In January 2025, the City University of New York introduced new social media guidelines for all CUNY-affiliated schools, regulating the use of official social media accounts.
Any department, club, central office division, faculty member or administrator at the university looking to create a new social media account must obtain approval from CUNY’s Office of Communications and Marketing. These accounts must align with CUNY’s Brand Voice Guidelines. Additionally, students managing social media for clubs or organizations must adhere to both CUNY and Queens College regulations.
“CUNY recognizes the importance of social media in communication, outreach, and engagement,” said CUNY’s Office of Communications and Marketing in the January announcement. The primary goal of these guidelines is to foster a safer, more inclusive space across CUNY Central, its programs and its colleges.
To create an account, individuals must submit the Social Media Account Request Form and contact the CUNY Social Media Team via email. Approval can take up to 10 business days. While each CUNY college has its own policies, approval from CUNY’s Office of Communications and Marketing is required for all official accounts.
“These guidelines were updated to ensure all official social media accounts representing the University adhere to best practices. Social media accounts for student clubs and organizations at CUNY colleges are subject to their college’s guidelines,” Terrell Merritt, a Media Relations Specialist from CUNY’s communications team, told The Knight News.
The guidelines emphasize professionalism, prohibiting discriminatory content, hate speech, cyberbullying, and profanity. Unauthorized third-party accounts are also prohibited from using CUNY’s trademarked intellectual property.
CUNY encourages account creators to be active, organized, and purposeful in their content strategy. Proper planning, audience engagement and a dedicated team are essential for maintaining an effective social media presence.
The updated guidelines aim to strengthen privacy and safety while ensuring that CUNY’s social media accounts serve as professional and informative platforms. Personal use of official accounts is strictly prohibited, and violations—including hate speech or threats—should be reported to the appropriate CUNY or QC offices, such as campus Public Safety.
CUNY’s Social Media Guidelines stress the importance of maintaining a professional and respectful online presence. The policy states, “Always remain respectful, professional, and inclusive. Abusive or offensive posts that undermine the University’s reputation and mission will not be tolerated.”
Official accounts must clearly state the office or department they represent and link to a relevant cuny.edu web address in their profile bios. This transparency helps distinguish official accounts from unofficial ones, increasing trust within the college community. Non-CUNY individuals are not permitted to use CUNY’s name on social media.
Each CUNY college has its own policies. According to Queens College’s Social Media Guidelines, accounts affiliated with QC must use an @qc.cuny.edu email address and be supervised by QC employees. Departments, not individuals, must authorize new accounts, and teamwork is encouraged to ensure consistency and professionalism. Content must also comply with privacy regulations and be monitored responsibly.
Michaela Peykar, a junior psychology major at QC, shared her thoughts on the policy: “I feel that CUNY’s new social media guidelines are great because it can be very interactive with students from different colleges and their opinions! But some opinions shouldn’t be commented on, and I agree that comments should be deleted due to being either a racist comment, slur, and etc. I believe we should all respect each other’s backgrounds and beliefs. In addition, we should respect everyone!”
The guidelines also emphasize accessibility, stating, “Posts should comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Make every effort to make your content accessible by providing captions for videos and alt text for photos.”
Moving forward, the updated policies aim to ensure that CUNY’s social media platforms remain safe, professional, and inclusive spaces for engagement. The guidelines conclude, “CUNY encourages followers to engage with the University’s social media accounts and to post, comment, and interact with others. We expect that comments will be on-topic and respectful of the rights and opinions of others.”
