All FAQs

It is possible to email a link to an edited page in an email. Once your changes are saved, click 'Preview', then copy the URL address of this preview into your email. This will allow the recipient to look at your draft and feedback before you submit it for approval.

Note: pages on the test server (https://preview-uon.cloud.contensis.com/) can not be viewed off-campus unless you use our VPN.

You will have to revoke the page from being submitted for approval before you can make further changes.

It's possible to schedule a page (or document) to publish on a date in the future (perfect if your work needs to go live over the weekend or at midnight). This only works on authorised pages. Here's what you do:

1. In edit mode of your page, select the properties tab
2. Tick the "Set new Release" checkbox
3. Use the calendar to select the date you want the page to go live
4. Select the time you want the page to go live
5. Save
6. Submit and Approve (or submit to your approver)

Note: Your page will be sent to the publishing queue at your scheduled date/time. It will not publish at this exact time. If therefore, you know there will be lots of other pages in the queue, it's worth scheduling your page to go live slightly earlier. 

If you need a staff listing on your site, please contact your eStaffProfile administrator or web coordinator and ask them for your unit ID.

Your admin will need this to set up your site's staff listing. The web team are not responsible for setting up your eStaffProfile listing. eStaffProfile is a Digital and Technology Services (DTS) owned system.

Read through the documentation for more information (PDF).

Changes can take up to 24 hours to show on your staff page.

It's likely that you have not ticked some of the boxes in eStaffProfile allowing information to be displayed, or have not used the right text areas in eStaffProfile. Read through the documentation for more information (PDF).

It is strongly advised that unless you are familiar with HTML, you do not edit your pages in code view. However, if you do know HTML then you can edit the HTML by clicking on the View Source icon on the WYSIWYG toolbar. Just be sure that any code you are adding is valid HTML as the system may remove invalid HTML automatically on save and preview.

To add content into the CMS from your Word document first copy your content into Notepad, which will remove the formatting. Then copy and paste this unformatted text into the CMS as plain text. You can then format the text within the CMS.

This is more than likely down to there not being any published versions of your page (your page has only ever just been saved).

We recommend that unless you are familiar with the source code, you should not attempt to use it to edit pages because of the difficulties an accidental deletion could present.

The easiest way around this is to take steps to avoid complicating the code. For instance, do not click and drag text or images around your page and always paste imported content as plain text.

1. Right click on your table where you want to add a row
2. Go to Table Row
3. Choose Insert row before or Insert row after depending on where you want the row to go

This requires editing the table HTML code. We recommend contacting your unit web coordinator or the web team to do this.

To create an anchor:

1. Place your cursor where you want the anchor to be
2. Click on the anchor button on the WYSIWYG toolbar (actually looks like an anchor)
3. Give the anchor a relevant name (no spaces)
4. Save selection
5. Save your page

To link to your anchor:

1. Highlight the text you want to link to your anchor
2. Click on the hyperlink button on the WYSIWYG toolbar

There are now three options:

Option 1 - link to an anchor on the same page:

1. Select Anchor on this Page from the link type drop down
2. From the anchor dropdown, select the anchor you want to link to

Option 2 - link to the anchor using a full URL:

1. Select URL from the link type drop down
2. In the URL address field, add the full (live) URL of the page the anchor is on and add "#anchorname" to the end
   
   For example, if you're linking to an anchor called "visit" on the Mini Open Days page, your URL will be http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/ugstudy/visitingus/miniopenday/miniopendays.aspx#visit

Option 3 - link to the anchor on another page as internal CMS content:

1. Select CMS Content from the link type drop down
2. Browse for the page in which your anchor sits (in the box that appears select and save this)
3. From the anchor drop down, select the anchor you want to link to

To finish:

1. Add some appropriate title text (which when hovered over, tells the user where they'll link to)
2. Save selection
3. Save and preview your page

In order for this to work, the page with the anchor on and the text linking to it must both be live.

Approvers and site administrators can do this:

1. Click on the parent folder and select manage menu
2. Drag pages and folders into the menu position you require
3. Save selection

This should give each item its correct menu order. Changes to menus take a while to reflect on a website.

Yes, to do this, click on Nottingham at the top of your folder list and select Sort Alphabetically. If this option isn't shown, then it is already sorted alphabetically. You can at this point change it to Sort by Menu Order.

Approver and Admin users can re-order menus. To do this:

1. Click on the folder above the pages you want to re-order
2. Select Manage Menu
3. Drag and drop items to re-order the menu order
4. Click Save at the bottom right hand corner of the screen

If you have a university account, you can login to eStaffProfile using your university login details.

You will be added to the UI-Contensis-Users Active Directory (AD) Group around 24 hours after you complete your CMS training course. 

It takes up to 24 hours from being added to the AD group to being granted CMS permissions.

Please contact your unit web coordinator who should be able to access this information. Otherwise please contact the web team via our support form.

If other pages link to your page as internal CMS content the link will remain. If however, pages link to your page using an external URL, the link will be lost. In this scenario, it is necessary to individually delete or replace any hyperlinks leading to the old page. Consider if you need to put a redirect in place for pages that are linked to by many other pages.

If you see a system error twice, it is worth checking with the web team. Please complete a support form including screenshots if possible. The web team will then attempt to recreate the issue and find a resolution.

Please contact your unit web coordinator who should be able to access this information. Otherwise, please contact the web team via our support form.

Sometimes, if content and mini templates have been dragged and dropped around on a page, the code becomes jumbled up and breaks the page in preview.

This may also be due to your page not being saved. Please save and preview your page to check again.

If your preview is drastically different to your edit mode, please log a support request.

To get your event a place on the University of Nottingham homepage, please contact the Communications team.

Yes, images do require approval. Submit them in the same way as any other document or page.

This is because your controls must have different IDs. Two instances of the same ID will break your page.

When documents are uploaded, it is common to forget to submit and authorise them. In order to create a live version of a document, click on the document in the navigator and select edit. Then select workflow and submit and authorise. It will then put the document in the publishing queue for the live server.

1. Once your image has been uploaded to Contensis, locate it in the navigator.
2. Click (and hold) the icon of the image and drag it onto your page.

You can find a list of recommended image sizes on our website.

Even though your profile is updated via the eStaffProfile interface, your image is uploaded to Contensis. If you don't have permissions to edit Contensis, your unit web coordinator will be able to assist.

Staff image format

Ensure your staff image is in the following format:

• Width: 120px
• Height: 150px
• Format: .jpg (not png, gif, jpeg or any other format)
• Resolution: 72dpi
• Filename: firstnamesurname.jpg (to match the end of your staff profile URL)

The filename must be your full name with no full stops or hyphens. For example, if your staff page URL ends in Michael.James-Phillips your image must be named michaeljamesphillips.jpg

Please ensure the image is the correct size before uploading to Contensis.

Uploading a staff image

1. In Contensis, navigate to and expand the people folder (or similar) you want to upload the image to
2. Click on the staff-images folder and create new content
3. Select image as the content type (if given the option)
4. Browse for your image and upload
5. Add your full name into the image's alt (alternative) text field
6. Click finish to upload the image
7. It will take a while for your profile page to update with your image

eStaffProfile settings

Your eStaffProfile must be set to show your staff image on your profile. See the eStaffProfile user guide (PDF) for instructions on how to do this.

Yes, you can create these within your site but we do encourage you to consult us first as they may be useful to others and we may decide to add them to Shared Resources.

As a content editor you are able to do the following:

• Create and edit existing content
• Create folders
• Upload documents and images
• Submit work for approval
• Create news and events (where applicable)
• Access the shared resources folder

Content editors are expected to ensure content is accurate, appropriate and accessible, and that there are no copyright issues with images. All content should follow the university's style guide and brand.

As a site administrator, you are able to administer the following:

• Folders
• Content types
• Permissions
• User access
• Meta data
• Menu options
• Page templates
• Publishing
• Advanced options

You can also:

• Delete pages, images, documents etc

There is generally only one administrator per website.

New users will need to attend the CMS training. Once they have attended the course, the user will need to ask their unit web coordinator or line manager to contact the web team through a support form with confirmation of the user's required permissions.

New CMS users will be added to the UI-Contensis-Users AD group (active directory) and will appear in Contensis within 24 hours.

To get an existing CMS user added to a new folder, the unit web coordinator or line manager contact the web team through a support form confirming the permissions required.

These areas are managed by the marketing team and only they have access to edit. If you have an amend, you should contact your Faculty Head of Marketing.

When a page is created as a part of a school website, the correct colour and navigation bar are automatically applied.

New content is expected to meet the university brand guidelines. In order to maintain a uniform layout, we recommend using appropriate heading sizes (keeping Heading 2 styles beneath a Heading 1, etc), focusing important information on the top left of the page, with any images on the right, and formatting text to clearly present information.

Some old mini templates were automatically set to show text over image as a heading 1. Current mini templates have unformatted text areas which allow you to apply any heading style you like.

The CMS is unable to provide restricted access areas. Instead, Workspace or Sharepoint should be used to create log in only areas.

The university brand has been developed with colour deficiency and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines in mind. Our brand guidelines give details of all university colours and how they work in terms of contrast, font size and accessibility on the university website and in print.

• General guidance on colour vision deficiency can be found on the NHS website
• See information on accessibility of the university's website

If you've created a new homepage to replace an existing homepage you may find that the previous URL has stopped working. This could be for a number of reasons:

1. The filename is different, we'd recommend using the same filename
2. The navigation hasn't picked up the new file
3. You've not set the new page as the folder homepage

Try each of the above, save, publish and preview your page.

We are currently looking for a range of work placements and internships for students from the Schools of Engineering, Computer Science, Biosciences and Chemistry. If your company/organisation would like to offer a work placement of internship, please visit our website to find out more information or register your interest here.  If your organisation is interested in giving time to the University in other ways, please get in touch with Rachael Green, Head of Volunteering, rachael.green@nottingham.ac.uk

Each of our roles asks for particular skills or experience. If you have these we would love to hear from you. It doesn’t matter if you are an alumnus of The University of Nottingham, a local community member, University staff, a student, or just interested in what we do - we’d love for you to be involved.

Information for staff volunteers

If the volunteering role is outside of your current role and you’d like to give your time please check with your line manager before applying.

Information for student volunteers

If there is a role you think you are suitable for please apply and just let us know you are a current student.

No don’t worry - please let us know about your other volunteering role in your application form, and we will take care of everything else.

There are many different ways you can give your time and volunteer for the University from work, from home, from the UK or from anywhere else in the world. The range of opportunities include: quick micro-volunteering activities, 1-1 student mentoring, speaking to large groups of students, advising our academics or entrepreneurs, completing online profiles, online eMentoring or more strategic roles. Lots of our Schools and Departments are also looking for alumni to help with student activities such as Careers talks and advice.

For a full list of current opportunities that are available at the moment, please visit our opportunities page.

We have volunteer opportunities available for people to give their time and talent to The University of Nottingham. Some of these roles support the student experience and use volunteer skills, experience and talents which do not otherwise exist within our excellent professional staff. Other tasks such as advisory boards are reserved for volunteers. The University of Nottingham is also well known for our fantastic global research and for this we tend to need volunteers to help us solve some of the global questions we are asking.

As a volunteer you will have a clear role and point of contact. We ask you to speak to your ‘Volunteer Task Manager’ about your role to ensure you understand what will be required of you. If you can then ensure you keep your ‘Volunteer Task Manager’ up to date should any changes occur, such as if you are unable to attend, or you cannot give as much time any more etc.

That’s fine. We understand things change and so we ask for you to keep us updated if you are unable to take part or want to step down.

We will provide you a briefing for the role you are taking on and give you the opportunity to attend networking/training. For some roles more details training and ongoing support is needed. If this is the case it will be stated in your role description. If your role requires training you will be given full details about what is provided and what you may need to do to prepare. We will ensure you have as much detail as you need to complete the volunteer activity to the best of your ability.

Depending on the volunteer role you would like to do, you may need to travel. For full details on the location of the role please check the role profile/with your Volunteer Task Manager.

Although volunteering or giving your time to The University of Nottingham is unpaid, we do understand that for some people expenses may be required to take part in volunteering activity at The University of Nottingham.  Further information on the types of expenses which can be claimed for your role can be discussed with your Volunteer Task Manager.

All information is held securely on the University’s central database and will be treated confidentially and with respect in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. Unless you tell us otherwise the data may be used for events programmes, alumni activities involving academic and administrative departments, fundraising programmes and for the promotion of benefits and services, which may involve an element of direct marketing. The data will not be disclosed to any external organisations, other than those acting as agents of the University. This may include organisations such as the Higher Educational Survey Agency (HESA). If you do not wish your information to be used in this way please write to the Campaign Office or email DatabaseEnquiries@nottingham.ac.uk

For some of the volunteer roles we have we will be conducting some background checks. Each role will be considered very carefully to see whether this is required for the role. We may ask you if you have a DBS check in place.

Registering to become a mentor is really quick and simple. You will be taken through a quick mentor set up process after which you will be searchable on our eMentoring online platform. Get started by registering here.

eMentoring at The University of Nottingham is really flexible and you can decide how much time you give. When volunteering as a mentor, you will have the option to choose which mentoring 'services' you would like to offer. Services range from answering a few quick questions over email, to taking part in a 4 week, 12 week or 24 week mentoring programme. With our eMentoring system, you can modify your offered services at any time so that you stay in control.

eMentoring at The University of Nottingham is designed to be flexible so that it can fit around your schedule. When you sign-up to become a mentor, you will have the option to select which scheme duration suits you the best, whether it's 4 weeks, 12 weeks or 24 weeks. If you would prefer to take part in short term mentoring, then you can opt to answer a few quick questions that a student might have. Alternatively, you can mentor up to three mentees at any given time. If your availabilty changes, then you can update your profile settings to reflect this.

eMentoring online enables alumni, to extend their volunteering activities and mentor a current student or recent graduate. Mentors will have the opportunity to:

• refine their one-to-one mentoring skills
• play an important role at a vital time in a student’s life
• give advice about the unwritten aspects of their role
• get to know the people who are the future of the international job market
• widen their professional network
• maintain links that will last by becoming an integral part of The University Of Nottingham

At times during the process it will be necessary to gather information about how your mentoring relationship is progressing. Both mentee and mentor will carry out an online survey when their mentoring relationship comes to an end, the timing will be dependent on the length of the scheme selected. If for any reason either party needs to contact someone regarding eMentoring then they can do so by emailing the team at eMentoring@nottingham.ac.uk

If you are interested in volunteering, but you hold an international visa, please email the Volunteering Team: givingtime@nottingham.ac.uk

Businesses that have been trading for over three years are not able to enter.

Those who made the Top 3 in the previous Ingenuity Competitions are not eligible to apply, unless the business activity has not been presented before. If you are unsure about whether this applies to you, please contact the Ingenuity18 team.

Your business and/or research proposals can be based on either the UK market or abroad.

Overseas entrants will not be required to travel to the UK to enter. There will be localised development events delivered for participants in Ningbo and Malaysia. However, all applications, business entries, pitches and the Gala Dinner will be in the UK. Participants in Ningbo or Malaysia will be asked to pitch via live video.

UK entrants must attend their pitch day(s) and it is compulsory for at least the team leader to attend the Ingenuity18 Ideas Summit.

Once you have sought approval from your Head of Department, you may be eligible to reach out to other Departments and form an interdisciplinary team. 

Yes, but you must notify the Ingenuity18 team and seek approval from your personal tutor in order to do so.

Yes. If you are not enrolled on the Technology Entrepreneurship in Practice module, we expect you to attend the Ingenuity18 Innovation Diploma.

Initially, we will focus on stopping COVID-19 outbreaks in halls of residence before they get out of control. By quickly identifying positive cases and stopping the chain of asymptomatic transmission, we help protect staff and students by suppressing the numbers of infections.  
 
When combined with effective isolation and infection control, it should also reduce the likelihood of severe public health measures such as whole-hall lockdown, saving local and national public health resources by: 

1. Reactive outbreak control 

If there is a known, or suspected outbreak (two linked cases) in a hall of residence, then we will work with local public health to monitor potential spread of the virus and support isolating students. This will likely involve all those living and working in a hall being asked to provide several samples for testing over the course of a week. Each reactive outbreak control plan will be different and tailored to the specific circumstances we face. Students and staff will be contacted with all the information they need. 

2. Rolling sentinel surveillance  

Starting from the beginning of October, each week we will schedule a programme of rolling ‘sentinel surveillance’ testing sessions across the University’s halls of residence. We are in discussion with third party accommodation providers about including their facilities. This will involve collecting at least two samples at the beginning and end of the week from staff and students living and working in the hall.    

We know that young people are less likely to have severe symptoms, if any at all. We also know that those infected with the virus can also infect others, even if they don’t display any symptoms. Our aim is to halt transmission and minimise outbreaks before they get out of control. If outbreaks become severe, local public health authorities have the powers to lock down halls, close buildings and maybe even shut the University.  

By taking part and following the rules around isolation if you or other members of your household test positive, we can help control the spread of the virus and keep students, staff and the local community safe.  

If your sample tests negative, then you will receive an email advising of the result, informing you of any future sample collection times and providing you with any necessary advice.

Please do bear in mind that a negative test result does not mean you aren’t infected, as we know that the virus is only detectable at certain times, particular in those who are asymptomatic. This is one of the reasons we are using repeating sample testing over a period of time. 

Yes you can.

We’ve worked hard to make our campuses as safe as possible for our students and staff. Your safety is our absolute priority.

Take a look at our safety on campus web pages to learn about the steps we’ve taken to ensure our campuses are COVID-secure.

The key things to remember are:

• wear a mask in buildings, including in teaching sessions
• socially distance
• wash your hands regularly. 

If you have symptoms, you must isolate until you receive your test result – along with all members of your household.

If your result is negative, notify the university as soon as possible. If no one else in your household has symptoms, your households’ isolation period can end. If others in your household have symptoms, you must all remain in isolation until you all get a negative result, or until the mandated isolation period ends.

If your result is positive, notify the university and the rest of your household as soon as possible. You and your household must continue to isolate according to government guidance and regulations (also see this FAQ for more information).

Any breach of government regulations could lead to a fine, or disciplinary action taken by the university.

When you test positive for coronavirus, the NHS Test and Trace service will send you a text or email alert or call you with instructions of how to share details of people with whom you have had close, recent contact and places you have visited. It is important that you respond as soon as possible so that appropriate advice can be given to those who need it.

You may choose to contact friends and family personally. Do be aware that sharing information about symptoms, isolating or test results on public platforms, like social media, could be shared further than you are comfortable with.

If you are aware of other people isolating due to symptoms or a positive test result, you must respect their confidentiality. Do not share their personal information without their consent.

Unless someone is exempt, everyone must follow social distancing and face covering guidelines – including in Halls of Residence.

You can, if you wish, report these incidents through the COVID-19 incident reporting form. You can also speak to your Hall Tutor or Warden for support.

If you are told by the NHS Track and Trace Service to self-isolate, the law requires you to remain in your current location until your mandated period of self-isolation is complete. Do not return to Nottingham, or the campus. Report that you are isolating to the university, and contact your School, via your module convenor or personal tutor. They will help you to access online teaching while you are unable to attend in-person sessions if you are well enough to study.

If your personal circumstances mean you cannot stay at home, you can contact the Student Services and Support and Wellbeing Team for assistance.

Their positive test will have triggered the NHS Track and Trace process. You will be contacted by this service if required to isolate. The NHS Track and Trace process may not be able to reach all potential contacts as quickly as one might wish.  Check the government guidance on whether you may be considered a close contact of the infected person, and subsequently told to isolate. 

If any of your assessments have been, or are going to be affected, by your illness or self-isolation, please submit a claim for extenuating circumstances within the prescribed timescales, using the online form.

Read the University’s Extenuating Circumstances Policy before submitting your claim.

The Students’ Union guide to extenuating circumstances gives helpful advice on the process.

You are not alone, and there is support available. Don’t hesitate - get in touch so that we can help you.

Speak to your personal tutor about your worries and concerns. They can talk these through with you and signpost you to support services that can help.

You can also contact our Support and Wellbeing Team direct and our web pages have a huge amount of information to help.

Face coverings are mandatory in all indoor areas on campus unless at least one metre separation can be maintained. However, some people may be exempt from wearing a face covering. Some of those who are exempt may choose to wear a sunflower lanyard, which indicates they have a hidden disability.  One never knows what others are having to deal with.  Please remember this if you are concerned that someone isn’t wearing a mask in a setting where the guidance suggests they should. 

Those not wearing face coverings should ensure they remain one metre distant from others and if any of us feel someone is too close to us, we can ask them to respect social distance.

You must isolate if someone in your household has had a positive test or is symptomatic. 

If someone in your household has been asked to isolate by NHS Track and Trace, but they have no symptoms, you do not need to isolate.  However, you must have as little contact with them as possible, and cannot have visitors to your home until their isolation period is complete. 

If they develop symptoms, you and the rest of your household must isolate for 14 days from the onset of those symptoms. 

More information on Track and Trace is available on the NHS website. 

No. Please do not pause contact tracing unless you are wearing clinical grade PPE. While precautions such as social distancing and wearing face coverings reduces the chance of infection the app provides extra protection as it measures the risk score for individuals i.e. it can record if they are too close to someone for a certain period of time.

The app can really help to make a difference, alongside the precautions everyone is adhering to, in tracking interactions and intercepting virus transmission quickly.