states that all public bodies hold their meetings in public, allowing any person to attend. Public bodies may go into executive session and exclude the public only to discuss matters of property or personnel. For the complete text of the N.C. open meetings law, refer to Section 1. G.S. Chapter 143, Article 33C, ratified May 28, 1979.

Academic Standing
Only currently enrolled, full-time students may be considered for paid staff positions on The Appalachian, The Rhododendron or any future student publication. The editor in chief of The Appalachian, the editor of The Rhododendron or the editor of any future student publication must have a cumulative 2.25 grade point average and maintain a 2.25. All associate editors reporters, photographers and graphic designers for The Appalachian must have a cumulative 2.25 grade point average upon application and maintain a 2.0 grade point average.

All yearbook staff must have a cumulative 2.25 grade point average upon application and maintain a 2.0 grade point average. The Director of Student Publications will verify staff GPAs at the end of each semester. Students whose GPAs fall below the minimum must relinquish their position for the remainder of the academic year. If at the end of the academic year they have reached the minimum GPA they may re-apply for a position on the newspaper or yearbook for the following year. No one on academic probation may serve in any capacity with any student publication.

Access to Student Publications Suite
Access to the Student Publications suite, located on the second floor of Plemmons Student Union, is a privilege granted to students employed as editors, writers, photographers and graphic designers. As a privilege, it can be revoked by the Director of Student Publications for any violations of the policies expressed in this document. Access is granted to the editor in chief for all hours that the Plemmons Student Union is in operation. Access is from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m., Monday-Friday, and from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. Saturdays, and 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. Sundays.

The student union manager will be provided with a copy of all names of students employed by the Student Publications and only these people will be allowed into the Student Publications suite outside normal business hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Anyone in the publications suite after 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, or during weekends whose name does not appear on the access list can be asked to leave the premises by the student union manager. Any student who refuses to comply with the student union manager ’s request to leave will be dismissed from Student Publications for the remainder of the year. Any student who attempts to evade this policy, or who attempts to remain in the suite after hours or when the Student Union is closed will be terminated as an employee of Student Publications and could face criminal trespass charges.

Appearance
All Student Publication account representatives and business staff should dress in a professional manner while performing duties for Student Publications. This means that T-shirts, gym or cut-off shorts, sweats, etc., are not to be worn during office hours. If your appearance is unacceptable, you will be asked to leave the office and change.

Classified Ad Discount
As an employee of The Appalachian, you are entitled to a 50% discount on all classified advertising you purchase except for sublet and display ads.

Cleaning up the Office
Your are responsible for keeping your work area clean. Occasional deep cleaning can be done during down time.

Confidential Information
Some information that you may become privy to could cause harm to the paper or yearbook, if not handled wisely.
1. Advertiser credit status is not to be discussed with anyone except the Director of Student Publications.
2. Pay is not to be discussed with anyone, but the employee, payroll clerk and the Director of Student Publications.
3. Confidential information learned during reporting is not to be discussed with anyone, but the reporter and editors.

Distribution of Printed Materials on Campus
Designated newspaper racks are for the exclusive distribution of The Appalachian student newspaper. Other student publications may be permitted to distribute from these racks if permission is obtained from the editor in chief and Director of Student Publications. Violators will be charged the current insert rate.

Early Departure
Vacations or other planned days off are to be scheduled with supervisory approval for periods when absence will not cause hardship for the production of the newspaper or yearbook or fellow employees.

Long Distance Access
Employee who must make long distance telephone calls, as part of their job responsibilities, may use the telephone in the newspaper editor in chief's office or the business office, as these are the only two phones with long-distance access. Do not use long distance for personal calls.

Office Behavior
Due to the large number of people who work in the Office of Student Publications, and for the benefit of our customers who deserve our best efforts, it is imperative that we maintain a professional and business-like atmosphere in the office. Profanity will not be tolerated. Your friends, family and pets are not allowed in the office during working hours.

Office Communication
Each day, check your mailbox and your publication's message area, including the Student Media Web site. It is your responsibility to "notice the notices."

Outside Employment
It is recognized that many students have off-campus, part-time jobs. The only restriction is that no employee may work for another newspaper, magazine or business which is in direct competition with The Appalachian or The Rhododendron. Also, no employee of Student Publications may also hold a job with the Student Government Association.

Payroll
See the Director of Student Publications.

Probation/Separation
See the Director of Student Publications.

Press Passes & Credentials
Individual press passes and credential letters are available for staff members in connection with official duties. If you require a letter or pass, contact your editor or advisor.

Recycling
We ask all employees to put forth the extra effort in the university recycling program. Deposit your recyclable paper in the containers provided in the office.

Security
You are responsible for the security of the Student Publications office after business hours. If you are the last person her, please make sure all areas are secure. Under no circumstances are you to let any non-Student Publications persons in the office after hours.

Travel Reimbursements
See the Director of Student Publications.

Use of Equipment
Computer equipment, copy machine, fax machine, printers and telephones are not to be used for personal business. Computers are not to be used for class assignments. Desktops are to be kept relatively free of clutter and soft drinks, coffee and food should not be consumed in the area of computer equipment. If you are unsure of how to operate any equipment, please ask before using. Do not attempt to load any software on any office computer, as it is a violation of campus policy. See your graduate assistant with any software requests.

Each staff member shall be assigned a unique user name in which to access the Student Publications server. Do not share your user name or password with anyone else. Print quotas limit the number of pages printable from each user name. Do not use the office printer for personal jobs. Anyone using the printer in a unprofessional manner will be subject to disciplinary action.