WCTC College Email Policy

A.  Purpose of the Policy

There is a growing need for electronic communication among students, faculty, staff and administration at West Central Technical College.  Electronic communication (“e-mail”) is convenient, fast, cost-effective, and environmentally aware manner.  Because of this increasing acceptance of electronic communication, e-mail is considered one of the College’s official means of communication and is provided to students, faculty, staff and administration at no cost to the user.

Implementation of this policy ensures that faculty, staff and students have access to this critical form of communication.  For the majority of faculty, staff and students, this will not represent any change from current practice.  However, it will ensure that all faculty, staff and students can access, and be accessed by email as the need arises.  Students who do not have access to computers at their homes or workplaces may use several public computer labs on campus, or computers in public libraries off campus, to access their e-mail. 

B.  Scope

This College email policy provides guidelines regarding the following aspects of email as one of the College’s official means of communication:

• College use of email

• Assignment of email addresses

• Use and responsibilities associated with assigned email addresses

• Email communication expectation.

C.  Policy

• College use of  email:
  Email is an official means for communication within West Central Technical College.  Therefore, the College has the right to send communications to faculty, staff and students via email and the right to expect that those communications will be received and read in a timely fashion.  If you have an Internet Service Provider, you can access the College’s email system from on campus and off-campus.

• Assignment of email addresses:
  Information Technology Services (ITS) will assign all faculty, staff and students an official College email address.  It is to this official address that the College will send email communications.  This official address will be the email address listed in College directories and business cards.

• Redirecting email:
  The College recommends that faculty, staff and students use the College’s email system; however, faculty, staff or students may redirect email electronically to another email address.  If faculty, staff or students wish to redirect email from their official address to another email address (e.g., @aol.com, @hotmail.com) they may do so, but at their own risk.  The College will not be responsible for the handling of email by outside vendors.  Having an email redirected does not absolve a faculty member, staff member or student from the responsibilities associated with communication sent to his or her official email address.

• Email communications expectations:
  Faculty, staff and students are expected to check their official email address on a frequent and consistent basis in order to stay current with College communications recognizing that certain communications may be time-critical.

• Educational uses of email:
  Faculty may determine how email will be used in their classes.  It is highly recommended that if faculty has email requirements and expectations they specify these requirements in their course syllabi.  Faculty may expect that students’ official email addresses are being accessed and faculty may use email for their courses accordingly.

• Appropriate use of email:
  In general, email is not appropriate for transmitting sensitive or confidential information unless an appropriate level of security matches its use for such purposes.  The email system is not designed to be a record retention system.  In addition, it is suggested that important documents be sent with a return receipt.  The following criteria relate to email use:

  • All use of email, including use for sensitive or confidential information, will be consistent with the TCSG Internet and Computer Use Policy.

  • All use of email will be consistent with local, state, and federal law, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA).  All use of email, including use for sensitive or confidential information, will be consistent with FERPA.  To ensure compliance with FERPA regulations, all correspondence which concerns confidential or sensitive information should utilize official West Central Technical College email addresses.  Email correspondence from faculty, staff or students that requests confidential or sensitive information should not be answered if the email is not from a West Central Technical College email address.

  • Communications sent to a faculty, staff or student’s official West Central Technical College email address may include notification of College-related actions.

  • Email shall not be the sole method for notification of any legal action.

  • Official College communications sent by e-mail are subject to the same public information, privacy and records retention requirements and policies as other official College communications.

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