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Stemming the Tide
Broadcast E-mail
Over the past year, Georgetown University's already-high number of broadcast e-mail messages has increased significantly. Broadcast e-mail is now used for multiple purposes including emergency campus alerts regarding health and safety, official notices, and invitations to events and activities. Departments are increasingly finding broadcast e-mail an attractive method for promoting their programs and services to faculty, staff, and students.
Broadcast messages can serve valid community and academic interests, but a high quantity of broadcast e-mail has unintended consequences. Faculty, staff, and students are complaining about the volume of broadcast messages filling their inboxes. Students, in particular, report that they are paying less attention to University notices. Excessive broadcast e-mail is more than a nuisance; it has significantly contributed to the recent instability of the GUMail system.
To help preserve the stability of the GUMail system, broadcast e-mail will only be sent prior to 9:00 A.M. or after 6:00 P.M. Exceptions will be made only for critical public safety notices.
Departments are encouraged to use the university events calendar, rather than broadcast e-mail, to publicize events. If departments choose to use broadcast e-mail instead, UIS asks that departments limit the length of the message to a few short paragraphs and not incorporate any graphics or attachments. Departments can include a link to a Web site to direct recipients to more extensive information.
Over the summer, the university's Transmission of Messages via Broadcast Communication policy will be reviewed, and more stringent guidelines for the content and size of broadcast e-mail will be implemented.
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