Digital Service

MU Mass Email Policy

Responsible Office
Marketing and Communications

Policy Statement

Use of mass email is restricted to email from the University which is relevant to official University business, the University’s mission, and a significant segment of the campus community.

Definitions

“MU Mass Email” is any email using the University of Missouri email system to send unsolicited emails to more than 500 internal or external email addresses.

Procedures

1. Execution: Any uses of MU equipment to deliver essentially the same note to more than 500 recipients through mechanisms other than the appropriate use of Listserv or Exchange distribution lists must be approved by MU Digital Service. The University may require a fee for this mass email service. Attempts to circumvent this restriction whether from inside or outside can result in loss of access to university information technology and disciplinary action.
2. Origin: Mass email requests must originate in the department, division, or school administration, not from lower-level units.
3. Content: Use of mass email is restricted to email from the University which is relevant to official University business, the University’s mission, and a significant segment of the campus community. Mass email is considered an appropriate form for communication of an informational item under the following circumstances: Emergency or crisis situations (including closings and delays due to hazardous weather conditions or power outages, the need to provide special assistance to students, etc.), the occurrence of crimes that threaten public safety, sudden changes in traffic, campus vehicular access, and parking due to emergencies, planned or sudden disruption of significant computer-network features, other critical and time-sensitive situations affecting the campus as a whole.
4. Alternatives: For announcements that do not meet the preceding criteria, such as campus events, advertising, or other promotional activities, a variety of options are available to the University community. These options include announcements in MU Info, The Maneater, or other appropriate departmental newsletters, mailings, memoranda, and distributed announcements, announcements placed on University web pages, posting of events on the MU “Events Calendar” or departmental calendars, posting to an appropriate distribution list with permission of the list owner, and links from an informational email item to a website for purposes such as surveys or voting.