STUDENT EMAIL POLICY
Effective November 2, 2002
Revised October 5, 2004
Introduction
Email is considered an official method for communicating with University of Wisconsin Oshkosh students because it delivers
information in a convenient, timely, cost effective, and environmentally aware manner. The University expects that email
communications will be received and read by students in a timely fashion.
This policy established the University’s expectation that faculty and other University staff may routinely communicate important
information to students using the University’s established email system.
University Use of Email
Email is an official method for communication at UW Oshkosh. The University may send communications to students via email.
Students are responsible for the consequences of not reading in a timely fashion University-related communications sent to their
official UW Oshkosh student email account.
Student Email Accounts
All students at UW Oshkosh are provided with an official UW Oshkosh student email account. This email account is the official
email address to which the University will send email communications. This official email address will be recorded in the
University’s electronic directories and records for that student.
Expectations Regarding Student Use of Email
Students are expected to check their UW Oshkosh official email account on a frequent and consistent basis in order to remain
informed of University-related communications. The University recommends checking email at least twice per week. “I didn’t
check my email,” errors in forwarding email, or email returned to the University with “mailbox full” or “user unknown” are not
acceptable reasons for missing official University communications via email.
Faculty/Instructional Academic Staff Expectations and Educational Uses of Class Email Lists
Since faculty and instructional academic staff determine how email is used in their classes, they can require students to check their
email on a specific or more frequent basis. Faculty and instructional academic staff messages sent to class email lists, including class
lists for Desire2Learn courses, are also considered official communication.
Appropriate Use of Student Email
In general, email is not appropriate for transmitting sensitive or confidential information unless it is matched by an appropriate level
of security or permission.
All use of email will be consistent with other University policies, including the UW Oshkosh Acceptable Use of
Computing Resources Policy (http://www.uwosh.edu/stuaff/studenthandbook/ComputingResources.htm). All use
of email will also be consistent with local, state, and federal law, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
Redirecting Email
Students may elect to redirect (autoforward) messages from their UW Oshkosh official student email account to a non-University
account. Students who redirect email from their official account to a non-University account (such as AOL, Yahoo, Hotmail),
however, do so at their own risk. Having email lost as a result of redirection does not absolve a student from the responsibilities
associated with communication sent to her or his official email account. The University is not responsible for the handling of email
by outside vendors or unofficial servers.
The University provides a Titan Mail system, through which students from off campus can access their official UW Oshkosh email
account.
Instructions
for
the
use
of
Titan
Mail
are
available
at
http://www.uwosh.edu/training/UserManuals/TitanEmailCalendar/TitanMailUser'sManual.pdf. Questions or
comments about this policy should be directed to Ken Splittgerber at splittgerber@uwosh.edu.