District-Wide Electronic Messaging Training

Presented by Teresa Toney, ManagerOffice of Public Stewardship

20,000+

Intent of Distribution ListsConnect the CollegesGeneral AnnouncementsMCCCD Operational ActivitiesAnnouncements = Bulletin Board / ElectiveBusiness = EssentialFiltering Tools Available

dl-maricopa-business ListUsed strictly to notify employees of business matters

essential to conduct operationsMessages should have applicability to all employees

Appropriate topics include: system-wide alerts, curricular issues, HR matters, mandatory training, Governing Board related information, Chancellor communications and functional operations

dl-maricopa-announcements ListUsed to notify employees of general announcements for

District or College sponsored activitiesExamples are:

Course offerings, temporary work assignments, theater productions, college newsletters, etc.

Limitation of ListsNot a discussion forumNot to be used for personal gainNot to be used for political (or personal) advocacyMust be considered applicable and/or necessaryMust be related to District or College operations

What Is A Sponsorship?Sponsored events are organized by employees acting as

an agent for MCCCDSponsored events are District / College approved and fall

within the scope of the individual’s employmentSponsored events can also be activities that MCCCD as an

entity is involved with organizingHosting is prohibited

Hosting means …… a circumstance in which an outside [for-profit] entity asks

MCCCD to provide facilities and other resources for an event the entity wishes to sponsor that meets all three of the following criteria:the fee that the outside entity will charge attendees for the event

is significant;the targeted audience for the event is generally commercial; andthe outside party requests that MCCCD facilities and, if

applicable, services (such as marketing or email notices to MCCCD employees about the event) be supplied at no cost to that entity in exchange for waivers of registration fees for a certain number of MCCCD employees to attend the event.

MCCCD Sponsored ActivitiesPostings requested by a College, external organization, or

by the District will be reviewed by an authorized designee and sent through the appropriate DL

Sponsored activities shall contain the following: College LocationName of Sponsoring Department / Division / Employee

Organization andContact Information

MCCCD Sponsored Activities (cont’d)Messages sent on behalf of external organizations must

make visible within the email the formal partnership or institutional linkage that they have with the college (i.e. Mesa Life Options and Girls for a Change)

Examples of Inappropriate EmailsMessages of a commercial or personal nature (i.e.

personal sales, holiday greetings, last name changes, etc.)Publicizing of workshops or courses held at external

institutions taught by MCCCD employees (no institutional linkage or partnership involved)

Note: Name change emails may be sent to individuals that work directly with the employee

Know Your AudienceNot all messages apply to everyoneTarget your audience, use the appropriate DL list

(i.e. faculty, PSA, MAT, WLG, etc.)Individual Colleges vs.

District as a whole

DL Instructionshttp://memo.maricopa.edu/

addressbook.htmlIn the Basic Search Area,

proceed with the following instructions:Name: DLOrganization: Leave Blank

or enter specific location (i.e. DSSC, PC, GC)

Hit “Search”

DL Instructions (cont’d)Scroll through

populated listSelect the DL list,Hit “Show Properties”

to list the members of the DL chosen

Use the selected DL if appropriate

Photo Copy TestGive it the “Photo Copy” test

Is this something that we would pay to photo copy (or print) and distribute via inter-campus mail?

If so submit your item as early as two weeks prior to the designated person for review and posting.

How Many Times Is Too Many?When sending out information, consider what is

appropriate and what is annoyingMessages should be sent out a minimal number of timesUnless necessary, senders may want to limit the amount of

times they send out information to two times; usually, once is enough

Images and LinksAll images and links are limited to acceptable use standardsMaximum size: 25MBMust be relevant to approved content, education related,

District/College affiliated, or District/College sponsored web sites or material

Important information should never be conveyed with images alone—for visually impaired readers using software to read for them, words in email messages can be read but graphics and pictures cannot

Images and Links (cont’d)Links presented for reference purposes must meet

the following: Accuracy, verifiability, and descriptions of the limitations of

the researchAll messages must meet the Electronic Communications

and Technology Resources Standards (TRS) Administrative Regulations

Disability AccommodationInclude language to allow persons with disabilities the

opportunity to make an ADA accommodation Sample of requested language:

NOTE: Persons with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation such as a sign language interpreter. Contact [insert respective college or district point of contact] by email at [insert respective email address] or by phone [insert respective phone number]. Requests should be made [insert time frame] to allow time to arrange the accommodation.

Sample Emailshttp://www.maricopa.edu/publicstewardship/resources/

examples.php

Applicability of StandardsRegardless of point of initiation (off campus or on

campus) the TRS apply at all timesSending emails to all employee groups for the purpose of

circumventing the distribution lists process is prohibited and subject to the TRS

EnforcementThe practices outlined within the TRS are meant to

address the protocol for posting messages District-wide to all employees and all locations

Employee and constituency groups are encouraged to develop their own standards directing employees to post appropriate messages

Enforcement (cont’d)Supervisors, College Presidents and/or designees must

ensure that employees are notified and will comply with all regulations and/or protocols

Issues related to enforcement will be addressed by the established processes in the job group policy manuals

Direct any questions related to the TRS or for guidance in evaluating a message to Ed Kelty, Sasan Poureetezadi, or Teresa Toney

Employee and Constituency Groups Distribution ListsServe to conduct the affairs of district-sanctioned

organizationsAppropriate for the exchange of dialog related to a

group’s operations, policies, procedures, concerns about the institution, etc.

Example of what is not permissible – external political activity such as promoting a particular candidate or ballot issue, bond election activity

Groups Lists (cont’d)

Have had instances where employees have forwarded messages that were felt to be inappropriate and the District was asked to review and respond

Lists are still subject to the Electronic Communications and Technology Resources Standards (TRS) Administrative Regulations

ScholarshipsAre public resources being used to promote or

administer scholarships?Email systemEmployee timeFacilitiesScholarships funds (what is source, where is

money maintained)Employees are considered to be part of the public entityHB 2008 (see Legislative Compliance for more information)

TipsBecome familiar with the regulationsConduct own self-monitoringFormulate protocol for what the group’s executive

leadership considers appropriate business use for the distribution list

For open-unrestricted exchange – consider establishing a list-serve that is not funded with public resources – make participation voluntary where employees who choose to engage in such dialog can sign up

Questions?

For more information:Teresa Toney, Manager

(480) 731-8880teresa.toney@domail.maricopa.edu

Danay Bell, Administrative Assistant(480) 731-8882danay.bell@domail.maricopa.edu

Web: http://www.maricopa.edu/publicstewardship/resources/email.php