Communications Alignment at CSU
Building a stronger communications community.
Overview
University leadership has asked University Marketing and Communications to lead a communications alignment process across Colorado State University.
Beginning July 1, 2026, communicators and campus leaders will work together to identify opportunities to strengthen coordination, improve support, reduce duplication, and better connect communications across the university.
While the decision to undertake a communications alignment process has been made, the specific recommendations, operating model, and implementation approach have not. Those will be shaped through extensive engagement with communicators, college and unit leadership, and campus stakeholders throughout the coming year.
It’s important to note that communications roles across campus have evolved significantly in the past decade. Most of the 200 communicators across CSU work as sole operators within a department or unit or work within a team of fewer than 10 people. There are also many individuals who hold non-communications roles that are performing communications tasks.
There are existing relationships among communicators through monthly CommNet meetings and a variety of collaborative efforts and grassroots connections; however, the systems and processes across campus are not connected and offer great opportunity to strengthen the support of communicators and improve the brand of CSU and the experience of audiences who receive communications from the university.
Throughout the alignment process, our goal is to build on the strengths that already exist across CSU while improving collaboration, reducing duplication, and creating better tools, systems, and support for communicators.
Why are we undertaking communications alignment?
University leadership has determined that communications alignment is an important next step for Colorado State University.
Communications have become increasingly complex; audience expectations continue to evolve, and communicators across campus face growing demands with varying levels of resources and support. Greater alignment will help the university work more strategically and toward institutional goals while better supporting communications professionals across CSU.
The goals of this work include:
- Better coordination across colleges and administrative units
- Stronger support for recruitment, retention, revenue and reputation
- Reduced duplication of effort
- Improved enterprise systems, technology and workflows
- More consistent brand expression and audience experience
- Expanded professional development and career pathways for communicators
- Stronger connections across CSU’s communications community
- Greater economies of scale for branding and marketing buys
Alignment is intended to strengthen communications as a strategic function.
A note about this process:
University leadership has made the decision to move forward with communications alignment because they believe stronger coordination will better position CSU for the future. What has not been decided is what that alignment ultimately looks like. Designing new structures and connections is the purpose of this process.
Through listening, collaboration, and shared problem-solving, communicators and campus leaders will help shape recommendations that reflect the needs of the university while preserving the strengths that already exist across CSU.
Our guiding principles
- Collaboration
The best ideas come from the people doing the work. Communicators, campus leaders, and stakeholders will all have opportunities to help shape recommendations. - Feedback shapes decisions
While leadership is committed to undertaking an alignment process, many important decisions remain. Surveys, listening sessions, task forces, and conversations with communicators and campus leaders will directly inform recommendations, priorities, and implementation. - Transparency
We’ll communicate what we’re hearing, what decisions are being made, why they’re being made, and what comes next. - Respect for expertise
Communicators are deeply connected to their colleges and units. Preserving local knowledge, trusted relationships, and subject matter expertise is an important consideration throughout this process. - Appropriate autonomy
Alignment does not mean every communications activity becomes centralized. Colleges and units have unique audiences, priorities, and cultures that must continue to be supported. - Better support for communicators
Our goal is for communicators to emerge from this process with stronger tools, clearer expectations, greater professional development opportunities, and a stronger professional community – empowering them to more effectively advance CSU’s mission and benefit all the colleges, units, and groups on campus.
What we’re hearing so far
Since January, University Marketing and Communications has met individually with communications directors and leaders from across the university to better understand the communications landscape, and a number of themes have consistently emerged. While each college and unit has unique needs, there exist similar goals of student recruitment, student success and access, student engagement, alumni and donor engagement, and brand reputation.
Communicators want stronger connections.
Communicators express a strong desire for better relationships with colleagues, more opportunities to collaborate and learn from one another, and greater visibility into communications work happening across campus. They also want stronger two-way connections among communicators, MarComm and university leadership.
Shared tools and resources could reduce duplication and expand support.
Communicators identified opportunities to share resources and adopt enterprise approaches where they make sense, including:
- Templates and brand resources
- Communications tools and platforms
- Analytics and measurement support
- Photography, video and creative resources
- Accessibility expertise and support
- Content and editorial planning
- Clearer standards, governance and guidance
Local expertise and relationships must be preserved.
Communicators consistently emphasized the importance of preserving trusted relationships with college and unit leaders, subject-matter and audience expertise, responsiveness to local needs, and the ability to advance distinct priorities. Alignment should strengthen this work through greater coordination and support, not diminish the value of embedded communicators or impose a one-size-fits-all approach.
Professional growth is important.
Communicators want more opportunities for:
- Mentorship
- Communities of practice
- Professional development
- Career pathways
- Skills-based collaboration
- Learning from peers across campus
Communicators need greater clarity and strategic coordination.
Participants want earlier visibility into institutional priorities and major announcements, clearer roles and decision-making processes, more transparent prioritization, and stronger coordination around major initiatives. They also want communications professionals to be engaged as strategic partners—not simply brought in after decisions have been made.
Capacity, workload and equitable support are important.
Communications teams vary significantly in size, resources and access to specialized expertise. Participants raise concerns about workload, competing priorities and the ability of small teams to meet growing expectations related to accessibility, analytics, digital engagement and content production. Recommendations should consider how shared expertise and coordinated resources can strengthen capacity without shifting additional work to already stretched teams.
The work is now moving from listening to recommendations.
These themes, informed by surveys, focus groups, leadership conversations, CommNet discussions and other engagement, are guiding the task forces as they move from understanding the current state to developing recommendations. Initial recommendations will be shared for additional feedback before final recommendations are provided to university leadership.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is communications alignment?
Communications alignment is a university-wide effort to strengthen coordination, collaboration, effectiveness and strategic communication across Colorado State University while preserving the unique voices, expertise and priorities of colleges and administrative units.
The alignment process will consider opportunities related to shared systems, workflows, governance, professional development, communications structure, and enterprise resources.
Why is CSU undertaking communications alignment?
University leadership has asked University Marketing and Communications to lead a communications alignment process as part of CSU’s broader institutional alignment efforts.
This direction reflects the increasing complexity of communications, evolving audience expectations, technology changes, and opportunities to strengthen collaboration across the university.
While the decision to undertake alignment has been made, the specific recommendations and future operating model have not. Those will be informed by feedback gathered throughout the process.
Has a new organizational structure already been decided?
No.
No final organizational model has been selected. The purpose of this process is to gather information, identify opportunities, and develop recommendations informed by campus feedback before leadership considers future decisions.
Does alignment mean everything will become centralized?
No.
Alignment is not intended to centralize every communications function. Colleges and administrative units have different audiences, priorities, and expertise that will continue to be important. The goal is stronger coordination where it adds value.
Is this a workforce reduction effort?
No.
This effort is focused on improving how communications work is coordinated across the university through stronger collaboration, shared resources, better systems, and greater support for communicators.
Who is included?
Generally, this effort focuses on employees whose primary responsibilities are communications or marketing – typically individuals who spend more than half of their time on activities such as strategic communications, writing, media relations, social media, design, photography, videography, podcasting, marketing, web content, executive communications or audience engagement.
Employees who occasionally perform communications-related tasks remain important partners and stakeholders but are not the primary focus of the alignment process.
What kinds of things are being discussed?
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- Shared enterprise communications tools
- Storytelling and editorial coordination
- Brand standards
- Accessibility
- Analytics and reporting
- Professional development
- Project management
- Shared resources
- Recruitment communications
- Systems and technology
- Communities of practice
The process
The communications alignment process officially began July 1, 2026, and will continue throughout the coming fiscal year. Review the high-level timeline.
Feedback and input opportunities include:
- Survey of communicators and survey of campus stakeholders (deadline passed, see results)
- Meetings with deans and communications leaders
- Focus groups, held Sept. 9-11, 2026
- Task forces
- CommNet discussions (takeover held Sept. 15; second takeover on Nov. 10)
- Office hours
- Ongoing website updates and feedback opportunities
Throughout the process, leadership will communicate:
- What we’re hearing
- What themes are emerging
- What recommendations are being considered
- What decisions have been made
- Why those decisions were made
- What comes next
Get involved
Communications alignment will be strongest if it reflects the experiences and ideas of the people doing the work every day.
There are many ways to participate throughout the process:
- Focus group sessions (took place Sept. 9-11).
- Complete the alignment survey for communicators or stakeholders (deadline passed, see results).
- Communicators have volunteered to serve on cross-functional task forces.
- Attend CommNet discussions and listening sessions.
- Participate in office hours.
- Share ideas with your communications leader.
Every shared perspective helps us better understand how communications can best support Colorado State University, its colleges and units, and the professionals who make that work possible.
Questions, ideas, or feedback?
Office hours
- Wednesday, 8/26, 10–11 a.m. with AVP Tiana Kennedy
- Monday, 9/21, 2–3 p.m. with VP Kyle Henley
- Wednesday, 10/21, 9–10 a.m. with Julee Stephenson, Steering Committee Co-chair
- Thursday, 11/12, 3–4 p.m. with VP Kyle Henley
- Wednesday, 12/15, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. with VP Kyle Henley
*All office hours sessions utilize the same Teams link.