Introduction

Questions regularly arise regarding the “who, what, and how” of Broadcast Electronic Mail (E-mail) at the University: who can send it? what is permissible to send? how to send it? This document answers those questions.

Before providing these answers, it is important to first establish that Broadcast E-mail, as it is used in the context of this policy, has the following characteristics:

• It is e-mail sent by individuals, organizations and departments within Boston University to other members of the University community, including alumni and parents of current or former BU students.
• In general, the target population is all or a large fraction of any group selected on the basis of one or more shared characteristics, e.g., all freshmen, the undergraduates within a college, faculty at the University.
• The target population is typically large, commonly numbering at least in the hundreds.

In addition to articulating policy, a secondary purpose of this document is to provide guidelines to facilitate effective communication when sending Broadcast E-mail. Central to the evaluation of message effectiveness is the determination that e-mail is the most appropriate means of communicating with a particular constituency. It is worth noting that there are alternatives to e-mail that may be preferable. The final section of this document describes several e-mail alternatives that are available at Boston University.

• Introduction
• Policy
• Target Constituencies and Required Written Approvals (Table 1)
• Broadcast E-Mail Guidelines
• Procedures
• Alternatives to E-mail

NIS/WebCentral | OIT | August 1, 2007