This site will always show all On Campus items and with the built-in RSS feeds, can provide segmented items by topic, so the following discussion is primarily applicable to the On Campus items that are also displayed on the Lewis & Clark home page(s), where space is limited.

As to ranking items once they are added to On Campus, the following rules will be applied via an algorithm. It is fully automated and uses the following criteria to rank events. (So, use the information below to get yourself the better rank.)

1. Notice-level “emergency” news, such as closures for weather, trumps everything and will always take precedence. The notices are always of limited time periods, and so will not impact the overall list unless ongoing notices are posted as part of keeping people informed. (Serious emergency news is handled differently.)
2. Major institutional events (i.e. Commencement) will get higher billing than all other events because of their cross-school, intimate involvement with all facets of the institution and the public
3. Excluding the above, all other On Campus items are primarily ranked by start and end date. Thus, when an item begins to appear on the home page is determined in part by how many other events are also appearing in the same general time period. And, how fast it climbs that list is also similarly determined. (We attempt to keep the list focussed, so that every On Campus item does make it onto the home page, but there is the possibility that some items might not make it to the home page, so we do not guarantee it.)
4. However, events that are entered farther in advance (entry date to start/end date) of others in the same time frame will be given a small priority bump that may in fact lead to earlier entry onto the home page list, and retention of the top position longer than would otherwise be available. Be mindful that in order to get entered in the first place, you must meet the criteria outlined.
5. For items that have extended multi-day periods, such as art exhibitions and the like, the item will also re-climb the list as the closing date draws nigh.
6. If an item also has a spotlight or news story also simultaneously on the home page, the On Campus item may be reduced in rank to promote other items without such.

Naturally, these rules primarily apply when the schedule is full. When this is not the case, future items may appear on the list earlier and for a longer period — such times are infrequent, but summer comes to mind.

Text Last Updated: 4 March 2008