Purpose and Origin of This Document
Email has become a service greatly enhancing communication both within the Mississippi College (MC) community and externally to users, including prospective students, alumni, and the public at large.
The purpose of this policy is to describe the appropriate use of MC Email Facilities, associated responsibilities, and rights of all Users of MC Email Facilities and Official MC Email Accounts.
Use of Email Accounts
Email is a means of official communication to persons who are members of the MC community. MC has the right to use email to communicate with students and employees and to expect that those communications will be received and read in a timely fashion. All faculty, staff, and students are expected to check their email on a frequent and consistent basis in order to ensure that they are staying current with all official communications.
Email services are resources which are intended to be used for instruction, instructional support, faculty advising, research, service, administration, and college-related correspondence in support of MC’s mission. Access to email is an essential tool that imposes on users certain accompanying responsibilities. The same standards of conduct that are expected of students, faculty, and staff regarding the use of other MC facilities, services, and resources apply to the use of email.
Email/MyMC Retention for Faculty, Staff and Students
Student Email – Student MyMC/email accounts will expire one year from the last date of attendance. Students will receive four reminders, one email per week for four weeks, from MCnet Support before their account is deleted. Once the account is deleted, nothing is retrievable, not even by Google.
Students are offered an Alumni email account through the Alumni Office website. This free alumni.mc.edu account will provide a place for students to forward any email from their student mc.edu account that they want to save. Otherwise, when the student mc.edu account expires, students will lose any email in that account. Having an alumni email account also gives alumni an edu email address to use on resumes and applications, something many people see as beneficial when looking for a job. To signup for the Alumni email account, visit the Alumni website.
Faculty and Staff Email - Faculty and Staff email is terminated upon the last day of employment, per our IT auditing and security policies. Faculty and Staff must collect any files or emails from their account before the last day of employment.
Retiree/Emeritus Email - Retirement awards Faculty and Staff the continued use of their mc.edu email and MyMC login. The MyMC login allows the user to access their email, Banner Web, as well as Library resources. They will not retain their network drives, such as the G & H drives, nor will they remain on any mass email lists (Faculty-List or Staff-List). If the user does not login to their account for a two year period, the account is deleted automatically, with no notification to the user.
Use of Mass Emailing and Email Distribution Lists
Mass email messages are a useful and convenient way of communicating with the campus community. However, their potential for unnecessarily consuming resources and cluttering campus inboxes require that senders of such messages adhere to some guidelines. As such, mass emails must be approved or sent by authorized users only. A mass emailing is an unsolicited email message sent to a group of otherwise unrelated campus email addresses. For example, sending a message to all faculty or all students would be considered a mass emailing. Whether such messages are sent by using a personally constructed list of addresses or a system-generated list, such as Staff-List@mc.edu, makes no difference in the effect or applicability of this policy. Sending a message to members of a club or a group of friends does not constitute a mass emailing. Sending messages to groups, committees, or divisions also does not constitute a mass emailing.
Email distribution lists are maintained by Computer Services and are provided by Human Resources and the Registrar’s Office. There is no opt-out provision for these lists.
Confidentiality and Security
Official email to registered students should only be sent to their MC student email address. Email to a non-MC student email address cannot contain any information protected under FERPA.
Faculty and staff must only use their MC email for official email correspondence.
Email is subject to the Freedom of Information Act.
MC does not routinely monitor or screen electronic mail. However, MC has the right, consistent with this policy and applicable law, to access, review and release all electronic information that is transmitted over or stored in MC facilities, whether or not such information is private in nature, and therefore, confidentiality or privacy of electronic mail cannot be guaranteed. Because of the nature of email, the need for authorized staff to maintain email systems, MC’s accountability as a private institution, situations involving the health or safety of people or property, violations of MC codes of conduct, regulations, policies, or laws, other legal responsibilities or obligations of MC, or the locating of information required for MC business. Computer Services staff may review and disclose the content of email messages.
Employees who resign, retire or otherwise terminate employment will have their email accounts disabled immediately. Such employees should be aware that their email accounts will be accessed by their supervisors in order to continue to conduct MC operations after they leave. Supervisors seeking such access should contact the email Administrator prior to the employee’s termination.
Users should exercise extreme caution in using email to communicate confidential or sensitive matters, and should not assume that their electronic mail is private or confidential.
Users may not access, use, or disclose personal or confidential information in MC’s custody without appropriate authorization, and must take necessary precautions to protect the confidentiality of personal or confidential information in compliance with MC policy and applicable law, regardless of whether the information is maintained on paper or whether it is found in email or other electronic records.
Email users and operators must follow sound professional practices in providing for the security of electronic mail records, data, applications programs, and systems programs to which they have access.
Users are responsible for safeguarding their email account names and passwords, and for using them only as authorized. Each user is responsible for all email transactions made under the authorization of his or her ID.
Misuse
Using email for illegal activities is strictly prohibited. Illegal use includes, but is not limited to: obscenity; child pornography; threats, harassment; theft; attempting unauthorized access to data or attempting to breach any security measures on any electronic communications system; attempting to intercept any electronic communication transmission without proper authority; and violation of copyright, trademark or defamation law.
In addition to illegal activities, the following email practices are expressly prohibited: entry, examination, use, transfer, and tampering with the accounts and files of others, unless appropriately authorized pursuant to this policy.
MC email services may not be used for non-MC commercial activities, personal financial gain, non-approved charitable activities, or for the advancement of any political agenda.
Email users shall not give the impression that they are representing, giving opinions, or otherwise making statements on behalf of MC unless expressly authorized to do so.
MC email services may not be used for purposes that could reasonably be expected to cause (directly or indirectly) strain on any computing facilities or interference with others’ use of email or email systems. Such uses include, but are not limited to, the use of email services:
- To send or forward chain letters. These emails often contain warnings that may very well be hoaxes. Use appropriate websites, like http://www.snopes.com/, to validate the myths and warnings.
- For "spam” – that is, to exploit listservs or similar systems for the widespread distribution of unsolicited mail.
- To knowingly send or transmit computer viruses
Violations
Suspected or known violations of policy or law should be reported to the appropriate supervisory level for the department in which the violation occurs. Alleged violations will be evaluated by appropriate MC authorities and/or law enforcement agencies. Violations may result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal, referral to law enforcement agencies; or other legal action.
Approved by the Information Technology Committee, October 13, 2016
Last Updated: 12/10/14 dbl
