iTunes U
Suffolk University provides access to the latest faculty research, featured speakers, and educational content, as well as information about the University, admissions, and alumni on its public iTunes U site.
Members of the University community can download podcasts or subscribe to have new podcasts automatically delivered to a computer, iPod, or iPhone by visiting Suffolk University at iTunes U.
For more information on creating content for iTunes U, see the items below.
Installing the iTunes Application
iTunes is available as a free download for PCs running Windows 7 or 8, XP, or Vista, and for the Mac OS.
- Go to iTunes.
- Click the Download button and follow the instructions.
- Restart your computer and launch iTunes to complete the installation.
iTunes Administrator
The iTunes Administrator is responsible for the administration and oversight of the University’s public iTunes site including: review of all iTunes U Representatives, training for content creators, review of content, and Chairing the Suffolk University iTunes U Steering Committee. Suffolk University’s iTunes Administrator is Jesse Sterling.
iTunes U Representatives
Faculty and staff interested in managing an iTunes album or section of the University's iTunes site will need to complete the iTunes U representative training.To learn more about becoming an iTunes U representative, review the responsibilities and obligations of iTunes U representatives.
Private and Public Content
Suffolk University maintains two iTunes sites: private and public. Content on the private site is restricted to current members of the Suffolk University community and may only be accessed through the MySuffolk portal and Blackboard. Content posted to the public site is available to the general public.
Private Content
University policy dictates that all classroom or course related content may only appear in the private site. Until further notice, entire courses may not be presented on the public site; however, individual lectures may be considered and approved by the iTunes administrator for posting on the public site. Faculty interested in offering course content on the private site should contact their academic technology department for more details and instruction.
College of Arts and Sciences: dial ext. 2002
Law School: by email or dial ext. 6285
Sawyer Business School: Elaine Garofoli or dial ext. 1112
Public Content
Faculty, staff, or students may create content for the public site. Public site content may be educational or informational in nature regarding campus services and resources. It may also include news and topics of interest to the general public. Those interested in creating content for the public site may contact the iTunes U representative in their school/area for more information:
College of Arts and Sciences: Sandy BarryLaw School: Jesse Sterling
Business School: Teri Malionek
All other academic or administrative departments: Jesse Sterling
Compliance with University Policies
All podcasts must comply with all of the following Suffolk University policies:
- Copyright
- Web
- Responsible Use of Computing and Information Resources
All public content will only be uploaded upon receipt of a valid Suffolk University copyright release form by the iTunes U representative. A copy of each valid form must be delivered to the iTunes U administrator.
Posting and Removal of Content
Suffolk University reserves the right to decline or remove a podcast. Reasons include:
- poor audio or video quality
- does not further the mission, purpose, or reputation of Suffolk University
- violates University policies and procedures
- may be in violation of the law
Archiving and Preserving Content
Although Suffolk University will facilitate posting of content on iTunes U, it will not be responsible for ensuring that content is preserved or archived.Material posted on iTunes U resides on servers that are not owned or operated by Suffolk University. Therefore, content providers must ensure their content is preserved in a separate location.
Downloading Podcasts
You can download podcasts, or you can subscribe to have new podcasts automatically delivered to your iTunes application by visiting Suffolk University on iTunes U.If you need additional information about using iTunes, a comprehensive help section is available when you open iTunes.
Contact the iTunes U Administrator
The iTunes Administrator is responsible for the oversight of the University’s public iTunes site including: review of all iTunes U Representatives, training for content creators, review of content, and chairing the Suffolk University iTunes U steering committee.If you would like to submit content to be considered for posting in the public Suffolk University iTunes U site, please contact Jesse Sterling, iTunes Administrator.
Responsibilities and Obligations of iTunes U Representatives
Faculty, staff, or students may create content for the public iTunes U site. This content may be educational or informational in nature regarding campus services and resources. It may also include news and topics of interest to the general public. Those interested in creating content for the public site may contact the iTunes U representative in their school for more information:
- Law School: Jesse Sterling
- College of Arts & Sciences: Jesse Sterling
- Business School: Teri Malionek
All other academic or administrative departments should contact Jesse Sterling, the iTunes administrator for the University.
Each department or school that wants to manage its own section or album in Suffolk University’s iTunes U public site must attend an administrative training session and complete an iTunes U representative form which confirms that they will comply with the necessary responsibilities and obligations.
Training
Every iTunes U representative must attend and complete a training program. The training reviews copyright, content requirements, and archival policies, as well as technical specifications. Please contact Jesse Sterling to set up a training.
iTunes Representative Training Materials
Compliance with University Policies
All podcasts must comply with each of the following Suffolk University policies:
All public content will only be uploaded upon receipt of a valid Suffolk University copyright release form by an iTunes U representative. A copy of each valid form will then be delivered to the iTunes administrator.
Archiving and Preserving Content
Although Suffolk University will facilitate posting of content on iTunes U, it will not be responsible for ensuring that content is preserved or archived.Material posted on iTunes U resides on servers that are not owned or operated by Suffolk University. Therefore, iTunes U representatives must ensure content is preserved in a separate location.
iTunes U Administrator Guide
All iTunes U representatives must read the following section of the iTunes U Administrator Guide: "About iTunes Content" from "Preparing Content" through "Adding Metadata to Your File."
Approved Formats
Podcasts and vodcasts of poor recording quality cannot be accepted. All iTunes U podcasts must meet the standards outlined in the iTunes U Administrator Guide.
Album and Track Art
All album and track art must be approved by the Office of Marketing and Communications. Approved templates are available under iTunes Committee on MySuffolk. You must be a member of this community in order to view the album artwork.
Bumpers and Trailers
All tracks that are on the public site of iTunes U at Suffolk University must use the standard bumper that represents Suffolk University. The approved bumper is available for download along with other podcasting tips. Groups and individuals may choose to add an introduction that identifies the track after the opening bumper.
Tagging/Metadata
Over 70% of iTunes content is found through searches.Before you upload a file to iTunes U, you must use the iTunes software to add information about that file. This information, called "metadata" or "tags," will ensure your content is searchable. If you use another application to add information about your files, this information may not load into iTunes U with your file.Metadata is used in the iTunes search feature and is weighted in order by name, artist, album, grouping, and comments. For example, if a search term is found in the name of your track, your track will be returned as much more relevant, and higher ranked, than one with the search term in comments alone.The following metadata sections should be completed before any track is uploaded. Please leave any remaining sections, such as album artist, blank.
- Name: a descriptive topical name. Name is displayed in the iTunes U interface and is searchable.
- Artist: speaker, performer, or other originator of the file's content. Artist is displayed in the iTunes U interface and is searchable.
- Album: course, conference, series, sponsor, etc. Album is displayed in the iTunes U interface and is searchable.
- Comments: short description of content with crucial keywords, such as location, names, titles and topics (255 character limit).
- Grouping: keywords that may be used to locate the file.
Request for Space
Each iTunes U representative may only have access to the album or section within iTunes U for his or her academic or administrative department, with the exception of those given the express permission of the iTunes U administrator. The iTunes U representative for a department or school must complete the request for space form for each new album it wishes to produce.In the College of Arts and Sciences all public site requests must be approved by the associate dean. Please see the college's policy for more details.In the Sawyer Business School all public site requests must be approved by the director of communications. Please see the Business School's policy for more details.
Forms
Here is a list of relevant forms:
Training
There are two types of training available for creating iTunes content.
The first is iTunes Podcast training, which covers how to create an audio podcast and how to edit and add metadata to it.
The second type of training is for new iTunes representatives. This training covers how to manage files in the iTunes interface, including album creation and content uploading. We hope to offer video training soon.
Please contact Jesse Sterling to arrange a training session.
College of Arts & Sciences iTunes
College academic departments and faculty members will not be given direct access to iTunes.
Instead, the content must be approved by the department chair and the director of marketing and communications, before it is uploaded to iTunes.
The department chair will review the content for accuracy and forward all chair-approved content to the marketing director for final approval. Once it has been approved, the content will be uploaded by the college's iTunes representative.
Sawyer Business School iTunes
Sawyer Business School academic departments and faculty members will not be given direct access to iTunes.
Instead, the content must be approved by the department chair and director of marketing and communications before it is uploaded to iTunes. The department chair will review the content for accuracy and forward all chair-approved content to the marketing director for final approval.
Once it has been approved, the content will be uploaded by the Business School's iTunes representative.
Podcasting Tips
Producing Audio Content for iTunes U
For tips on producing audio content, contact the iTunes administrator to set up a training session.
Bumpers
Bumpers are used at the beginning and end of each iTunes recording to identify/brand the file. To download Suffolk University's audio bumpers, contact the iTunes administrator.