PDF copy of this policy.
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Part 1. Policy:
Mass emails are intended solely to communicate to students, faculty, staff, and campus tenants and partners important information in a timely manner. All electronic communications are expected to comply with federal and state laws, Minnesota State guidelines and policies, as well as College regulations and policies, including those governing public computing resources, security considerations, and ethics in computing.
Part 2. Delegated Moderators and Distribution Lists:
Rochester Community and Technical College delegates to official Moderator(s) the responsibilities of review, recommendation and feedback, and approval, or denial of proposed mass (all College) emails to RCTC faculty, staff, students, and/or external agencies. The role of Moderator exists to grant approval for mass email messages and is delegated to specific individuals. The following moderators are approved to release messages submitted by employees wishing to send a message to all faculty/staff, students, or Campus-wide (including external agencies)). Exceptions or requests that fall outside the scope of this table will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
Intended Audience: Approving Office
All Faculty: Office of the Vice President of Academic Affairs
All Staff: College Relations Office
All Students: Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs
College-Wide (Internal and External Stakeholders): College Relations Office
Part 3. Approval Process:
After creating the email, enter the appropriate distribution list in the To field (RCTC distribution lists found via Microsoft Outlook) and send. The email will be sent to a queue for the appropriate Moderator to review. Once the email has been reviewed, the following options will apply:
- Email is considered appropriate and is released as is.
- Email requires modification due to grammar, content, or timing, and is sent back to author for modifications.
- Email is not considered appropriate for mass email distribution and is not released. The author will be provided feedback and may be directed to more appropriate channels including posting to SWARM.
Part 4. Guidelines:
Mass email messages must:
- Be relevant to RCTC’s core mission.
- Be determined to be best or the most appropriate method to get information to your intended audience.
- Include in the content of the message:
- A “From:” address where replies will be received.
- The office, organization, or individual sending the message.
- Contact information if there is a question, comment, or complaint about the message.
- An explanation of why the recipient is receiving the message.
- Required information presented succinctly.
- Pointers to Website or elsewhere for additional information, if applicable.
Mass emails are not to be used for:
- Mailings not related to timely/time-sensitive college business or activities.
- Political statements.
- Fundraising for non-RCTC programs.
- Notices of routine or regularly scheduled events.
- Repeated messages (multiple versions of the same message as reminders of previously communicated messages). Information about upcoming events should be posted on SWARM and only one reminder shared via email the day before (or day of) an event.
Part 5. Mass Email Abuse:
Circumventing the approval process by sending mass emails outside of the RCTC distribution list may result in disciplinary actions. Abuse of the mail system in such ways may constitute a violation of the College’s Acceptable Use Policy, and violators may be referred for disciplinary action. Access to College information technology resources may be denied without notice until the issue has been resolved.
Part 6. Alternative Communication Channels:
To assist with effective communication to the College community, Rochester Community and Technical College has other electronic communications or publications that are published or updated regularly.
Date of Implementation: Summer 2015
Date of Adoption: May 13, 2015
Updates: January 19, 2022