Email Use Policy
Definitions
To clarify terms used within these policies, the following definitions are provided:
E-mail account: a combination of a login username and password and disk space on the network.
E-mail username: a unique, pre-formatted, alphanumeric code assigned to faculty, staff and students who are granted access to the College’s e-mail system.
E-mail address: the combination of username and College domain: username@holycross.edu.
E-mail password: an alphanumeric code created by the user to access the College e-mail system.
E-mail attachment: one or more files that are added to an e-mail.
E-mail system: a network of information technology resources that enables the transmission and storage of electronic communication.
E-mail group list: a list of e-mail usernames associated with a particular group or constituency within the College community.
Mass e-mail: a message sent to e-mail users who are identified on an official College or personal e-mail group list.
Network password: an eight-character alphanumeric code created by the user to access the College network.
Policy Statement
The College provides information technology resources to its faculty, staff and students. Members of the College community are encouraged to use electronic mail (e-mail) to facilitate the efficient exchange of information concerning College-related matters. Limited or incidental personal use of the College’s e-mail system is allowed to the extent that it does not interfere with the normal operation of the e-mail system. Access to the College’s e-mail system is a privilege that requires its users to act in an ethical and responsible manner.
The purpose of this policy is to encourage the appropriate use of e-mail as an effective and efficient tool for communication. E-mail use must be in compliance with College policies and relevant state and federal laws ( see http://www.holycross.edu/its/it_policies/ ).
The Director of Information Technology Services (ITS) is charged with the responsibility of enforcing the provisions of this Policy. Violations of the policy should be reported to the director of Information Technology Services. Depending on the nature of the violation, the ITS director may refer the matter to the President or the relevant Vice President. (see Prohibited Uses section of http://www.holycross.edu/its/policies/ ).
Privacy
Please refer to Use of Information Technology Resources Policy (http://www.holycross.edu/its/it_policies/it_use_policy/) for a statement on privacy in using IT resources. Users need to be aware of additional privacy issues related to e-mail. Although the College does not routinely monitor e-mail messages, it reserves the right to inspect the contents of any e-mail file on its system. Reasons for review include, but are not limited to: reasonable suspicion of a violation of a College policy or state or federal law; misuse of the College’s information technology resources; investigation of complaints brought under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act; or investigation and resolution of system problems.
Users must respect the integrity and security of the e-mail system. There are major risks, including a loss of privacy, when a user reveals his or her passwords to others. Users are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of their passwords.
It should be noted there is a risk in using e-mail to send confidential or highly sensitive information that may possibly compromise the privacy of the communication.
Prohibited Uses of E-mail
Users are prohibited from using the e-mail system to create or send ‘chain letters’, ‘spam’, or any other form of message that overloads the system. Users are prohibited from knowingly transmitting an e-mail containing a virus. E-mail and other network resources may not be used for commercial or political purposes. Fundraising activities not directly associated with the College are prohibited. Materials that are obscene or offensive to the sensibilities of the College community may not be sent by e-mail.
Mass E-mail
The College recognizes three types of e-mail group lists: official College lists, department lists, and personal lists.
Official College e-mail group lists are maintained by ITS and require authorization for use. Application for authorization ( http://www.holycross.edu/assets/pdfs/pol_app_group_lists.pdf ) will be submitted to the Director of ITS who will then forward a recommendation to the President or relevant Vice President. It will be the responsibility of the Director of ITS to provide the authorized user access to the official College e-mail group lists. The use of official College e-mail group lists is strictly limited to communicating information relevant to College business; they should not be used to advertise College events and activities without the authorization of the President or relevant Vice President. This information can be posted on department web pages and the College Web Calendar. Information submitted to the College Web Calendar is distributed to all members of the campus community via the daily “Campus E-vents” mass e-mail.
Academic and administrative department e-mail group lists are maintained by ITS as a service to the College. Members of a particular department may use their own department group list to conduct department business. In certain instances, a user outside a department (e.g., Director of Public Safety or the Director of Physical Plant ) may send a mass e-mail to a department group list if the information is relevant to every member of the department.
Personal e-mail group lists are created and maintained by the user. Users are required to use discretion in creating these lists to ensure that the subject matter of a mass e-mail is relevant to all the recipients. Requests to be removed from a personal list must be honored. Users have the responsibility of keeping the personal e-mail group lists current.
Guidelines
E-mail is subject to the same standards as ordinary business communication such as letters and memoranda. Users should clearly identify themselves in all e-mail messages. The subject line should accurately reflect the contents of the message. The College discourages the use of e-mail for the communication of confidential and highly sensitive information. Users who elect to send sensitive material should set the confidential flag in GroupWise and be especially careful that the e-mail address of the intended recipient is correct.