Mass Email Policy
TEC 19.0
Communications & Information Technology
Applies to: Faculty, staff, student employees, students, and volunteers
University of Mount Union Page 2 of 11
Policy Details
Email is an important tool for academic, research, and administrative communications; however, it is not the only tool, nor
is it always the best tool. The cumulative amount of time spent by students, faculty, and staff on processing unwanted
email represents an enormous loss of personal and institutional productivity. Furthermore, improper use of mass email
potentially exposes the University to blacklisting by various email providers and to liability under the federal CAN-SPAM
Act of 2003. Thus, the standards and restrictions enacted by this policy are necessary to:
• Provide for mass emailing at the University of Mount Union that is accessible, concise, consistent, and
coordinated.
• Establish guidelines for the appropriate use of mass email versus other communication tools.
• Reduce the number of email messages sent to students, faculty, and staff.
• Ensure compliance with federal law and the "best practice" expectations of recipients' email providers.
• Preserve the effectiveness of email as a communication tool without unduly restricting the free flow of information
within the University community.
Guidelines for Mass Email Communications
• All mass email messages will comply with the CAN-SPAM-Act, FERPA, and other appropriate University policies.
This includes internal mass email messages, external mass email messages, and those being distributed through
the University of Mount Union systems.
− Don’t use false or misleading header information. Your “From:,” “To:,” “Reply To:” and routing information
– including the originating domain name and email address – must be accurate and identify the person or
business who initiated the message.
− Don’t use a deceptive subject line. The subject line must accurately reflect the content of the message.
− Tell recipients where you are located. Your message must include the business physical postal address.
− Tell recipients how to opt out of receiving future email. Your message must include a clear explanation of
how the recipient can opt out of getting email from you in the future.
− Honor opt-out requests promptly. Any opt-out mechanism you offer must be able to process opt-out
requests within 10 business days.
• All mass communications assembled electronically must use the University’s official email enterprise systems
listed below.
• Accounts and network access may be administratively suspended, with or without notice, when continued use of
the University’s resources interfere with the work of others, place the University or others at risk, or violate
University policy.
• Sending unsolicited mass email – commonly known as spam – is prohibited. This means that all email lists must
come from one of the University’s official databases (Slate, Colleague, or Raiser’s Edge) or recipients must have
opted into receiving communication.
• The From: address must be a valid email address at mountunion.edu or another domain owned by the University.
If the From: address is that of an individual, the permission of that individual must be secured before the email is
sent. If the From: address is a general office or department email, the permission of the account administrator
must first be secured. Use of an address at a domain not owned by the University (such as gmail.com) to
distribute mass email is prohibited.
• The body text of the message should include contact information for the person, office, or group that sent it,
especially if this contact information differs from the email address to which Reply To: emails will go. Minimally,
the contact information should include a valid email address at a domain owned by the University.
• All recipient addresses must be concealed through the use of a mailing list. If a software limitation precludes the
use of a mailing list, the BCC: field may be used to conceal the recipients' addresses instead; otherwise, use of
the BCC: field to address mass email is prohibited.
• The message must include body text that is clear and concise. Additional information, if needed, should be
provided via a web link in the text.
• Accompanying files, if any, must be provided via a web link in the body text of the message, not attached to the
message itself.