Purpose
The intent of this document is to establish guidelines for the appropriate use of mass email communication.
Background
Saint Joseph's University has the means to send out electronic mail messages to the entire campus community as well as specified segments of that community. For example, email can be sent to all faculty members, everyone with an office in the Science Center, or members of a specific department. These mass email lists (known as "aliases") have been created to facilitate the sharing of information in support of the University's educational mission.
Over the past several years, with the exponential growth in email usage, aliases have been used for various purposes and have generated a considerable number of messages sent to superfluous populations of the University. Some community members have expressed displeasure with the volume of mass email messages and the marginal value of much of the correspondence. Thus, the Office of Information Technology has been charged by the President's Cabinet with establishing guidelines for use of the University's mass email capabilities.
Communication Categories
Mass email communication can be categorized into two types:
University-Related - Communication related to the business of the University. Examples include correspondence from administrative and academic offices, campus emergency information, campus event notifications, and official University news.
Non-University Related - Communication unrelated to the business of the University. Examples include the sale of personal items, sharing personal opinions and services, offering tickets to outside events, andpromoting activities not related to the University.
Guidelines
Use the employee@sju.edu email address when sending University-related communication to the entire campus community. Use the empfac@sju.edu (all faculty) or empstaff@sju.edu (non-faculty) email addresses when sending University-related communication to subsets of the employee community.
Use the FYI@sju.edu email address when sending non-University related correspondence to the campus community. The use of the SJU Classifieds bulletin board within "MySJU" is recommended for the sale or disposition of personal items.
Vice Presidents, Deans, and Department Heads are responsible for adherence to these guidelines. It is the responsibility of department heads to address inappropriate uses of email aliases by their faculty or staff.
The Office of University Communications will also remind users of the guidelines as needed.
Faculty and staff will have the ability to subscribe or unsubscribe to the FYI alias. However, faculty and staff may not unsubscribe from the Employee, Empfac or Empstaff aliases.
Students are not permitted to send correspondence directly to the employee@sju.edu, empfac@sju.edu, empstaff@sju.edu, or FYI@sju.edu email addresses.
Conventions for Mass Email Communication
The following conventions should be followed when sending email to a broad segment of the University community (detailed descriptions below):
- Be Brief
- Use Plain Text or HTML
- Do Not Send Attachments
- Use Web Links
- Do Not Send Repeated Messages on the Same Topic
- Use Descriptive Subject Lines
- Include Contact Information of the Sender
- Target the Audience
- Never "CC" a Campus Alias
- Use HawkEye and Hawk Hill Today for Event Announcements
- Use "SJU Classifieds" for Personal Items
Be Brief - Mass email messages should be concise and to the point, never exceeding more than 20 lines of text or approximately one page of information.
Use Plain Text or HTML - When composing mass email messages, it is highly recommended that plain text or HTML be used in order to reduce system load in handling the mass mailing. Also minimize the use of special formatting (e.g., bolding, italics, underline) and use graphics only when essential to the correspondence.
Do Not Send Attachments - Do not include attachments with mass mailings. Attachments can pose a significant storage and delivery burden for the mail server and campus network (for example, a one megabyte attachment uses more than two gigabytes of storage space on the mail server). If you need to convey additional information, post the information to a web site and direct email recipients to that site as needed. Contact the Information Technology Help Desk ( helpdesk@sju.edu ) for assistance in posting information to the SJU web.
Use Web Links - When using web links, be sure to include the full URL address (e.g., http://…). This approach facilitates one click access to the web site for most users.
Do Not Send Repeated Messages on the Same Topic - As a general rule, limit yourself to a single mass email correspondence on a given topic. Generally, repeated messages on the same topic are not well received by your target audience. When promoting a campus event, however, a second and final email reminder is permitted. For additional event promotion, contact the Office of University Communications ( sjunews@sju.edu ) for inclusion in HawkEye, "Hawk Hill Today" or the "This Week on Hawk Hill" events calendar.
Use Descriptive Subject Lines - Be sure to include a descriptive subject line with your email. A descriptive subject line allows recipients to quickly browse their inbox for items of interest without having to open each message.
Include Contact Information of the Sender - The sender should include his/her name, email address, and phone number in the message.
Target the Audience - Be sure to target the audience as narrowly as possible. Send email only to those recipients who are likely to be interested in the subject.
Never "CC" a Campus Alias - As a general rule, do NOT "carbon copy" a large, campus-wide alias such as employee@sju.edu.
Use HawkEye and Hawk Hill Today for Event Announcements - To reach the entire campus community, it is recommended that event information be sent to the Office of University Communications ( sjunews@sju.edu ) for inclusion in the printed HawkEye, daily "Hawk Hill Today" electronic briefing, and "This Week on Hawk Hill" calendar feature. Your notice will also be included in the daily campus email from University Communications and be posted on the SJU Today page of "MySJU" (complete with links to the appropriate web site).
Use "SJU Classifieds" for Personal Items - Use "SJU Classifieds" when offering personal items or promoting personal services. It is inappropriate to use mass email for these purposes. "SJU Classifieds" can be found on the SJU Today page of MySJU. Visit the Information Technology web site at http://it.sju.edu for instructions on subscribing or unsubscribing to classified announcements.
