Office of Strategic Communications and External Affairs
Editorial Services and Communications
Updated: September 2020
Internal Bulk Emails
Internal bulk emails are defined as communications being emailed to the entire or large segments (i.e., specific schools/campuses/groups) of the university community. The production and dissemination of these emails falls under the purview of the Office of Strategic Communications and External Affairs (SCEA).
The following policies and procedures provide guidance for the appropriate use of bulk email at New York Tech.
Generally speaking, internal bulk email is appropriate for:
- Messages that relate to carrying out the business of the university (operational, not emergency messages).
- Messages that relate to changes in university policy or time-sensitive issues.
- Messages that inform a particular audience (faculty, staff, students, members of a specific school, department, campus, etc.) of news, updates, an announcement, initiative, or event.
Inappropriate uses for internal bulk email include but are not limited to:
- Messages not aligned with New York Tech's mission, vision, or values.
- Messages that are personal in nature, contain personal opinions, or promote individual achievements.
- Messages that are commercial or political in nature, with the exception of messages in support of university business or development, if approved by senior leadership (VPs).
Authorizations and Approvals for Internal Bulk Email
No authorization to send internal bulk email is needed in the three cases detailed below. Requests that fall outside these cases must be approved by the President or the VP responsible for the area from which the email will be sent.
1. Unit-wide Announcements
Schools/colleges, academic departments, or offices that wish to send simple emails to their own faculty, staff, or enrolled students can do so without President/VP approval, using their personal New York Tech email account. Promotional emails or emails making use of custom designs and/or institutional branding should be reviewed, approved, and sent by SCEA, starting with the submission of a digital request.
Schools/colleges, departments, or offices currently using an email system separate from the SCEA-managed system can continue to do so; such systems should be reviewed annually by SCEA and IT to verify their function, effectiveness, and terms of agreement. Groups interested in receiving training so that they too can manage their unit-wide announcements within an approved platform, should notify SCEA's web team via the project request form.
2. Official University-wide Announcements
Aside from the Office of the President, the offices and administrative departments below can send messages via the SCEA bulk email system for regular announcements and matters of university business to the following overall audience groups:
| Audience | Authorized Offices |
|---|---|
| Students | Provost, Information Technology Services (ITS), Registrar Student Affairs, Financial Affairs, SCEA |
| Faculty | Provost, OSPAR, IT, Human Resources, SCEA |
| Staff | IT, Human Resources, SCEA |
| Note: These emails still require internal approval from each office's respective VP. | |
3. Emergencies
During a New York Tech community-wide or campus-wide emergency or crisis, the New York Tech Emergency Communications Plan protocols are followed. Messaging is jointly pre-developed by key members of the President's Council, and initiated upon presidential approval. Bulk email is a secondary emergency communication, with website, text, social media and voicemail messaging serving as the primary means of emergency communication for all members of the university community.
Audience-Specific Internal Bulk Email Policies
Regarding Students
In an effort to protect our students and prevent the sending of too many unrequested emails, the following guidelines will be enforced:
- Bulk email will not be used to advertise or market programs of limited interest to the entire student body (or large subsets of the student body, such as the undergraduate or graduate population, or all students enrolled on a specific campus).
- Bulk email will seldom be used to distribute surveys to all students. Students, faculty, and staff wishing to conduct surveys should first consult the Office of Institutional Research to determine policies and procedures surrounding student surveys.
- Student email addresses should never be made available to and should not be shared with persons or organizations outside of New York Tech.
Regarding Faculty
The Provost's Office is responsible for screening bulk email requests intended for all faculty members or for faculty members in more than one school or department. Bulk email to faculty should primarily be used for announcements by the central administration regarding matters of university policy, changes in procedures, requests for grants, and provost initiatives/information.
Requests will generally not be granted to send faculty messages that are advertisements for seminars or lecture series that are not of interest to New York Tech faculty as whole or to broad segments therein.
Regarding Staff
Members of New York Tech staff interested in sending a bulk email to more than one unit of the university MUST receive their VP's approval to do so. Access to bulk email is made available on a university-wide or unit-wide basis, as the purpose requires.
Alternate Forms of Communications to New York Tech Audiences
Announcements outside the scope of urgent and/or critical university information can be relayed through other channels, such as the online web calendar, social media, and/or digital signage. Such requests can be made via SCEA's project request form.
External Bulk Emails
External bulk emails are defined as email communications sent to any audience group outside the New York Tech internal community (faculty, staff, and students). External bulk emails must be sent via one of three established New York Tech email systems, determined by audience:
- Bulk emails intended for alumni must be submitted, reviewed, and approved by the Office of Development. Approved emails will then be sent by that office using Blackbaud NetCommunity, a social good-focused email solution.
- Bulk emails intended for prospective students and their parents (including NYITCOM prospects) must be submitted, reviewed, and approved by the Office of Admissions. Approved emails will then be sent by that office using TargetX, an enterprise solution for prospective higher education students. In addition, recruitment-related emails sent to high school teachers, counselors, district or community college administrators must also go through the Office of Admissions.
- Bulk emails intended for all other external constituents, including external collaborators and partners, industry leaders, professionals, events and conference and symposia guests, to name a few common audiences, must be submitted, reviewed, and approved by the Office of Strategic Communications and External Affairs. Approved emails will then be sent using Delivra, the institution's primary bulk email solution.
- The purchase of external email lists is prohibited.
- All external bulk emails must contain an option for the end-user to unsubscribe from further emails, and list "New York Institute of Technology, Northern Boulevard, P.O. Box 8000, Old Westbury, NY 11568" in the footer of the message.