Educational Materials
Submission process
Peer-reviewed content
Submission requirements and details about the peer-review process are outlined in Cooperative Extension’s peer-reviewed publication procedure. Materials undergoing peer review are not posted to the Extension website until the review is complete.
Non-peer-reviewed content
Submit finalized materials through Support Tracker, selecting “Publications” under “Request Type.” Upload a Word document, high-resolution images or graphics and Excel documents for tables.
Authors are responsible for factual accuracy of information and securing usage rights for all photos and graphics they provide.
Website administrators will edit submitted content for flow and readability and make sure text aligns with University of Arizona’s Written Style Guide and Associated Press Stylebook.
Adding educational materials to the Extension website
Educational materials use the Publications content type, with required fields outlined below. Fields not listed can be left blank. Individuals must have the role of content editor or higher to create or edit existing Publication content type pages.
Before adding a material, confirm an entry doesn’t already exist by search by title or AZ number. Adjust any old entries to follow the formatting structure outlined below.
Material title, authorship and metadata
Title - English publications follow title case (outlined by the AP Stylebook) while Spanish publications use sentence case as that is the language’s standard.
Authors (also known as contributors) - follow the order provided by authors.
Start with “Add existing contributor” to see if author already has an entry. Type either first or last name into the Contributor text box. (emphasize they are checking to make sure an entry doesn’t already exist, if doesn’t exist, hit cancel and then go to Add new contributor)
If an author doesn’t already have an entry, add them using the “Add new contributor” button.
Read Managing Publication Authors to learn more.
Every contributor that has an Extension directory profile must have their “Person” field link to their directory profile. Type their first or last name in to locate their profile.
Contact Ben Downer at bdowner@arizona.edu if an author has multiple entries.
Type dropdown - Type is a standard field across all university websites that use the Publication content type.
For materials with an existing UA Campus Repository entry, select the option that most closely matches the “dc.type” under it’s full metadata record (see example).
For materials without a UA Campus Repository entry, select the option that most closely matches it’s Category selection.
Category dropdown - Select the closest match from the existing categories list.
Publication Number - Only peer-reviewed materials have an Arizona number. Use the format “az####” when adding AZ number to Publication Number. Leave this field blank for non-peer-reviewed materials. Do not include the date (az####-YYYY) or “S” (only for Spanish publications) with the number as both negatively impact internal search results.
Pages - Number or range of pages for PDF file. Leave field blank if material does not have an associated PDF file.
Publication Date and Revision Date
Select “Month and Year” under the Date Type dropdown.
Check the “Date is approximate” box beneath “Publication Date”
For “Start Date” under “Publication Date”, use either:
Month and year listed on peer-reviewed PDF file.
Date published to website for non-peer-reviewed materials
Leave the End Date blank.
Leave the Revision Date field blank. This information is captured late using the “Status and Revision History” field.
Additional Links - Use only for peer-reviewed materials that have an existing UA Campus Repository entry. Contact Ben Downer bdowner@arizona.edu if a peer-reviewed materials does not have an entry. To link to the Repository:
Search Extension’s collection using the material's AZ number. Open the corresponding record.
For “URL” enter the material’s permalink which can be found by clicking “Full item record” under the Metadata heading and looking for “dc.identifier.uri”.
For “Link text”, use the phrases:
“Download PDF” or “Descargar PDF” for entries that only have one file.
“Download report and summary” for entries with a longer document and shorter handout. Can substitute report for another descriptor of the long document.
“Download materials” for entries that have data files and multiple attachments.
Publication File
Do not upload PDF file for peer-reviewed work. Link to the material’s UA Campus Repository entry following instructions under “Additional Links” above.
For all other materials, follow filename best practices below.
Keep filenames short but meaningful (under 50-60 characters) and use words that clearly reflect its subject matter. Think of filenames like a mini URL.
Use only lowercase letters as it helps avoid URL confusion and server issues.
Separate words with hyphens “-” as search engines interpret hyphens as word breaks, improving readability and crawlability.
Avoid special characters, punctuation or spaces as it can complicate indexing
Publication Image - Do not upload an image.
Topic and Subtopic - Select from the current list. Each selected subtopic means materials will appear on that suptopic page under the Educational Materials section. There is no limit to the number of subtopic selections.
Authoring information (right sidebar) -
Assign the educational material’s lead author for the “Authored by” field under Authoring information.
This ensures internal ownership and accountability of content, and it assists when generating content reports or performing audits.
Type in the author’s UA NetID to check if they already have a user profile (note: this is different from a directory profile).
If the author does not have a profile, follow the instructions in follow instructions for managing users on the UA Quickstart page.
For all new individuals, assign the “Profile Editor” role. This role does not grant permission to edit the educational material entry; it only allows publications to be sorted and searched by author.
If the lead author is no longer with the University, move to the next author. If no authors are still with the university, assign to a web admin.
Contact Ben Downer at bdowner@arizona.edu for help adding new people.
Abstract and page elements
Abstract - Use for text labeled as introduction, abstract or summary or for text without a heading at the beginning of a material. Do not create a “Publication Section” under “Page Elements” titled Introduction or similar.
For materials available in both English and Spanish, reference the other entry as the first line in the abstract.
“This educational material is also available in English.” at the top of Spanish language publications.
“Este material también está disponible en español.” at the top of English language publications.
Headings in Publication Sections - Create a new section for each H2 heading in an educational material. This creates a link in the “Jump To” section to help people navigate the page. Follow best practices for all heading styles.
Use sentence case for the Header of each publication section.
Any headings within the Body should start at H3 level and descend from there.
Headings should be as short as possible to improve navigation of the Jump To section.Work with authors if modifications are needed to optimize headings for the web.
Good examples of heading usage are az2125,
Linking - start by reading page 15 of the Quickstart Best Practices Guide for link best practices. You will need to log in using your @arizona.edu email address.
Configure links pointing outside extension.arizona.edu to open in a new tab.
Do not write out full urls (i.e. https://extension.arizona.edu/publication/arizona-agricultural-enterprise). Hyperlink specific text instead (i.e. View Arizona’s 2024 enterprise crop budgets).
Graphics
Follow image upload instructions outlined in the Quickstart Best Practices Guide (page 11).
Only upload JPEG files and reduce their file size to improve page load times.
For Peer-reviewed graphics, use the naming convention of “az####_figure#_Descriptive text”.
For Non-peer-reviewed graphics, name the file using descriptive title that’s easily searchable in the image library. Instead of “cotton hero image,” use “Rows of cotton in field with mountain.”
Check for attribution. If unsure, connect with the author and/or do a reverse image search using Google. Put any attribution information in the “Image Credit” field.
Use the “Caption” field for description information like “Figure 1. Additional information…”
Alt text for flowcharts, graphs, diagrams, infographics, etc
Describe what type of chart or diagram is being used. For example, start your alt text with phrases like “Pie chart” or “Bar graph.”
Consider the purpose of the image within the context of the surrounding content. Describe important data trends, relationships, and other parts of the image that are being highlighted.
Avoid repeating parts of the main text in the alt text. For example, if a paragraph under a bar chart describes the trends, you do not need to repeat this description in the alt text.
Avoid overly long descriptions in the alt text. If the image is very detailed and requires a longer description, include a short description in the alt text, then beneath the image, provide a link to the data table or a longer description of the graphic.
Tables
View Pruning Shrubs in the Low Desert as an example of preferred table formatting.
Use title case for table titles at the top of the table and sentence case for any column or row headings.
Table description and additional notes/information goes in the table’s caption. Include “Table #. Descriptive title….” even though table formatting requires a table title at the top. If needed, use the next heading in the line to put a title on the top of the table.
Avoid merging cells as this makes it more difficult for screen readers to navigate tables. Tables are not very accessible, so make sure its critical to display your information in this formate