Sending Email to All University Staff

Conditions of Use and Good Practice

1. The sending of email to all University Staff is subject to the Acceptable Use Policy ( ) and staff disciplinary procedures.
2. Email to all staff should only be used to distribute information that is relevant to the majority of University staff and where the information is only valid for a short time span. The information should be urgent and there should be no other way with which to distribute it in time. Security alerts are a good example. Staff using Outlook can set an expiry date so that unread emails containing time dependent information are automatically deleted.
3. Instead of sending an email, information can be distributed using the facilities provided in the University Staff Web Portal () as described in the section Using the Staff Web Portal to Distribute Information.
4. Information that is only relevant to smaller sections of the University community should be distributed using departmental mailing lists, personal distribution lists, Public Folders or controlled Portal containers. For assistance on any of these please contact the IT Service Desk on extension 2000.
5. There is only a small number of designated staff who are permitted to send out an email to the University staff mailing list. 
6. Staff using Microsoft Outlook to send a University staff-wide email on behalf of a colleague should use the email options to automatically have replies sent to the originator of the message and not the sender.
7. All emails should follow the General Email Guidelines below.
8. Keep a copy of emails that you send to all University staff

General Email Guidelines

1. Keep emails as short as possible.
2. All the information should be contained in the body of the email rather than as an attachment. This reduces the impact of the message on the University network. If there is further documentation, it should be placed on a University web server or a Public Folder in Outlook and referred to by use of a hyperlink in the email. Contact the IT Service Desk on extension 2000 to make arrangements for documentation to be added to the web or to a Public Folder.
3. Avoid unnecessary or large graphics in the body of the email.
4. Put a meaningful description of the content in the Subject field of the email.
5. Make the text of the email as clear and unambiguous, and ensure that the text has been thoroughly checked for spelling, grammar and punctuation.

Using the Staff Web Portal to Distribute Information

Information distributed through the Portal would cover issues such as:

• Lost and Found
• Social Events - staff leavers, Arena, Sports
• Notification of maintenance work
• Campus-Specific Information
• Academic Events - lecture programmes, ILE events, T&L events
• University news - catering, unions, announcements
• Calendars - academic, meetings, car-parking restrictions

If there is anything you think is missing from the Portal please contact portal_team@wlv.ac.uk

Any member of University staff can submit information directly to the Portal

• Hover over the header bar of the relevant section.
• Click on the email address that appears in the information box.
• Type in a meaningful subject. Whatever you type in will appear as the title of the message in the Portal.
• Type the message into the body of the email that appears.
• Click on the Send button.

Please Note:

• Microsoft Outlook users can set an expiry date so that messages are automatically deleted after the event. 
• Only information from the last two days will be visible but all postings that have not been set to expire will be archived.
• It is the responsibility of the individual to make sure that their own information is kept up to date on the Portal, as the facility is not moderated by anyone.
• The General Email Guidelines for sending emails also apply to information posted on the Portal.

Date:2nd August 2010
Last Reviewed: 21 February 2012