University Relations
Standards
WMU mass e-mail messages
Purpose
The purpose of these standards is to provide for mass e-mailings at Western Michigan University that are accurate, concise, consistent and coordinated; to maximize efficiency of the University's e-mail system; and to reduce the number of unsolicited e-mail messages sent to faculty, staff and students, without unduly restricting the free flow of information on campus.
Justification
The cumulative amount of time spent each day by students, faculty and staff on unsolicited mass e-mail messages represents an enormous loss in personal and institutional productivity. In an open community of 30,000 people, some regulation of mass e-mail is necessary.
Scope
These standards apply to all mass e-mail messages sent to wmich.edu e-mail accounts.
Definitions
Mass e-mail is defined at WMU as any unsolicited message sent to more than 50 addresses in a day, 500 in a month, or 5,000 in a year. These quotas are well within the limits established by the federal CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 for defining what constitutes spam e-mail messages.
Unsolicited messages include those the recipients did not specifically request or subscribe to receive, or would not expect to receive as a normal part of their roles as students or employees.
Messages sent to members of a specific group and official University messages are exempt from the quotas listed, but are not exempt from the standards for message composition.
Messages to members of a group
Typical groups at WMU include students enrolled in a specific class, faculty and staff in a specific department or office, and members of specific student or employee organizations or committees. The person(s) in authority in the group shall determine what messages are appropriate for distribution within that group, but only within that group.
Messages sent to members of a specific group are exempt from the quotas, such as 50 addresses in a day, but are not exempt from the standards for message composition. "All undergraduate students" or "all faculty members," are examples of broad classifications, not specific groups, and are not exempt.
Official messages
Official messages are exempt from the quotas, but are not exempt from the standards for message composition.
Official messages are those authorized by the president of the University, senior academic officer, senior business officer, senior student affairs officer, chief information officer, or by university relations, which serves as the clearinghouse for mass e-mail messages. All mass messages not originating with the president or other senior officers listed must be sent to university relations, which is responsible for determining what messages, from both external and internal sources, are appropriate for dissemination using the University's e-mail system.
University relations will regularly distribute a mass e-mail compilation of campus announcements (WMU Today) to reduce the number of separate mass e-mail messages.
Standards for message composition
All mass e-mail messages must conform to the following standards.
All e-mail addresses, except that of the sender, must be concealed, either as part of a concealed e-mail list or by blind copying all recipients. By leaving e-mail addresses exposed, you surrender control of your list, making it easy to duplicate, and you have exposed students and colleagues to the potential of undesired contacts.
Messages must include within the text of the message contact information for the person, office or group sending the message. Minimally, the contact information must include a phone number and an e-mail address.
Messages must be clear, concise and no longer than the equivalent of one printed page in length. Additional information should be made available via a Web link in the text of the message.
No attachments of any type are permitted with mass e-mail. Not all recipients will have compatible software to read all attachments. The most efficient way to present additional information is to include a Web link in the text of the message.
Messages must be composed in plain text only, as some e-mail readers cannot handle special characters, fonts or html. Messages composed in html also are more likely to be identified as spam and blocked or filtered by the mail client or server of some recipients.
Access to e-mail addresses for research
Access to WMU e-mail addresses for survey research is limited to WMU students, faculty and staff, in most cases requires approval of the Human Subjects Institutional Review Board, and in all cases requires approval of the chief information officer of the University. For more information about using e-mail for research, contact the chief information officer.
Submitting requests
Requests for mass e-mail messages should be sent to the director or assistant director of electronic communication in university relations. Requests for access to e-mail addresses for research should be sent to the chief information officer.
Contacts
Thom Myers
Director of Electronic Communication
Office of University Relations
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5433
(269) 387-8710 or 387-8400
thom.myers@wmich.edu
Tonya Rae Durlach
Assistant Director of Electronic Communication
Office of University Relations
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5433
(269) 387-8423 or 387-8400
tonya.durlach@wmich.edu
Dr. James A. Gilchrist
Vice Provost and Chief Information Officer
Office of Information Technology
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5206
(269) 387-3855 or 387-5430
james.gilchrist@wmich.edu
Adoption and revision of these standards
These standards are based on best practices, applicable law and technical capabilities at the time of the latest revision and will be updated periodically as technology and other factors change. All of the standards presented here are consistent with those of the federal CAN-SPAM (“Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing”) Act of 2003.
Originally adopted: Dec. 15, 2005
Last revised: Nov. 14, 2008
Approved by the Senior Leadership Team