Senate Bill No. 0607-11
University Senate
University at Albany
State University of New York
Introduced by the Council on Libraries, Information Systems and Computing
Date: 12/26/2018
Forward: The following policy language was originally developed by the Office of the
CIO. The original statement is provided in Appendix 1.
Proposal to establish electronic mail as an official means of
communication with students
IT IS HEREBY PROPOSED THAT :
1. The following policy relating to the establishment of Electronic mail (email) as an
official means of communication with students be adopted
2. The policy be forwarded by the University Senate to the President for approval.
Policy Statement:
Effective fall 2007, email will be used as an official method for communicating with
students on non-confidential matters. This policy stipulates that the University can
convey relevant academic and administrative information to targeted student populations
by mass or bulk mailing via their official UAlbany email account. Students are
responsible for familiarizing themselves with the content of messages delivered to them
in this format.
Scope:
This policy pertains to all graduate, undergraduate and non-degree students. UAlbany
email accounts are assigned to students when they become eligible to enroll for courses,
and will be designated as the student’s official email address for the purposes of
University email communications.
Responsibility:
Students are responsible for checking their University email accounts frequently and
consistently, and for familiarizing themselves with the content of official University
messages. Because correspondence may be time-sensitive, students are encouraged to
check their accounts daily. Use of the official UAlbany email account provided by the
University is strongly encouraged. Students may opt to redirect email to an account of
their own choosing, but do so at their own risk. The University does not guarantee
delivery to forwarded addresses. Improper maintenance of email accounts, errors in
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forwarding, and failure to check email are not acceptable excuses for missing official
University communications.
The University is responsible for exercising discretion regarding the use, timing, and
content of email messages and to adequately communicate to students about the existence
of their official UAlbany email account and its use as an official means of
communication. Student information should only be shared with employees of the
University or its agents with a legitimate educational interest in that information. All
faculty/staff must be familiar with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
(FERPA) to ensure the content of email messages is compliant with those guidelines. For
more information, see the section on FERPA in the University’s Undergraduate Bulletin.
Additionally, all bulk (mass) or listserv messages should be compliant with the
University Policy on Responsible Use of Information Technology available at
http://www.albany.edu/policies/computer_usage/.
Privacy:
The University cannot guarantee confidentiality in electronic communications to
students, therefore no personally identifiable information should be sent electronically.
No department or administrative unit shall request personally identifiable information
from students, faculty or staff such as social security numbers by email. Confidential
information such as grade reports, notices of academic status changes, legal, or medical
information should be disseminated through the secure MyUAlbany portal and/or by
post.
Rationale
Senate Bill No. 0102-17 approved on April 2, 2002 states that “Electronic mail (e-
mail) is an important resource for academic, administrative, and extra-curricular
communications at the University at Albany and is an essential element of the
University’s day-to-day operations.”
Email has been a routine, economical, and effective form of communication at the
University at Albany for several years. The proposed policy is designed to formalize and
limit the circumstances under which email is used officially, so that we can assure it
remains routine, economical, and effective. All registered students at the University at
Albany have official UAlbany email accounts that can be accessed from any Internet-
connected computer. Using email to provide information about academic deadlines,
registration information, important safety information and other non-confidential
messages is a valuable tool for academic departments and administrative offices.
Encouraging students to use their UAlbany official email accounts provides a
supplementary tool for faculty, staff, and administrators to communicate with students in
a timely fashion.
Additionally, an official policy for governing email communication with students
is a common practice in many of our peer and aspirational peer institutions (see Appendix
2)
This policy was developed with the aid of previously adopted policies at the
institutions listed in Appendix 2. We would like to acknowledge and thank these
institutions for making their policies available on the Internet.
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Appendix 1
Email as an Official Means of Communication with Students
Policy Statement:
Effective fall 2005, email will be used as an official method for communicating with
students. This policy stipulates that the University can convey relevant academic and
administrative information to targeted student populations via their UAlbany email
account. Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the content of
messages delivered to them in this format.
Scope:
This policy pertains to all graduate, undergraduate and non-degree students. UAlbany
email accounts are assigned to students when they become eligible to enroll for courses,
and will be designated as the student's official email address for the purposes of
University email communications.
Responsibility:
Students are responsible for checking their University email accounts frequently and
consistently, and for familiarizing themselves with the content of University messages.
Because correspondence may be time-sensitive, students are encouraged to check their
accounts daily. Use of the official UAlbany email account provided by the University is
strongly encouraged. Students may opt to redirect email to an account of their own
choosing, but do so at their own risk. The University does not guarantee delivery to
forwarded addresses. Errors in forwarding, messages returned 'Mailbox Full' or 'User
Unknown', or failing to check email are not acceptable excuses for missing official
University communications.
The University is responsible for exercising discretion regarding the use and content of
email messages. Student information should only be shared with employees of the
University or its agents with a legitimate educational interest in that information. All
faculty/staff must be familiar with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
(FERPA) to ensure the content of email messages is consistent with those guidelines. For
more information, see the section on FERPA in the University's Undergraduate Bulletin.
Additionally, all messages should be compliant with the ITS guidelines established in the
companion to this document, Student Email Policy Guidelines for Use.
Privacy:
The University cannot guarantee confidentiality in electronic communications to
students.
Procedure:
The Office of the Chief Information Officer shall establish guidelines and procedures as
may be appropriate for the implementation of this policy. Please refer to these guidelines
for more information.
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Appendix 2
Institutions with Official Email Communications Policies
Binghamton University - http://computing.binghamton.edu/email
Columbia University - http://www.columbia.edu/acis/history/cu-email.html
Indiana University Purdue - http://registrar.iupui.edu/iu-email.html
Indiana University Southeast - http://it.ius.edu/Policies.cfm
Northwestern University - http://www.registrar.northwestern.edu/student_info/email.html
University of Arizona - http://www.registrar.arizona.edu/emailpolicy.htm
University at Buffalo - http://www.itpolicies.buffalo.edu/mass-email/
University of Colorado at Boulder - http://www.colorado.edu/policies/email.html
University of Connecticut - http://listserv.uconn.edu/announce/policy.html
University of Massachusetts Amherst -
http://www.oit.umass.edu/policies/email_comm/policy.html
University of Michigan Dearborn - http://www.its.umd.umich.edu/1543/
University of Minnesota -
http://www.fpd.finop.umn.edu/groups/ppd/documents/policy/Email_Pol.cfm
University of Texas Austin - http://www.utexas.edu/its/policies/emailnotify.html
University of Washington Tacoma -
http://www.tacoma.washington.edu/policies_procedures/E-mail_Policy.pdf
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