212 - Verbal, Written and E-mail Communication Policy
| Title: |
Verbal, Written, and E-mail Communication |
| Owner: |
Office of the Provost |
| Last Updated/Revised: |
11/01/2024 |
Policy: The University’s policy is to maintain respectful, professional, and polite conduct in all its communications and by all of its members. This includes all forms of verbal and/or written communication in meetings, courses, and via email. When people are upset or angry, they often engage in irate, sarcastic, threatening and/or unpleasant verbal and written communications (including emails and texts) in an attempt to vent their frustration. These types of verbal and written communications are not acceptable in a professional environment.
USU assigned email accounts are critical and are the primary form of communication within the University. Students, faculty, and staff must use the USU e-mail system for electronic communication.
Any member of the University who initiates and engages in an irate, sarcastic, impolite or rude communication (verbal, written, or email formats) with another member of the University will be subject, but not limited to: non-admission, disciplinary action up to and including dismissal from the University, performance improvement plan, or other action by the University.
Response Time From Faculty
The institution's best practice for online learning recommends that faculty respond to student communications within 24 hours, and provide feedback on student submissions within 96 hours from the assignment due date.
Purpose: To illustrate proper communication for all students, staff, and faculty.
Scope: The scope of this policy applies to all USU students, staff, and faculty.
Documents and Forms: None
212-01 Methods of Communication Policy
| Title: |
Method of Communication Policy |
| Owner: |
Office of Information Technology |
| Last Updated/Revised: |
11/01/2024 |
Policy: The University’s primary method of communication is through the university-issued email address (i.e., university.edu, aspu.com), learning management system (LMS), telephone system, and/or other approved communication system. In mitigating circumstances, applicants and students who no longer have access to university email may communicate with personal email addresses found within the university information systems.
The University's policy does not authorize any university employee to send text (SMS/MMS) messages to students for any purpose. All communication between students, faculty, and staff must be through appropriate platforms approved as described within this policy. Due to the scope of timeliness and potential risk that may arise, any emergency and/or clinical or practicum issue if allowed in the college policy will be treated as an exception.
All drafted communication to the USU community must approved as listed in the table below. Only Director-level or higher may send mass communication, except as noted below:
| Group/Recipients |
Approved by |
| USU Community |
President |
| Student Body |
President |
| College Specific (students, faculty, etc.) |
Dean, Provost |
| USU Employees |
President |
| USU Faculty |
Provost |
| A specific subset of student or faculty groups (e.g., recent graduates, recent hires)* |
Immediate Director/Supervisor |
*Note: Non-director level employees may send a mass communication once approval is received.
Communication with Students
If a student, except for prospective and prior students, as noted above, contacts a university employee through their personal telephone or email, the employee is instructed to end the conversation/messaging and will refer the student to the appropriate platforms.
Note, that a third-party, contractors, such as clinical sites and school districts, may have their own method of communication, and students should adhere to those guidelines and/or policies while participating in an internship or practicum.
Do Not Call (DNC)
Applicants and students may request not to be contacted via telephone. If such occurs, students must be placed in university systems in a DNC as regulated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Approved Platforms by Employees
| Position/Employee |
Platforms |
| Faculty (full-time, part-time), adjunct |
LMS, Microsoft Teams, university email |
| Administrators |
Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Vonage, university email, student information system |
Microsoft Teams is the preferred platform for live conferencing with students. All meetings with students with video conferencing systems should be recorded, and all parties must consent to recording.
Purpose: This policy is intended to provide clear university practice to communication methods to avoid violating consumer protection laws under the FTC, FCC, and other regulatory agencies' requirements.
Procedure:
An IT ticket is submitted for employees at the time of hire to ensure access to the appropriate communication platforms. For more information, refer to the employee handbook(s).
A university email will be created for students at the time of acceptance.
Do Not Call
When an applicant or inquiry has decided to no longer receive phone calls from the University, an enrollment advisor must update the record’s status to “DO NOT CONTACT” in the CRM and remove telephone number from the record to avoid being contacted.
A request using the ticketing system must be submitted so that the telephone system can be updated to block the telephone number from both inbound and outbound calls.
The registrar's office must also be notified to place the record on the DNC listing within the student information system.
Scope: This policy applies to all USU/AGI employees, including third-party vendors (e.g., lead generator)s.
Related Policies:
USU Privacy Policy
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
Professional Relationship Policy
Documents and Forms: None