This policy is designed to help KSC faculty and staff members judge the appropriateness of a broadcast e-mail when they need to distribute important information electronically to distribution lists on the Exchange server.

Broadcast E-mail - electronic messages sent to 20 or more recipients - can be an appropriate use of technology to distribute timely messages in an environmentally friendly medium. At the same time, many e-mail users would prefer not to receive messages that are of no use to them or that could have been communicated in less intrusive ways. E-mail to large audiences can also burden the KSC network, especially when the message is long or graphics-heavy or comes with attachments.

General Guidelines

1. Consider other means of communication, e.g., Public Folders or timely submissions to Campus News.
2. Keep the message brief, 50 words or fewer when possible. For longer or more complex messages, consider linking to a web page or use Public Folders.
3. Do not include graphics or send attachments.
4. Messages should include the sender's name and affiliation.
5. Use descriptive subject lines, such as "Health Notice: Flu Vaccine Available."
6. Messages should be consistent with guidelines in KSC's Computer and Network Use Policy.

• Communications from the Keene State President and University System of New Hampshire Board of Trustees.
• Crisis/urgent announcements: natural disaster alerts, mechanical failures, weather closures or delays, crime alerts, health alerts, server maintenance, and computer virus alerts.
• Major policy and procedural changes that must be communicated quickly.
• Major news events such as naming of a new Keene State College president or vice president.
• Financial and administrative deadlines, e.g., budget, personnel or purchasing deadlines.
• Registration information and academic deadlines.
• Logistics announcements: construction closures; traffic routing; environmental alert notices; and security announcements.

Authority to post messages to the GAL list is limited to select individuals in President's Office, President's Cabinet, Campus Safety, IT, Human Resources, Physical Plant, Financial Services, Health Services, and Marketing and Communications to share information related to the above subjects. If a faculty or staff member has interest in sending a message that falls outside the list of topics above, the individual must contact their Principal Administrator for approval prior to sending the message. Keene State College administration reserves the right to deny posts.

No individual may use Keene State sub-email lists to send information to the full campus community. Misuse of the GAL or other sub-lists is a personnel matter, which will result in consequences as determined by the supervisor.

Keene State College has a separate "Events" email list, which can be accessed by anyone on campus to share Keene State event-related information to faculty and staff. Recipients of this email can opt out if they wish to do so. This list is to be used only to publicize events. Guidelines for using this list are below:

• Only events sponsored by officially recognized Keene State organizations may be publicized through broadcast e-mail.
• Use smaller lists for events of more limited interest.
• Events are to be publicized with no more than one broadcast e-mail message.
• All "Events" messages should include a subject line that explains the purpose of the message, e.g., "Campus Event: Poetry Reading Oct. 15"
• Messages should include sender's name and affiliation with Keene State.
• Messages should be brief, 50 words or fewer, when possible.
• Notice of deaths through "Events" list is restricted to Human Resources only. With the permission of the employee, HR will release the information using the "Events" list.

Unacceptable Use

Unacceptable use of the email system puts both the offending individual and the college at risk. Unacceptable use of the email system includes, but is not limited to:

• Use of email to support any commercial advertising or for-profit activity.
• Use of email to initiate or forward chain letters.
• Violations of copyright laws (unlawful distribution of copyrighted printed material, audio recordings, video recordings, or computer software).
• A user sharing his or her password information with another person. A user should contact the HelpDesk for a new password if there is reason to believe that the password is known by other persons.
• Attempts to guess or break another user's password.
• Use of a false email address ("spoofing").
• Use of email to threaten or harass others.
• Spamming - sending unsolicited material and/or material not related to the College's mission to a large number of individuals and/or groups.
• The willful introduction of computer viruses or other disruptive/destructive programs into the KSC network.

Security

It is the responsibility of the individual to work with the college when it comes to security of the campus network. One level of security individuals can establish is to create passwords that are complex and difficult to break. There are many techniques and best practices available for creating passwords that provide a high level of security and should be used by everyone.