Faculty Email Policy

1. College use of email:
   Email is a mechanism for official communication within Columbia College. The College has the right to expect that such communications will be received and read in a timely fashion. Official email communications are intended to meet only the academic and administrative needs of the campus community.


2. Assignment of faculty email:
   • Outlook: Full-time and part-time faculty and staff are assigned an official Columbia College email account on Outlook. This address is [your username]@ccis.edu.
   
   
   • CougarMail: Faculty, staff AND STUDENTS are assigned a second, official Columbia College email account on CougarMail. This address is [your username]@cougars.ccis.edu and must be activated (see section 9). This email system is designed primarily for correspondence with students.


3. Redirecting of email:
   Faculty can forward their CougarMail address to the Outlook address using the instructions below. The Outlook (@ccis.edu) address is for official employee business and the Outlook address must not be forwarded to the CougarMail address. If faculty wish to have email redirected from their @cougars.ccis.edu address to a non-Outlook email address (e.g., @aol.com, @hotmail.com, or an address on a departmental server) they may do so, but at their own risk.
   
   The College will not be responsible for the handling of email by outside vendors or by departmental servers. To forward an email address, login to eServices, enter your CougarMail account, click “Forwards” on the menu bar and type in the email address mail should be forwarded to in the space provided, then click “Submit.”


4. Expectations about faculty use of email:
   Faculty should check their Cougarmail on a regular basis in order to stay current with College-related communications to students. The subject line of official College correspondence will begin with either “MUST READ,” “NOTICE” or “EVENT.” “MUST READ” denotes that addressees are required to take a physical course of action. “NOTICE” denotes information items, such as important dates or financial information. “EVENT” denotes an activity, such as homecoming or a guest speaker.


5. Authentication for confidential information:
   It is a violation of Columbia College policies, including the Columbia College Ethics Code for Computer Users, for any user of official email addresses to impersonate a College office, faculty/staff member, or student, or to use the College email to violate the Ethics Code for Computer Users.


6. Privacy:
   Users should exercise extreme caution in using email to communicate confidential or sensitive matters, and should not assume that email is private and confidential. It is especially important that users are careful to send messages only to the intended recipient(s). Particular care should be taken when using the “reply” command during email correspondence.


7. Educational uses of email:
   Faculty will determine how electronic forms of communication (e.g., email) will be used in their classes and will specify their requirements in the course syllabus. Course syllabi will contain the instructor’s email address.


8. CougarMail account activation:
   Faculty CougarMail accounts will be activated through eServices. eServices accounts should be activated as soon as a contract is signed for the session or semester the faculty member will teach. Questions regarding eServices should be addressed to the Technology Services Helpdesk at 573-875-4357.


9. Deactivation of account:
   Day faculty Datatel and Outlook (@ccis.edu) email accounts will be deactivated if there is no active contract. All faculty CougarMail accounts will be deactivated after a two-year period of non-employment.