Email Etiquette

When emailing University staff (academic and administrative)

Opening salutation
 e.g. “Dear Professor Smith; Dear Dr; Dear Mr; Dear Mrs or Dear
Ms ”, as appropriate. Do not just launch in to your message, or
start off with “yo!”; “Hi”; “Hey”; “Hello”
 If you do not know the appropriate salutation for the relevant
member of staff then see
www.law.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofLaw/Staff

Introduction (if necessary)
 “I am a second year law student taking the law of torts module…”
Email Etiquette

Formality and courtesy:
 Use correct punctuation, grammar, etc.
 Use “please”, “thank you”, as appropriate.

Closing remark
 e.g. “Thank you”; Kind Regards”; “Best wishes”, or
“Yours sincerely”, etc.

Signature: give your full name and id number for
verification
Email: the menace of immediacy

Before you click send, think “Do I need to email
this person about this issue now?”

Would it not be better to seek to meet the
appropriate lecturer during their office hours or
to call into the law office and discuss with the
relevant administrator?
Email: the menace of immediacy

Avoid the temptation always to reply immediately
to an email, especially if it has annoyed you in
any way.

After you click send, do not expect an immediate
“24/7” response.

Mails not from QUB-address, likely to be filtered
Respect

Honest and constructive use of email to
express your views on your educational and
university experience is welcome; written or
verbal abuse of staff is clearly not

Respect is mutual; you can expect in your
correspondence with staff that you will be
treated respectfully, equally and with due
professionalism
Confidentiality

You can expect that the School of Law and
the University will safeguard all personal
information you provide in compliance with
the requirements of the Data Protection Act
and the Freedom of Information Act
Email or other contact with third parties

Sometimes a parent, guardian or other family
member will contact a member of staff, usually
because they are either worried about a student
or are after information on a student’s progress.

The policy at the School of Law is that staff will
not deal with or share any information with a
party other than the student unless the student’s
express consent has been obtained.