{"id":1720,"date":"2026-02-16T21:48:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T02:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/it.rutgers.edu\/rutgers-it-site-documentation\/?page_id=1720"},"modified":"2026-02-16T22:12:42","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T03:12:42","slug":"guidelines-for-writing-it-alerts-on-the-rutgers-it-website","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/it.rutgers.edu\/rutgers-it-site-documentation\/guidelines-for-writing-it-alerts-on-the-rutgers-it-website\/","title":{"rendered":"Guidelines for writing IT alerts on the Rutgers IT website"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Guidelines for writing IT alerts on the Rutgers IT website<\/h1>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n <\/section>\n\n\n
\n\n
\n \n

Avoid using jargon<\/strong>
\nWords such as audit, client, domain, machine, and other technical language may have a specific meaning to IT staff and an entirely different meaning outside of IT. Be general and avoid specific IT language whenever possible in alerts for the general Rutgers community.<\/p>\n

Make sure the IT Alerts title and content are clear<\/strong>
\nThe Alert title should be clear, direct, and specific.
\nIT alerts should only be a few sentences that will be understood by faculty, staff, and students.
\nUse bulleted lists if you want to highlight services that will be affected due to an outage\/planned maintenance.<\/p>\n

Simplify Rutgers IT and avoid acronyms<\/strong>
\nWhen you are explaining why there is an issue with a service or an outage, make sure to use words that simplify IT at Rutgers. The initial status in the IT alert should include what\u2019s happening and how it\u2019s being addressed. Do not use acronyms (i.e. ESD, TD, UCS, etc.). Spell everything out.<\/p>\n

Proofread your content<\/strong>
\nDon\u2019t send out an IT alert without proofreading your content. Use a mix of these methods:
\nUse the spelling and grammar check available in various word-processing tools.
\nRun your content through\u202f Grammarly<\/a>, a free tool for improving writing.
\nAsk a colleague to review your content.<\/p>\n

Examples of alerts<\/strong><\/p>\n

For planned maintenance<\/strong><\/p>\n

Status:
\nScheduled\/Update\/Completed<\/p>\n

Date:
\nXX<\/p>\n

Sample title:
\nPlanned maintenance: IT services unavailable XX<\/p>\n

Status \u201cscheduled\u201d description example:
\nA number of Rutgers information technology services and systems will be unavailable on XX due to scheduled maintenance and upgrades. This work is necessary to XX.<\/p>\n

The following services may be unavailable during the maintenance period:
\nXX
\nXX<\/p>\n

Status \u201ccompleted\u201d description example:
\nThe technology upgrade has been completed. The Rutgers information technology services and systems are being restored. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Office of Information Technology Help Desk: \u202fhttps:\/\/it.rutgers.edu\/help-support<\/a>\/<\/p>\n

For service issue<\/strong><\/p>\n

Status:
\nInvestigating\/Update\/Resolved<\/p>\n

Date:
\nXX<\/p>\n

Sample titles:
\nIssues accessing XX
\nIntermittent issues when accessing XX
\nProblems with XX
\nXX service unavailable<\/p>\n

Status \u201cinvestigating\u201d description examples:
\nUsers may be experiencing issues when accessing XX. The Office of Information Technology is investigating.
\nAn issue with XX is resulting in the loss of access to XX for (faculty\/staff\/students). The Office of Information Technology is working to address the issue.
\nThere have been reported issues with XX and it is currently (down\/offline\/unavailable\/intermittently available). The Office of Information Technology will provide an update as soon as one is available.
\nUsers have reported issues when accessing XX.
\nThe Office of Information Technology is investigating reports of XX.<\/p>\n

Status \u201cupdate\u201d description examples:
\nThe Office of Information Technology is actively working to resolve the issues with XX. We apologize for the inconvenience and will provide additional details (as soon as possible\/at XX time).
\nThe Office of Information Technology is continuing to troubleshoot the issues with XX.
\nUsers of XX may continue to experience intermittent issues. We will report back as soon as we have an update.<\/p>\n

Status \u201cresolved\u201d description examples:
\nThe reported issues with XX have been resolved. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Office of Information Technology Help Desk: \u202fhttps:\/\/it.rutgers.edu\/help-support\/<\/a>
\nThe issue with XX has been resolved. Users who continue to experience issues should XX.
\nXX is reporting that the XX service is operating normally. [To be used for issues with vendor software or services only.]
\nXX is now working. The Office of Information Technology will continue to monitor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":992,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"page-category":[],"class_list":["post-1720","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGuidelines for writing IT alerts on the Rutgers IT website - Rutgers IT Site Documentation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/it.rutgers.edu\/rutgers-it-site-documentation\/guidelines-for-writing-it-alerts-on-the-rutgers-it-website\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Guidelines for writing IT alerts on the Rutgers IT website - 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