College Email: Guidelines and Best Practices
As part of 蘑菇视频's commitment to effective communication and organizational excellence (Strategic Plan Goal 3), all email communications must align with the College's mission and maintain professional standards. Policy 22003–Public Information, Communications, and Marketing (PDF, ) and Policy 76001–Acceptable Use of Information Technology (PDF, ) establish frameworks for responsible information exchange both externally with the public and internally among faculty, staff, and students.
To preserve broadcast email for official College communications and ensure policy compliance, all employees and students must observe these guidelines.
Use of College Email Accounts
Authorized Use of College Email
College email accounts are designated for official College business only, supporting our educational mission through:
- Official College communications;
- College updates and announcements;
- Urgent notifications and essential deadlines;
- Administrative coordination.
- Email communications must align with the College’s business and mission purposes and maintain professional standards as outlined in Policy 76001: Acceptable Use of Information Technology (PDF, ) .
Unauthorized Use of College Email
The following activities violate College policy and are not permitted. This list is not exhaustive:
- Using College email for personal fundraising or sales;
- Promoting external businesses or services;
- Organizing events unrelated to College business;
- Sending mass emails (per policy 22003 (PDF, ) ) without prior authorization, unless communicating college business with your assigned unit or department;
- Sending messages that may be perceived as harassing, inappropriate, or unprofessional.
Broadcast Email Guidelines
Broadcast email is any message sent to 50 or more recipients. Departments with more than 50 members
may send internal communications specific to their area without prior approval. All
broadcast emails must comply with 蘑菇视频 guidelines, procedures, and applicable
state and federal laws.
Authorization
Only the following College offices and positions have automatic authorization to send broadcast emails to collegewide groups (all employees, all students, campus-based staff and faculty). To request broadcast email approval, contact the authorized office you report through.
Authorized Positions
- President
- Chief of Staff
- Senior Vice President of Student Affairs
- Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs
- Senior Vice President of Administrative and Fiscal Services
- Senior Vice President of Advancement and Community Engagement
- Associate Senior Vice Presidents for Student Affairs
- College Registrar
- Rockville Campus Dean
- Germantown Campus Dean
- Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus Dean
- Campus Registrars
- Deans of Student Affairs
- Associate Dean
- Director of Governance
- Council Chairs
- Student Life Directors
- Elected Union leaders
Authorized Offices
- Office of Communications
- Office of Compliance, Risk, and Ethics
- Office of Inclusive Excellence and Belonging
- Office of Facilities
- Office of Human Resources and Strategic Talent Management
- Office of Information Technology
- Office of the President
- Office of Public Safety, Health, and Emergency Management
Best Practices Guidelines
Those approved to send broadcast emails should adopt the following best practices:
- Include a succinct subject line that conveys the email's purpose.
- Keep your message brief, self-explanatory, clear, and concise, while conveying pertinent details.
- Provide a link or contact information so people can get more information.
- Avoid sending frequent or repeated messages. Use other recommended internal communication channels for reminders and follow-up messages, and collaborate with others at the college to avoid redundancy and reduce the number of messages sent.
- Avoid acronyms and jargon. When abbreviations are necessary, for example, referencing the college name, write out "蘑菇视频 (MC)" on first reference, then use MC on future references.
- Make emails fully accessible. Photos embedded in the email should state directly what they feature in alt text (see ).
- The information needs to be in the body of the email (as opposed to just attaching a pdf or embedding an image). It is best practice to link to a webpage for more information instead of attaching additional information in a pdf.
- Use headers to break copy into different sections as needed.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How can I send an email out to an MC email distribution list?
Only the approved list of individuals and offices can email to email distribution lists. Contact the approved individual or office in your chain of command to submit the broadcast email request.
Can I become an approved sender for an office/department email that is in the approved sender list?
Access to group email inboxes needs to be approved by the director of the office/department. The director needs to send approval to the IT Service Desk in order to grant access.
Can I email students that attend class at a specific MC location (such as Germantown Campus)?
No. We do not have the ability to target students that attend a specific MC location.
Important Considerations
Public Records
Under the Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA), College email communications are public records and may be subject to disclosure requests.
Security Requirements
Per Policy 76001 (PDF, ) , users must:
- Report phishing emails and suspicious communications immediately;
- Use College IT resources without compromising system integrity;
- Follow established security protocols to protect College data.
Mission Alignment
All technology including the use of email must support the College's educational mission and comply with applicable federal, state, and local laws as required by the College’s Acceptable Use Policy.
Recommended Communication Channels
For employees and students not authorized to send broadcast emails, the College offers additional opportunities to promote events and news broadly to the College community via the following communication channels:
Requests must be submitted by 蘑菇视频 faculty or staff. Student requests should be approved and submitted by a Student Life advisor, or academic department/club advisor.
For more information on promoting 蘑菇视频 news and events, visit the Office of Communications webpage.