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Staff Guidance

Creating Advert Types

Select the ‘Adverts’ module within SUMS to create and view your Advert types.

  1. Click ‘Create Advert Type’ and enter/select the following information:

    1. Name;
    2. Group icon - select an icon for the advertisement type (this will be listed against an active advert on the student dashboard/website if no images have been added);
    3. Allow Images - select if you want to allow images;
    4. Require Images - select if you want images to be required (if this is ticked, ‘Allow Images’ must also be selected);
    5. Auto Approve – tick this if you would like any adverts created within this type to be automatically approved and advertised;
    6. Pinned – pin this advert type to show its stats at the top of the ‘Adverts’ page on SUMS (this will show the number of new adverts submitted within this type, as well as the total number)
    7. Policy – add a URL for a policy or notice that members must agree to before submitting an advert under this type.

Once you have created a type, you will be able to:

  • Add Fields – to add and manage the fields available when submitting an advert.
  • Manage Adverts – from here you can review and approve/decline submitted adverts.
  • Deactivate – this will deactivate all adverts currently listed under that type.
  • Archive - this will remove the type from the student dashboard and all adverts listed within; you will still be able to view all adverts previously submitted under that type (this action is only reversible by contacting [email protected]).
  • Modify - this will not affect the requirements of any existing adverts.
  • Remove - this will permanently remove the type and all adverts listed under this type from the database (this action is irreversible).

You will now need to add the relevant fields for the content of adverts under this type:

Please note: for each advert type created, a default ‘Title’ text field will be created that cannot be modified or removed.

  1. Alongside the relevant type, select the green ‘Manage Fields’ button;

  2. Click ‘Create Advert Field’ and enter/select the following information:

    1. Label;
    2. Help Text – to provide guidance to the user submitting the form;

    3. Type – select a field type from the following:

      1. Text;
      2. Numeric;
      3. Date;
      4. Currency;
      5. Textarea;
      6. Checkbox;
      7. Dropdown;

    4. Order – enter an order number for the field (this order number must be unique);

    5. Required – confirms if the field is mandatory in order to complete the form;
    6. Options – if you have selected a dropdown type, enter your options here; simply type the option you wish to add and click ‘Enter’ on your keyboard to add it to the list;
    7. Minimum and Maximum – if you have selected numeric or currency types, add your minimum and maximum values here.

You can modify or remove a field at any time; this will remove any data within those fields, other than for live adverts. If a member wants to modify an advert within this type, they will be shown the updated fields.

Once you have added the relevant fields, you will need to click the green ‘Activate’ button to enable your members to submit adverts under this type.

Managing Submissions

Once you have created your types, members will be able to submit their proposed adverts via the student dashboard. Adverts that have been submitted within a type that does not have auto-approval enabled can be reviewed via the ‘Manage Adverts’ section found alongside the relevant type:

  1. Click ‘Manage Adverts’ to view adverts that have been submitted against that type;
  2. The stage of each advert will show – new submissions will be listed as ‘Pending Review’;
  3. Click the green ‘Review’ button to view the details of the advert;
  4. Select any images to view them in full screen;
  5. You can edit the content that's ben submitted if required;

  6. One you have reviewed the submission, you can:

    1. Approve or Approve with changes – approve the advert to make it live; the member will receive an email confirming that their advert has been approved (a notice will appear when they view their advert to confirm if any changes have been made);

    2. Decline – decline the advert and add a reason to provide feedback to the student:

      1. The member will receive an email confirming that their advert has been declined, and will be able to view any feedback and modify the advert via the student dashboard to resubmit for another review;
      2. The stage of the advert will then show as ‘Declined’ on the previous page;
      3. If an advert has been declined, you will still be able to review the submission;
      4. You will also still be able to approve the submission if needed, regardless of whether the student has adjusted and resubmitted the advert (i.e. if it was declined by mistake.)

Once you have approved an advert, it will go live immediately for 2 weeks; the start and end dates of the advert will be confirmed alongside its stage. You will be able to:

  • ‘View’ the details of the advert.
  • ‘Deactivate’ the advert when live; deactivated adverts will be shown as ‘Complete’ within the ‘Active’ column.
  • ‘Activate’ the advert if it has been deactivated/completed; the advert will go live for another 2 weeks (students are also able to reactivate their adverts via the student dashboard)._
  • ‘Remove’ an advert at any time.

Adverts will be marked as ‘Active – Expires Soon’ 3 days prior to completion.

Can members modify their adverts after approval?

Students can modify their adverts while they are live. If auto-approval has been set, any updates made by a student will go live automatically, and the 2-week advertisement period will restart.

If auto-approval is not set, any modifications will be submitted as a standard advert that will require a subsequent review and approval to activate.

Can anyone register interest in an advert?

Anyone can view an advert that is live on your SU website, however only members that are signed in can register interest (members can also view and register interest in adverts via the SU app).

Students can manage their advert interest via their student dashboard (please see the Student Guidance for further information).

Deactivating and Reactivating Adverts

You can deactivate an advert type at any time by selecting the red ‘Deactivate’ button:

  • All active adverts within that type will be removed from the website and SU app;
  • All adverts within that type (active or inactive) will be removed from the student dashboard;
  • Members will no longer be able to submit an advert under this type via the student dashboard.

You will be able to reactivate an advert type at any time:

  • Members will again be able to submit adverts under this type;
  • Any existing adverts under this type will reappear within the student dashboard. The status of all of these adverts (including those that were live at the time of deactivation) will show as ‘Complete’. If a student wishes to make an advert live again, they can do this by selecting the ‘Reactivate Advert’ button; the advert will go live for another 2 weeks.

Alternatively, you can deactivate an individual advert by going into the ‘Manage Adverts’ area of the relevant type; this can be reactivated at any time.

The relevant member will receive an email if one of their adverts has been individually deactivated or reactivated.

Please see the Email Templates guidance for further information on the auto-emails that can be sent throughout this process.

Updated on 1st December 2022