University E-mail Communications to Students

University E-mail Communications to Students

The University commonly employs MBU-provided student e-mail accounts to notify students of official communications. Accordingly, students are expected to check their MBU-provided email accounts daily. A student is considered to have received an official communication from the University upon it being sent to the student’s MBU-provided account.

Other notification methods available inside the learning management system are provided for the convenience of the student and are not a substitute for checking the University email account.

University email accounts should not be used for confidential or sensitive information. There should be no expectation of privacy.

Email Privacy

E-mail has made employment and academic activities of the University more efficient by enabling us to make better use of our time. However, unsecured or inappropriate e-mail usage can be problematic. To avoid these problems, remember the following: • Refrain from disclosing your access codes/passwords to anyone. • Send e-mail only from your personal e-mail address. • MBU’s e-mail system is for use by faculty, staff, and students in carrying out their employment and academic activities. It is not intended for personal use. • Prior to sending an e-mail message, ask yourself whether you would feel comfortable if the text of the message were posted on a bulletin board on campus or printed in the newspaper. Would public disclosure cause unnecessary embarrassment or create liability? • The privacy of e-mail sent or received on University equipment cannot be guaranteed.

Please note the following regarding e-mail privacy: • If the e-mail pertains to a student, it may be an “educational record.” In accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, a student may have the right to inspect and review the e-mail. • The use of private “mailboxes” and passwords in an e-mail system does not provide any privacy from people who will see e-mail forwarded, printed out, or left displayed on an unattended computer screen. • MBU makes no representations regarding the security of the e-mail system from casual users or hackers. • Although it is a violation of University policy and ethics for members of the IT staff to monitor the content of e-mail messages, e-mail may be accessed and read by others who have a need to know in the event that the University conducts an investigation into any form of misconduct, is involved in litigation requiring discovery of e-mail, and in other limited situations. • Students may wish to minimize the chance that a sensitive communication sent via email is misdirected or accessed without permission by sending the communication through regular mail, campus mail, or by personal delivery.