Guideline: Mass Email to Students - NMU Policies and Requirements

Guideline: Mass Email to Students

Dean of Students Office, 906-227-1600, email: dso@nmu.edu

Email requests to the entire student population are only allowable for a few specific reasons, and they must be submitted to the Dean of Students Office (dso@nmu.edu) for approval by the Dean of Students or designee, in collaboration with the ASNMU President.  

Employees and/or departments are encouraged to use the The HUB (the official campus community platform), departmental lists, newsletters, posters, E-Postal for subset populations, etc. to advertise opportunities and events to the student body.

Restrictions/Requirements/Exemptions: 

• The Office of the President, Office of the Provost, and the NMU Police Department are exempt from these guidelines. 
• Only messages that affect all enrolled students, are critical, or relate to governance/policy/mission, or safety/emergencies (determined by the NMU Police Department), are valid for mass distribution to all enrolled students.
• Emails approved for distribution to all students must be associated with an NMU department email address (e.g, dso@nmu.edu), not a personal NMU email address. 
• Sender identity and contact information (signature line of the email) must be clear and accurate.
• Email content must be clear, succinct and accessible.

The following are examples of messages that WOULD meet the threshold for “all student” mass email and should be submitted to the Dean of Students Office (dso@nmu.edu) to request approval.

• A major policy/operational announcement that affects all students (e.g., high level university policy changes, tuition change, new requirement in the course registration process, temporary location or closure of a vital service).
• Emails from the student body government, Associated Students of Northern Michigan University, that affect all students (e.g., ASNMU elections, ASNMU newsletter).
• Time-sensitive financial scholarship opportunities, for which all enrolled students qualify, that cannot be advertised to students through traditional methods (e.g., Foundation Scholarship application process).

Email requests approved by the Dean of Students Office will be distributed to the student body on the requestors behalf through the E-Postal system, and the requestors will be copied on the email when it is delivered.

The following are examples of messages that WOULD NOT meet the threshold for “all student” mass email and should instead be promoted through alternative channels.

• An email for a campus-wide or departmental opportunity, service or event.
• A job posting or research recruitment email (unless it is somehow required or mission-critical for the entire student body).
• Routine announcements, general announcements, non-urgent marketing of programs/majors.
• Requests submitted by a person or entity not directly affiliated with NMU.

When email requests are denied by the Dean of Students Office, employees and/or departments are encouraged to use the The HUB (the official campus community platform), departmental lists, newsletters, posters, E-Postal for subset populations, etc. to advertise opportunities and events to members of the student body.