College Advancement & Public Relations

10:04:06 Mass Communications

1. Purpose
   1. Digital communications are an institution’s primary means of communicating information to the campus community. The objective of this policy is to establish and maintain standards for sending mass email and other mass communications to students, faculty, staff, and other constituencies utilizing institutional email, software, systems, media, and other resources.
2. Policy/Guideline
   1. Introduction
      1. A “mass communication” is any communication sent on, over, or using college computing, email, social media, and/or other college-owned or operated communications systems to an entire college, to a large subset of a college, or to another large group of individuals, particularly those whose contact information is in possession of the college. Examples of such groups include, but are not limited to, all students, all faculty, all staff, all adjunct instructors, all employees on a specific campus, all alumni, and all prospective students; this includes faculty.staff@ and student.services@ email addresses. Mass communications include not only email and text messages, but also other forms of communication utilizing institutional resources.. Mass communications include not only email and text messages, but also other forms of communication utilizing institutional resources.
         1. This policy establishes a standard for sending email messages and communications to all college personnel. All faculty and staff (including contractors and student workers) are covered under this policy. All faculty and staff may submit Chattanooga State related information to faculty.staff@ email for campus distribution. The campus operator will monitor this account, and messages will be forwarded to the campus if they meet one of the following criteria:
            1. Administrative messages from the President, Vice-Presidents, Deans and Directors.
            2. Announcements concerning officially recognized faculty/staff committees.
            3. Departmental announcements that could pertain to all faculty and staff, i.e., library, training, performances, events.
            4. Alerts concerning campus facilities and personnel, i.e., alarms, networks, electrical.
            5. Internal job postings.
            6. Permissible fundraising emails under the following conditions: supporting the Chattanooga State Foundation; directly benefiting students through the Student Government Association; or when a team represents Chattanooga State for a charity benefit.
            7. Athletic Department updates.
            8. Death of an employee. This will be done only with the family’s permission.
            9. Retirement of an employee.
         2. “Mass communication” does not include a communication: to a unit within a college (e.g., a single department or business unit), to a list of subscribers who have elected to receive information, or to periodic announcements.
         3. Although the College has processes and policies in place to ensure that only college-approved information is disseminated through institutional websites, social media, advertising, and marketing platforms, information on those platforms does not fall within the definition of mass communications under this policy.
      2. Mass communications may be sent only by individuals authorized to communicate on behalf of the college and only for information that furthers the College’s mission, applies to a majority of the recipients, and is either very important or time sensitive. Appropriate subjects for mass communication include, but are not limited to:
         1. Safety and security notices and alerts
         2. Information essential to college operations
         3. Notification of changes to policies and procedures
         4. Information considered sufficiently important by the President, Vice Presidents, police chief, and ED of plant operations.
      3. Inappropriate uses for mass communication, include, but are not limited to:
         1. Messages that are personal in nature, including those that express personal opinions.
         2. Messages sent by an individual that are not directly related to that individual’s job duties.
         3. Messages that are commercial in nature, with the exception of those messages in support of college operations or business.
         4.  Messages that are political in nature, including those in support of or against any candidate, party, or position or that otherwise violate state law regarding political activity (T.C.A. § 2- 19-201 et seq.).
         5. Solicitations for contributions or participation in activities not sponsored by the college.
         6. Messages that are discriminatory or in violation of any college policy, including, but not limited to information technology and human resources policies.
      4. Nothing in this policy shall be interpreted as contrary to the policy on Freedom of Speech and Expression : 1.03.02.60 | policies.tbr.edu
   2. Consent
      1. Any individual using text messaging to send a mass communication is responsible for ensuring that consent has been obtained as required by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
   3. Approval Process
      1. The president is responsible for determining a limited group of administrators who have authority to approve mass communications.
      2. The VP of Technology is responsible for implementing processes that permit only authorized administrators to use mass email and other mass communication distribution lists, for disabling the “reply to all” function for mass email.
      3. During an emergency or time of crisis, the President or designee may temporarily suspend applicable requirements of this policy.

Source

TBR Policy, Marketing and Communications, Mass Communications 9.01.06.00

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