Broadcast Email - New Casper College

Broadcast emails can be valuable in communicating with everyone very quickly, but they can also be an unwelcome distraction if they are irrelevant to the work we do each day. The following guidelines are provided to improve the quality and relevance of broadcast emails. The guidelines also offer standards that should be followed when sending broadcast emails.

Broadcast emails to all employees and students, using #ALLCCGMAILUSERS and CCSTUDENTS will be coordinated centrally by the Strategic Communications and Marketing department. Select individuals, in their professional roles at Casper College, will have access to employee and student email groups as part of their role’s responsibilities.

If you want to communicate a message with students and lack access to student email groups, submit a request at least three working days prior to the desired send date to the Strategic Communications and Marketing department by selecting “Student Email Request” from the drop-down menu. Include a draft of the email message and be sure to gain approval from your department director.

A communications specialist will edit and proof the email as appropriate to the college standards for broadcast emails. Once the draft has been finalized, the email will be sent to the director of Strategic Communications and Marketing department for approval. Once approved, the email will be sent on your behalf.

A similar process will be used within departments where there are individuals approved to use the student group email lists.

Standards

Broadcast emails must be used only for communications related to the business needs of the college and those activities typically common to the college/university environment.

Emails of a personal nature, such as notices of items for sale, lost or found items, solicitation of goods or services, fundraising, or employment opportunities are not allowed. Messages that publicize or endorse relief efforts for victims of natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, etc. normally are not allowed.

“Broadcast Email” is always first in the subject line followed by enough information so recipients can quickly determine if they want to delete the message without opening it.
The message is brief, sometimes including information on where to get more information.
No attachments are included.
When applicable, links may be included.
Broadcast emails will be limited except in situations where safety or emergency communications are necessary. General broadcast emails will be suspended during times of emergency.
Broadcast emails must not display the names/addresses to which the message is sent. Broadcast emails should be addressed to the email group using the BCC field to ensure replies don’t go to everyone on the list.
All requests for broadcast emails must go through the procedure mentioned above and sent by the designated communications liaison approved for using broadcast email groups.

Email Messages for Other Groups

In general, it is the policy of Casper College not to send broadcast email messages to students or employees on behalf of other groups. However, occasional exceptions may be made by the president, vice presidents and director of Strategic Communications and Marketing for partners of the college or where the college is a co-sponsor of an event that is relevant to employees and students.

Emails to Employees

Certain employee Gmail users at Casper College have access to the mail list #ALLCCEMPLOYEEGMAILUSERS or ccemployees@caspercollege.edu. Before using this email list, consider the following:

Does the email include information that is important to the business and mission of the college?
Is the email of significant and urgent interest to a large segment of employees?
Does the email comply with FERPA, college policies, and regulatory responsibilities of the college and its employees?
Is the email relevant to “every” employee at Casper College? Consider using a more targeted email group. If you plan on multiple emails, consider putting in a request to IT to build a group specific to your needs or build one of your own.
Is the email clear, concise, grammatically correct, and free of spelling errors? Ask someone in your area to edit and proof your email. Keep emails to no more than 100-150 words. For topics that require more information, consider sending a summary email message that contains a link to more detailed information.
Does the email include who people should reply to or where they can go for more information?
Avoid using attachments and especially large file sizes. Many employees are attempting to remain current with email using mobile platforms that make viewing attachments difficult. Avoid using too many images as they too will increase the file size.
Blind copy the email list, i.e. use BCC when sending broadcast emails.