Broadcast E-Mail Procedures

Overview

This document outlines the procedures for distributing a broadcast e-mail. This is related to the Broadcast Email Policy. The five steps associated with distributing a broadcast e-mail are enumerated below. Detailed instructions for completing the 'Broadcast E-mail Request Form' follow.

  1. Develop the content of the broadcast e-mail message.
  2. Determine the target audience for which the e-mail should be sent. Predefined target groups are listed on the 'Broadcast E-mail Request Form'. Custom generated lists are available from Human Resources (HR) or Institutional Research (IR):
    • Predefined groups enumerated on the 'Broadcast E-mail Request Form'
    • HR: for lists related to faculty and staff
    • IR: for lists related to students
  3. Obtain approval to send the Broadcast E-mail.
  4. Complete and submit the 'Broadcast E-mail Request Form' to the Information Technology (IT) Help Center.
  5. IT will review the form for completeness, reaffirm the approver's authorization, and initiate the distribution of the broadcast e-mail message.

Approval Process

The Broadcast E-mail approval process varies depending on the audience as defined below.

1. Broadcasts to the Entire University Community, and Broadcasts across More Than One Division

  1. Requests to broadcast e-mail to the entire University community may come only from a member of the President's Cabinet.
  2. Any message to be broadcast to the entire University community, or to more than one University division, must be sent for approval to the Vice President for University Advancement (or designee), along with justification describing why it should be transmitted. If approved for broadcast, the Vice President for University Advancement (or designee) will instruct IT to broadcast the message.  For messages originating from the Office of the President, after review by the Vice President for University Advancement (or designee), the Office of the President may instruct IT to broadcast the message.
  3. Per the broadcast e-mail policy, "The Business Practices and Communications Sub-Committee of the Enrollment Management Committee is responsible for reviewing and approving the content of e-mail communications with all student applicants to the University, from the time of application through the beginning of their first semester enrolled. Additional specified e-mail communications also are to be reviewed by the Business Practices and Communications Sub-Committee of the Enrollment Management Committee, including those from Admissions and Records, Financial Aid, and Student Outreach and Recruitment Services."

2. Broadcasts to a Large Subset of One Division

  1. Any message to be broadcast to a large subset of a University division must be sent for approval to the Vice President of that division, along with justification describing why it should be transmitted.
  2. If approved for broadcast, the division Vice President, through the use of the Broadcast E-mail Request form, will instruct IT to broadcast the message.

3. Broadcasts to Small Groups

Requests to broadcast e-mail to a smaller subset of the University require approval from the administrator responsible for the relevant operational unit.  For example, within Academic Affairs, broadcast e-mails to a College should be approved through the College Dean, and within Student Affairs, broadcast e-mails to a program should be approved through the program director.  Each division may establish procedures appropriate to smaller subsets within its division.

  1. The simultaneous transmission of greater than 1,000 messages requires scheduling and distribution through IT.
  2. The simultaneous transmission of fewer than 1,000 messages does not require scheduling or distribution through IT unless the sender has requested assistance from IT in compiling the target group's e-mail addresses.  Senders of broadcast e-mails to groups of fewer than 1,000 can use:

'Broadcast E-mail Request Form' - Completion Procedures

Once approval has been obtained from the Vice President or the Office of the President and/or the Vice President for University Advancement (or designee), the requester should complete the 'Broadcast E-mail Request Form' which requires the following inputs:

1. 'Requestor'

As the requestor, your contact information will be used by IT to contact you in case follow-up is needed.  Provide your name, title, e-mail address, and telephone extension.

2. 'Approver'

The approver (Vice President or the Office of the President) is the person required to approve the broadcast e-mail distribution.   Input the approver’s name, title, CSUN E-mail address, and CSUN telephone extension. It is the requester's responsibility to obtain approval of a Vice President or the Office of the President.

3. 'Target Audience'

The target audience is the group of people who will receive the broadcast e-mail.  Select from the available list of target audiences or provide a custom list.   Custom lists can be generated for Faculty and Staff members from HR (pshelp@csun.edu) or for Students from IR (http://irqry.csun.edu:8080/openweb/interim/datareq/index.jsp).

4. 'Message Headers'

'Message Header' information is used to address broadcast e-mail messages so that the recipients know where the e-mail originated from and how to reply with feedback.

  1. ‘From': Enter a valid Department, College, Division, or Individual’s name without delimiters such as commas or periods.  Example:  ‘College of Social & Behavioral Sciences’.
  2. ‘From:’ E-mail: Enter a valid CSUN E-mail address belonging to the Department, College, Division, or Individual requesting the broadcast e-mail.  Example of a valid CSUN E-mail address is: ‘csbs@csun.edu’
  3. ‘Reply To’: Enter a valid Department, College, Division, or Individual’s name without delimiters such as commas or periods.  Typically, this will be the same as the 'From' Name. Example:  ‘College of Social & Behavioral Sciences’.
  4. ‘Reply To’ E-mail: Enter a valid CSUN e-mail address that should receive the replies to the broadcast e-mail.  Two different 'Reply-To' options are:
    • Use a valid CSUN e-mail address, typically the same as the 'From:' e-mail address.  This can be any valid CSUN E-mail address belonging to the Department, College, Division, or Individual requesting the broadcast e-mail.
    • Use the ‘donotreply@csun.edu’ e-mail address. If the broadcast e-mail is intended to be a one-way distribution and user responses are discouraged.
  5. ‘Subject:’ Enter a short title for the subject line of the E-mail. Example Subject:  ‘CSUN –Advisement from the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences'.

5. 'Message Content'

Insert the message content using plain-text format into the Message Content section.

6. 'Message Distribution Start Date'

Select the start date for the message distribution using the drop-down menu.

7. ‘Submit’

Once the form is completed, click the 'Submit' button. IT will then review the Broadcast E-mail Form for completeness and will then send an e-mail to the "Approver" to confirm their authorization of the message. Upon receipt of authorization, IT will initiate the distribution of the broadcast e-mail message within three business days.

Incomplete or inaccurate information will result in a delay in the distribution of the broadcast e-mail message.

Questions regarding the Broadcast E-mail Procedures or Form should be directed to the Help Center at x1400 or by e-mail to helpcenter@csun.edu