Standards, Guidelines and Procedures for Departments:
E-mail as an Official Means of Communications with Students
Standards: University and Department Responsibilities
Information Technology Services is responsible for administering the university e-mail system. Departmental e-mail servers are the responsibility of the individual department.
Information Technology Services is not responsible for e-mail handled by outside vendors or unofficial campus e-mail servers, including those operated by a college or department.
Information Technology Services will assign a university e-mail address to each eligible student in accordance with the Core Computer Accounts Policy to facilitate the use of e-mail to transmit official campus communications.
Student e-mail addresses are defined as directory information and may be disclosed in accordance with the Use and Release of Student Information Policy
Cal Poly will accommodate disability-related needs of students in accessing and using campus e-mail services as required by relevant policies and laws.
Official e-mail communications sent to all students must comply with established policy and practices for sending broadcast (mass mail) messages.
Official e-mail communications should contain sufficient contact information for students to verify that the electronic message is a valid university communication. At a minimum, this must include the name of the department sending the message. Also recommended is a link to the department or information website. Including the department location and phone number is optional.
Departments are responsible for maintaining copies or transaction records of official e-mails in accordance with established policies and practices. Official e-mails to students may become part of the student’s official record and be subject to FERPA and other protections.
Departments should be prepared to receive return messages for e-mails which could not be delivered. If replies are anticipated, departments should be prepared to respond and be aware that some students may reply using e-mail.
Official communications to targeted student groups must be approved by the manager/authority responsible for the information being communicated. Official communications to all students must be approved by senior management (vice president, provost, president).
Departments must have an established relationship with the students to whom they are communicating.
Departments are expected to observe the same propriety used in official communications conveyed in other formats.
Official University communications sent by e-mail are subject to the same public information, privacy and record retention requirements and policies as other official University communications.
All faculty and staff should be familiar with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (see FERPA for more information) and the University’s responsibility to protect students’ privacy.
Standards: Instructional Uses
Faculty will determine how electronic forms of communication, including e-mail, will be used in their respective classes and should specify those requirements to students, e.g., in the course syllabus. Faculty can assume that e-mail sent to a student’s university-assigned e-mail address, either directly, via a class alias, or via an official campus alias or distribution list, is being accessed.
Guidelines for Departments Sending Official e-mail Communications
Because of their ability to reach large numbers of students, e-mail messages sent in an official capacity to targeted student groups or all students are subject to a stricter set of guidelines.
Appropriate use of e-mail addresses is essential to the success of this mode for contacting students. On one hand, if the address is used to communicate too much information too often, particularly if the information is perceived to be unimportant, students will abandon the system. On the other hand, if sensitive, confidential information is communicated via e-mail, student’s privacy rights may be violated.
This document is intended to help guide the appropriate usage of student e-mail for official messages sent from University administrators, faculty and staff to students.
General Guidelines
- Keep messages simple and direct. Messages should be as brief as possible and include a link to a web page for more information.
- Do not send attachments. Include a link or instructions for locating documents.
- Send messages as plain text only. Do not include HTML or formatted content. Some e-mail programs cannot translate such formats so the messages may not be readable.
- Format messages so that lines wrap at 80 characters or less.
- Send messages only to the specific group of students for whom the message is relevant.
- Departments are encouraged to create distribution lists for the student groups with whom they communicate regularly. Information Technology Services can provide student e-mail addresses to departments for this purpose via the ad hoc data request process.
- When a message is to be sent to a distribution list or multiple recipients, use “Bcc:” instead of “To:” to ensure that the recipients cannot see or reply to other recipients.
- Divide the list of addresses into smaller subsets instead of sending to everyone at the same time, e.g., three distribution lists with 400 names instead of one with 1,200.
- Large mailings should be set to be delivered during non-business hours, where feasible.
- Contact the ITS Service Desk (805-756-7000) for instructions on how to send e-mail to large numbers of users. NOTE: Broadcast (mass mail) messages must follow separate guidelines and procedures.
- Departments should consult with the ITS Email Support group on how and when to send large mailings so they are aware and can monitor system performance.
- Information subject to copyright or other legal restrictions must be posted on a non-public website (MyCalPoly, Blackboard, etc.) where the student has to log in to access it.
- A “From:” or “Reply-to:” name and e-mail address of the sender is required. Using a departmental or functional address (e.g., registration@calpoly.edu) is preferred for any official communication and is required for sending a message to all students.
- Departments should specify when and how they use e-mail for official communications.
- Messages must comply with existing policies, e.g., on responsible use, privacy, etc.
- e-mail is not considered to be secure. Transmitting protected, confidential or sensitive information should be avoided in order to protect the privacy of the student’s record.
- Departments should consider the timeliness and timing of the official communications they send to students. Messages should be sent as far in advance as possible so the student has time to receive and act on the information. Departments should take into consideration academic breaks, holidays and other campus closures.
Examples of Appropriate Uses
NOTE: This list is not intended to be comprehensive. Departments should notify students as to how they intend to use e-mail as an official means of communications. This could be done by departments publishing and maintaining a list such as this on their official university websites.
- Financial aid and scholarship information
- Registration deadlines and instructions
- Catalog and schedule
- Course information and announcements
- Degree completion and/or graduation
- Administrative actions
- Academic calendar
- Commencement and convocation information
- Enrollment changes
- Academic college and departmental announcements
- Math and English placement information
- Test information
- Academic support services
- Advising appointments
- Notices about student internships and workshops
- Payment deadlines and other billing notifications
- Approved institutional and academic-related surveys
- Academic program information
- Academic policies or services
- University policies, services and events
Examples of Inappropriate Uses
NOTE: This list is not intended to be comprehensive. Departments seeking guidance in this area should contact it-policy@calpoly.edu.
- Personal, protected, confidential or sensitive information
- Surveys that do not serve sanctioned University purposes
- Information the University is required by law or policy to communicate to students in non-electronic form (e.g., by U.S. mail, phone or in person)
- Messages that violate campus policies on responsible use, e-mail use, etc.
- Any message requesting the return via e-mail of secure information, such as social security numbers, passwords, date of birth, credit card information, etc.
- Messages containing information unrelated to official University business or without a legitimate, educational purpose
- Any unauthorized message sent to a targeted student group without prior approval at the appropriate level, e.g., department, college, senior management
For Assistance or More Information:
Technical Questions:
ITS Service Desk
Email: servicedesk@calpoly.edu
Voice: (805) 756-7000
Online: http://servicedesk.calpoly.edu
Office: Building 14, Room 114,
Hours:
Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Policy Questions and Report Violations:
ITS Policy Assurance / Abuse Team
Email: abuse@calpoly.edu
Voice: (805) 756-7000
Fax: (805) 746-2000
Online: http://security.calpoly.edu/policies/index.html
Online: http://security.calpoly.edu
