Broadcast E-mail
Introduction
Questions regularly arise regarding the “who, what, and how” of Broadcast Electronic Mail (E-mail) at the University: who can send it? what is permissible to send? how to send it? This document answers those questions.
Before providing these answers, it is important to first establish that Broadcast E-mail, as it is used in the context of this policy, has the following characteristics:
- It is e-mail sent by individuals, organizations and departments within Boston University to other members of the University community, including alumni and parents of current or former BU students.
- In general, the target population is all or a large fraction of any group selected on the basis of one or more shared characteristics, e.g., all freshmen, the undergraduates within a college, faculty at the University.
- The target population is typically large, commonly numbering at least in the hundreds.
In addition to articulating policy, a secondary purpose of this document is to provide guidelines to facilitate effective communication when sending Broadcast E-mail. Central to the evaluation of message effectiveness is the determination that e-mail is the most appropriate means of communicating with a particular constituency. It is worth noting that there are alternatives to e-mail that may be preferable. The final section of this document describes several e-mail alternatives that are available at Boston University.
To request an e-mail list of Key University Administrators, visit www.bu.edu/hr/home/forms/key-administrator-list/