Email List Policy

Bethel Email List Policy

BETHEL E-MAIL POLICY
Approved by ACSAC Feb. 6, 2000

1. The use of e-mail for departmental, or college-wide information

In addition to its use in individual communication, e-mail at Bethel is also a main vehicle for the transmission of official information to the members of the Bethel community. Official email communications are intended only to meet the academic and administrative needs of the campus community, and are distributed through endorsed mailing lists. The institution has the right to expect that such communications will be received and read in a timely fashion.

2. Availability of e-mail accounts

Official Bethel email accounts are available for all enrolled students, and for all faculty and staff. These accounts must be activated before the user can send or receive mail. Accounts can be activated on the Bethel web (the current address of the Accounts site is: https://directory.bethel.edu/account/ ) Official email addresses will be directory information unless the account user requests otherwise.

3. Redirecting of email

If users wish to have email redirected from an official Bethel address @bethel.edu to another email address (e.g., @aol.com, @hotmail.com etc…), they may do so, but at their own risk. Bethel will not be responsible for the handling of email by outside vendors or by departmental servers. Having email redirected does not absolve a community member from the responsibilities associated with official communication sent to his or her @bethel.edu account. Information about forwarding is available on the website used to activate the official email address (https://directory.bethel.edu/account/ )

4. Expectations about community use of email

Students, faculty and staff are expected to check their email on a frequent and consistent basis in order to stay current with Bethel-related communications. They have the responsibility to recognize that certain communications may be time-critical. "I didn't check my email", error in forwarding mail, or email returned to the University with "Mailbox Full" or "User Unknown" are not acceptable excuses for missing official Bethel communications via email.

5. Privacy

Users should exercise extreme caution in using email to communicate confidential or sensitive matters, and should not assume that email is private and confidential. It is especially important that users are careful to send messages only to the intended recipient(s). Particular care should be taken when using the "reply" command during email correspondence.

6. Mailing lists

Mailing lists types:

At Bethel, there are mandatory and voluntary mailing lists.

• Mandatory lists, departmental or institution-wide, convey information central to academic or administrative responsibilities, and the student, staff or faculty member is accountable for that information. No one can opt out of a mandatory list.
  

• Voluntary lists are of two types: opt-out and opt-in.

  • Opt-out lists are lists in which the community member is enrolled by default, but has the opportunity to unsubscribe by request. Such lists transmit important information (i.e. career services information), though most often not essential to day to day tasks.
  • Opt-in lists are based on areas of interest. Community members request to join them.

Mailing lists creation and administration:

Lists are created by ITS at the request of departments and/or organizations. E-mail lists to students require the approval of the V.P. to which the requesting department or organization reports. The list-owner is the department or organization’s head or his/her delegate. Technical management of the list resides in ITS.


Request for an e-mail distribution list to students


Request for other e-mail/list-serve lists


Some lists (i.e. class lists, advisee lists etc…) are automatically created by software such as CARS or Blackboard.

Mailing lists usage:

Discretion is advised in the posting to lists to avoid giving users the sense that they are being unnecessarily spammed.