NEW POLICY PROVIDES GUIDELINES FOR CAMPUS-WIDE E-MAILS

Electronic mail (e-mail) has made it possible to quickly communicate information to the entire university community. But campus-wide e-mails also diminish the capacity of the e-mail server. For this reason, a new policy approved by President James V. Koch provides guidelines for the use of campus-wide e-mail to disseminate information.

Members of the university community should adhere to the following guidelines when considering the use of e-mail for disseminating information.

1. The department/individual should determine whether the information is relevant to the entire university community, or relevant only to certain groups.

2. If the announcement is relevant only to certain groups on campus, mechanisms are in place in Lotus Notes to address e-mail to specific colleges or administrative areas. These group addresses may be found in the Old Dominion University Address Book in Lotus Notes. In addition, information regarding recommended protocol for large-group e-mails as well as a listing of available faculty/staff groups in the Old Dominion University Address Book may be found online at the following URL: (http://web.odu.edu/webroot/orgs/AF/OCCS/occssite.nsf/pages/cwmail1)

3. If the announcement is relevant to the entire campus, the following guidelines apply:

a. Contact the Office of University Relations (Ext. 3114) to discuss the option of posting the announcement on the Old
Dominion University Daily News Page, either in lieu of, or in addition to, sending a campuswide e-mail.

b. If e-mail will still be used, the sender must adhere to the following guidelines:
(1) The information contained in the e-mail must be text-based, and should contain no graphics. A URL directing the reader to graphics on the web may be included in the body of the e-mail.
(2) The e-mail must not include attachments. A URL directing the reader to the web for additional information/forms should be used instead.
(3) The delivery priority must be set to "low" under "Delivery Options."
(4) The sender should edit the e-mail for content carefully before sending. Corrected versions or duplicate e-mail reminders are not permitted within 15 days of sending the original e-mail.

4. Acceptable e-mail use and network etiquette must be followed. Examples of misuse of e-mail include the distribution of chain letters and "spams." A "spam" e-mail is generally defined as an unsolicited mailing, usually to many people.

5. In order to manage server resources, storage of campuswide e-mail messages will be monitored. After seven days, these messages will be automatically relocated from the individual mail databases to a system database for expiration. A single copy of each message will be stored in Campus Messages database for future access.

View the entire policy on the web at http://web.odu.edu/webroot/orgs/AO/PO/polnproc.nsf/pages/3505