Email communications to the entire student body, or to a targeted student population, are coordinated by the office of the Vice President for Student Affairs & Enrollment Management (VPSAEM). Messages going out to a significant cohort of students, at leaset 20% of the student population, must be approved by the VPSAEM or designee. Please submit a draft message as a MS Word document, via the webform below, 5 business days prior to the desired date for emailing the student population. Before your message is distributed you will receive a test message in case there are any updates that you would like to make. If you do not receive the test message by the day before your requested distribution date, please contact the VPSAEM office.
Messages must be pertinent to the university community's shared interest, and should adhere to the content style guidelines provided below. The office of Strategic Marketing and Communications provides additional guidelines regarding the University's Identity System.
**Please note: for mass email communications for recognized student organizations, please contact Student Activities & Events.**
For all public facing sites, you must understand and follow any guidelines from Strategic Marketing and Communications
Content Style Guidelines
Headings
Provide a heading for each paragraph that clearly indicates the topic of the paragraph. Headings help readers to identify and process information more easily. Headings also help you to write clear communications by encouraging you to ensure that each paragraph conveys a required point and stays on topic.
Lists
Rather than embedding a list of information in the body of a paragraph, use bulleted or numbered lists. Reserve numbered lists (or ordered lists) for procedural or instructional information. For example:
Complete the following steps:
- Step one description
- Step two description
Referrals to Webpages
We encourage referrals to webpages and directing readers to appropriate URL's for additional information. Such referrals will help to limit the length of your message and also provides readers with access to the most up to date information.
Links
Please use meaningful link text when using hyperlinks in the body of your email. Ensure that the text of the hyperlink specifies the destination of the link. For example:
Avoid: “Click here to fill out the survey.”
Use: “Please fill out the survey.”
Bold and italics
Bold and italics are used to draw the reader’s attention to important information and therefore should be used sparingly. Large blocks of bold and italicized text impede readability and lessen the effect of emphasizing important information.
For example: "The application deadline is April 1, 2022. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered."
Underlining
Please reserve underlining for hyperlinked text only. In electronic communications, readers expect underlined text to behave as a hyperlink.
Alignment
Left align all of your content to help your readers read your message more efficiently. Left alignment means readers’ eyes only need to scan up and down – versus centered alignment, where readers eyes need to scan right and left, and up and down.
Student Communication Request Submissions
To request distribution of a mass email please complete this form.
Please allow 3 - 5 business days to process your request. Processing includes one full phase testing before any communication is distributed. If you do not receive a test copy of your message by the day before your requested distribution date, please contact the VPSAEM office.