MINES’ POLICY LIBRARY

Communication to students at the Colorado School of Mines (Mines) is an important element of the official business of the university. It is vital that Mines have an efficient and workable means of getting important and timely information to students. Examples of communications that require timely distribution include information from Fiscal Services, the Registrar’s Office, or other offices on campus that need to deliver official and time-sensitive information to students. (Please note that emergency communications may occur in various forms based on the specific circumstances).

Electronic communication through e-mail and Trailhead Portal announcements provides a rapid, efficient, and effective form of communication. Reliance on electronic communication has become the accepted norm within the Mines community. Additionally, utilizing electronic communications is consistent with encouraging a more environmentally-conscious means of doing business and encouraging continued stewardship of scarce resources. Because of the wide-spread use and acceptance of electronic communication, Mines is adopting the following policy regarding electronic communications with students.

It is the policy of the Colorado School of Mines that official university-related communications with students will be sent via Mines’ internal e-mail system or via campus or targeted Trailhead announcements. All students will be assigned a Mines e-mail address and are expected to periodically check their Mines assigned e-mail as well as their Trailhead portal page. It is also expected that e-mail sent to students will be read in a timely manner. Communications sent via e-mail to students will be considered to have been received and read by the intended recipients.

3.1 All students will be given an EKey, which is an activation code that offers access to electronic resources at Mines. With their EKey, students must activate their assigned Mines e-mail address.

3.2 Once their e-mail address is activated, students are expected to check their Mines e-mail inbox on a frequent and consistent basis and have the responsibility to recognize that certain communications from the university may be time-critical.

As such, students also are responsible for responding in a timely manner to official communications from the university when a response is requested.

3.3 The policy does not prevent students from using a personal e-mail address for university-related communications and purposes. If a student chooses to use a personal e-mail address as his or her address of choice for receiving university-related communications, he or she must forward e-mail from the Mines assigned e-mail address to the personal e-mail address. However, if a student chooses to forward communications to a personal e-mail address, she or he must be aware that Mines personnel may not be able to assist in resolving technical difficulties with personal e-mail accounts. Furthermore, forwarding communications to a personal e-mail address does not absolve a student from the responsibilities associated with communication sent to his or her official Mines e-mail address.

Please note: If a student changes his or her official Mines e-mail address to a personal address, it will be changed back to the Mines assigned e-mail address. Students have the option to forward their Mines e-mail to a personal address to avoid this problem. Should a student choose the forwarding option, he or she must ensure that SPAM filters will not block e-mail coming from the mines.edu address.

3.4 Nothing in these procedures should be construed as prohibiting university -related communications being sent via traditional means. Use of paper-based communication may be necessary under certain circumstances or may be more appropriate to certain circumstances. Examples of such communications could include, but not be limited to disciplinary notices, fiscal services communications, graduation information and so forth.

Questions about this policy may be directed as follows:

• Registrar’s Office
  Phone: 303-273-3200 or
  E-mail: registrar@mines.edu
• Campus Computing, Communications, and Information Technologies
  Phone: 303-273-3431 or
  Complete a request form at the Mines Help Center (http://helpdesk.mines.edu/)

The policy will be reviewed at least annually, or as needed by the Responsible Administrative Unit.

Last Issued: January 2008