Policy for Use of Student E-mail Addresses for Mass Communication

Transmission of mass e-mail notices to a comprehensive list of University of Maine at Augusta (UMA) students must be carefully managed to ensure that students do not receive large quantities of unwelcome and unsolicited e-mail from the University. The goal of this policy is to maintain the effectiveness of e-mail as a communication tool with UMA students.

The Moosebytes staff on the Augusta Campus has been designated to coordinate all e-mail notices directed to the entire student body or to large subgroups of students. The Office of the Dean of Students exercises discretion over whether a proposed communication may be sent electronically to all students. The Dean will consult with other members of the administration, as appropriate, in this review. In addition, the President and members of the President's immediate staff may independently authorize mass e-mail communications to all UMA students via the Moosebytes staff or their own communication systems.

 

Mass e-mail notifications to students

(only permitted under the following conditions)

1. All communication must comply with federal laws designed to protect student privacy (e.g., Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act). To comply with UMA FERPA policy, any e-mail communication to more than one student at a time must conceal the e-mail addresses and identities of every student in the address line.

2. The communication must relate to the role of the recipients as university students and be consistent with the mission of the University (teaching, research, and public service) and the administrative functions that support that mission. It must provide a direct service to the majority of the targeted group and a benefit for all included in the targeted group.

3. The author of the message must have a legitimate association with the university as employee, student or member of a university-sanctioned group or organization.

4. Normally, no more than one collective e-mail notice will be sent to the student body per week and e-mail notifications regarding the same topic will be authorized only twice per semester.

5. In addition to the above, the following applies to UMA's electronic student newsletter,Moosebytes:
   
   
   

Submitting to Moosebytes

To submit something to moosebytes you do so through the online submission form.

Submission Form »

Submissions must be received by noon on Wedensday.

 

Follow the guidelines below when preparing a submission. (Note: The online form contains format specifications and will not function if guidelines are not followed.)

• Submissions must be brief; there is a limit of 500 characters, including spaces.
• When relevant, a submission should list first the date, time, and location of the event in the following form 12:00 - 1:00 PM or 6:00 - 7:00 PM.  (no p.m. or am)
• A university-related sponsoring organization must be specified in the submission.
• An FMI (for more information) notation that lists an @maine.edu e-mail address and/or campus phone number should be included.
• Attachments are not permitted. Embedded internet links may be used to direct the reader to more information or required forms.
• A photo (jpeg format only) may be attached to accompany a submission; if copyrighted, permission for authorized use of the photo must be obtained prior to submission.

 

To ensure the accuracy of submissions, the Moosebytes staff will not normally edit or change any information in a submission without first consulting with the author. In most cases the Moosebytes staff will return the submission for required or recommended edits. However, we do reserve the right to edit grammar, format and edit internet hyperlinks.