Broadcast E-mail Guidelines

Tulane Technology Services (TS) maintains a number of campus-wide e-mail lists, such as "all faculty," "all staff," "all students" and "deans, directors and department heads." Given the phenomenal growth of e-mail as a means of communication, there are many requests to use the TS lists in order to communicate quickly and efficiently with large numbers of people. As demand is great and because the university cannot and should not accommodate all requests, guidelines are necessary for the use of these lists. They are:

1. Use of TS lists is restricted to members of the Tulane community.
2. The proposed e-mail message should be related to the business and mission of the university.
3. The message should be of significant and urgent interest to a large segment of the campus community.
4. Each e-mail must identify an individual as its "sender." Offices, such as public relations or accounting, for example, cannot be senders of broadcast e-mails.
5. E-mails of a personal nature, such as notices of items for sale, lost or found items, and solicitation of goods or services are not allowed.
6. Messages that publicize or endorse relief efforts for victims of natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, etc. normally are not allowed.
7. Messages should be short and concise; only in rare instances should they exceed 100 words. For topics that require more information, consider a summary e-mail message that contains a link to more detailed information.
8. Proposed e-mail messages should be submitted to dgrant@tulane.edu for approval at least 5 working days in advance of the desired posting.

The usefulness, expediency and low cost of e-mail are attractive. However, should a request for a broadcast e-mail be denied, other quick and effective ways to communicate include an update to a Web page or publication in The New Wave.

For help in developing a complete communications strategy for a particular project or simply deciding how to get a single memo out ASAP, assistance is available through the Department of University Communications.

Contacts include:

Carol Schlueter, Executive Director of Publications (e.g., The New Wave); 504-865-5714; cjs@tulane.edu

Mike Strecker, Director of Public Relations; 504-865-5210; mstreck@tulane.edu

Rachel Hoormann, Director of University Web Communications; 504-865-5210; rhoorma@tulane.edu