Technology Services

Email Policy

I. Introduction

This Policy clarifies the applicability of law and of other University and Law School policies to electronic mail. It also defines new policies and procedures where existing policies do not specifically address issues particular to the use of electronic mail.

The University and the Law School recognize that principles of academic freedom and shared governance, freedom of speech, and privacy of information hold important implications for electronic mail and electronic mail services. The University and the Law School intend that this Policy specify not only its rights and obligations, but also the rights and obligations of electronic mail users. This Policy should be interpreted in a manner that is consistent with other University and Law School policies and procedures.

II. Technical Context

Persons subject to this electronic mail Policy should be aware of certain technical characteristics attributable to electronic mail that affect the manner in which electronic mail should be used. These characteristics exist even in the absence of any electronic mail policy, and cannot be ignored or changed by an electronic mail policy:

1. Both the nature of electronic mail and the public character of the Law School's business make electronic mail less private than users may anticipate. For example, electronic mail intended for one person sometimes may be widely distributed because of the ease with which recipients can forward it to others. A reply to an electronic mail message posted on an electronic bulletin board or "listserver" intended only for the originator of the message most likely will be distributed to all subscribers to the listserver.
2. Deletion of an electronic mail message from a computer or electronic mail account may not remove it from backup facilities, and thus the message may still be accessible to persons other than those the sender or recipients intend have access to the message.
3. The Law School, in general, cannot and does not wish to be the arbiter of the contents of electronic mail. Neither can the University or the Law School, in general, protect users from receiving electronic mail they may find offensive.
4. As members of the University and Law School communities, users are strongly encouraged to use the same personal and professional courtesies and considerations in electronic mail as they would in other forms of communication.
5. There is no guarantee, unless an "authenticated" mail system is in use or a digital signature process is used, that electronic mail received was in fact sent by the purported sender, since it is relatively straightforward, although a violation of this Policy, for senders to disguise their identity. Furthermore, electronic mail that is forwarded may also be modified. Authentication technology is not widely and systematically in use at the Law School as of the date this Policy is adopted. As with print documents, in case of doubt persons who receive electronic mail messages should check with the purported sender to validate authorship or authenticity.
6. Encryption of electronic mail is another technology that is not in widespread use as of the date this Policy is adopted. This technology enables the encoding of electronic mail so that for all practical purposes it cannot be read by anyone who does not possess the correct digital key.

III. Purpose

The purpose of this Policy is to assure that:

1. The Law School community is informed about the applicability of policies and laws to electronic mail;
2. Electronic mail and electronic mail systems are used in compliance with those policies and laws;
3. Users of electronic mail are informed about how concepts of privacy and security apply to electronic mail; and
4. Disruptions to University and Law School electronic mail and other services and activities are minimized.

IV. Definitions

1. "Electronic mail" is any message, including attached computer files, in the form of a computer record that is asynchronously transmitted between or among individuals or groups across a computer network or networks, including the Internet.
2. An "electronic mail system" is any messaging system that depends on computing facilities to create, send, forward, reply to, transmit, store, hold, copy, download, display, view, read, or print electronic mail, that is either explicitly denoted as a system for electronic mail or is implicitly used for such purposes, including services such as electronic bulletin boards, listservers, and newsgroups.
3. A "Law School electronic mail system" is any electronic mail system owned or operated by the Law School.
4. A "user" is any person who has an authorized account on any Law School electronic mail system.
5. A "computing facility" is any computing resource, service, or network system such as computers and computer time, data processing or storage functions, computer systems and services, servers, networks, input/output and connecting devices, and related computer records, programs, software, and documentation.

V. Scope

1. In General

This Policy applies to:

1. All electronic mail systems provided by the Law School;
2. All users and uses of Law School electronic mail systems; and
3. All Law School electronic mail messages in the possession of Law School employees, students, or other users.

2. Form

1. This Policy applies only to electronic mail in its electronic form. The Policy does not apply to printed copies of electronic mail. Other University and Law School policies can apply to printed copies of electronic mail.
2. This Policy applies not only to the contents of electronic mail messages but also to transactional information with respect to a message, such as electronic mail headers, summaries, addresses, addressees, dates, times, and similar data.

VI. Proprietary Issues

1. The University owns the computer system on which the Law School's electronic mail programs operate. It also owns the computer hardware on which the electronic mail programs operate.
2. Electronic mail software installed on Law School computers is licensed to the University through the University or the Law School and thus users are not permitted to violate the terms of that license. Accordingly, users may not make copies of Law School electronic mail software other than, when authorized, to install copies on Law School computers. Whether electronic mail software may be installed on a student's personally owned laptop computer depends on the terms of the software license and the Law School's determination that it is in its best interests for that installation to occur.
3. The University, through the Law School, owns the files containing electronic mail messages, but the Law School and the University own intellectual property rights in the contents of electronic mail messages only to the same extent that they would own the content were it published by the author in paper form. Thus, for example, the University does not own articles generated by faculty or course outlines generated by students, even if that material is transmitted over the Law School or University electronic mail system, but the University or Law School presumably owns Committee reports generated by faculty in the normal course of performing its duties and registration materials filled out by students as part of the matriculation process.
4. The Law School maintains one official electronic mail system and its users also have accounts on the University's official electronic mail system. Presently, the Law School system is GroupWise and the University system is Oracle Office (with plans to change it in the future to Inter-Office). Users are required either to use the Law School electronic mail system or to ensure that electronic mail messages sent to them over the Law School electronic mail system are forwarded to the electronic mail system used by the user, but the Law School is not responsible for failed, misdirected, or otherwise unsuccessful electronic mail forwarding. The University has designated Oracle as its official electronic mail system. Thus, users are also required either to use the University electronic mail system or to ensure that electronic mail messages sent to them over the University electronic mail system are forwarded to the Law School electronic mail system. Those who are unable without assistance to cause Oracle to forward electronic mail to their accounts on the Law School electronic mail system may ask for assistance from the Law School computing staff, but that staff is not responsible for the forwarding of electronic mail messages from either the Law School system or University system to any other system being used by the user.
5. Upon termination or resignation, faculty and staff members (including students employed by the Law School) shall make all electronic mail message files related to University business available to their supervisor and forward those messages designated by the supervisor as warranting retention.
6. Upon termination or resignation (but not on retirement by faculty who remain emeritus faculty), the individual's Law School electronic mail account will be terminated and all information not retained by the supervisor will be deleted. The electronic mail account of each student who graduates or otherwise permanently ceases to hold matriculated status shall be terminated and all electronic mail files deleted. However, electronic mail files of any user shall not be deleted to the extent that the messages relate to ongoing or contemplated litigation and deletion would violate law.

VII. Permissible and Impermissible Behaviors

1. Users are not permitted to use the Law School's electronic mail system in a manner that violates copyright, trademark, or service mark law. It is beyond the scope of this Policy to specify the details of those laws, but the fact that electronic mail messaging makes it easier to transfer material does not in any way change a person's rights or responsibilities with respect to copy written material, trademarks, and service marks. Users continue to be obligated to familiarize themselves with copyright, trademark, and service mark law, and if in any doubt, should seek advice from the appropriate supervisor.
2. Faculty, staff, students, and other users are prohibited from using the Law School electronic mail system for making unauthorized disclosure of confidential or sensitive Law School information that they are privileged to access because of their position or status at the Law School, or that unintentionally comes into their possession. Because of the ease with which information can be unintentionally sent by electronic mail, those dealing with confidential or sensitive information or who accidentally receive it are required to take extreme care to avoid inadvertently disclosing that information and, where necessary, to notify the Associate Dean for Information Services or a person designated by that Dean about the accidental receipt of confidential or sensitive information through the electronic mail system.
3. Users are prohibited from using the Law School electronic mail system for sending or forwarding or otherwise facilitating messages that constitute harassment or similar violations of law. A user is considered to be engaged in harassment if, for example, the user continually sends electronic mail to a recipient who asks the user to stop doing so and the user fails to stop.
4. Users are prohibited from using the Law School electronic mail system for the purpose of engaging in, assisting, or furthering any illegal activity, or for purposes that violate other University policies or guidelines.
5. Users are prohibited from using the Law School electronic mail system for purposes that could reasonably be expected to cause, directly or indirectly, excessive burden on any computing facilities, or unwarranted or unsolicited interference with other persons' use of electronic mail or the electronic mail system, such as the sending or forwarding of electronic mail chain letters, the sending or forwarding of "spam," (that is, to exploit listservers or similar broadcast systems for purposes beyond their intended scope to amplify the widespread distribution of unsolicited electronic mail), or the sending or forwarding of a "letter bomb" (that is, to resend the same electronic mail repeatedly to one or more recipients to interfere with the recipient's use of electronic mail).
6. Users are prohibited from giving or otherwise conveying a false or anonymous identity when using the Law School electronic mail system. This restriction does not apply to the posting of anonymous messages on virtual classrooms that are automatically transmitted by electronic mail to virtual classroom subscribers if permission for anonymous posting has been granted by the faculty member responsible for the virtual classroom.
7. Electronic mail may not be sent to any of the large group accounts created by the Law School or to any group accounts created by a user that are the same or substantially similar to those large group accounts unless the sender has obtained the requisite approval. Students and student organizations are required to obtain this approval from the Associate Dean for Information Services or a person designated by that Associate Dean for this purpose. Faculty are deemed to have approval to send electronic mail to any of the groups for legitimate academic or other Law School related purposes. Staff have approval to send electronic mail to faculty and staff groups for legitimate Law School related purposes. Staff have approval to send electronic mail to student groups on behalf of faculty when requested by a faculty member for legitimate academic or other Law School related purposes. In any other instance where approval is required, it must be obtained from the Associate Dean for Information Services or a person designated by that Associate Dean for this purpose.
8. Users are prohibited from giving the impression that they are representing, giving opinions, or otherwise making statements on behalf of the University, Law School, or any unit of the Law School unless appropriately authorized (explicitly or implicitly) to do so. Any user who sends an electronic mail message under circumstances that make it appear that the sender is making a representation on behalf of the Law School must, unless the sender is authorized to make such a representation and intends to do so, include in the message a disclaimer stating that the views expressed in the message are those of the sender and not those of the Law School or the University. If the message is sent under a student organization account, the message is deemed to be one that makes it appear that the sender is making a representation on behalf of the Law School and must include the disclaimer unless the message is an officially approved act of the student organization.
9. The Law School electronic mail system may be used for incidental personal purposes provided that, in addition to the other constraints and conditions in this Policy, that use does not:

1. directly or indirectly interfere with University or Law School operation of computing facilities or electronic mail systems;
2. burden the University or Law School with noticeable incremental cost; or
3. interfere with the user's employment or other obligations to the University.

10. Users are prohibited from using the Law School electronic mail system for the conduct by them of a business. Activities in connection with a pro bono activity related to the Law School is not considered a business for this purpose. This restriction is intended to apply to users acting as vendors rather than as vendees. The restriction, however, is not intended to apply to de minimis communications, or to a sporadic communication in connection with an isolated sale of personal use property such as a used vehicle or old furniture. Nor is this restriction intended to apply to student communications with respect to career placement.
11. The Law School strongly encourages users to comply with accepted standards of electronic mail etiquette. Users are responsible for familiarizing themselves with electronic mail etiquette. As a general principle, when using electronic mail, users should apply the same professionalism, discretion, and standards that they would use when writing a letter on Law School stationery. Keeping in mind that the security of unencrypted electronic mail cannot be guaranteed and because electronic mail can unintentionally find its way to persons other than the designated recipients, users should communicate through electronic mail as they would in a public meeting or should use encryption or similar safeguarding techniques if those are available.

VIII. Confidentiality

1. Although the Law School has the right to monitor user electronic mail without restriction, the Law School generally intends to do so only under specified conditions. Nonetheless, the Law School does not intend for any part of this Policy to suggest to users that they should have an expectation of privacy in electronic mail messages sent through the Law School or University electronic mail systems. Though the Law School chooses generally not to monitor electronic mail other than under the specified circumstances set forth in this Policy, it does so as a matter of discretion and not as a matter of waiving its rights to do so and not as a matter of creating in the users any expectations of privacy rights. Users should not form any expectation of privacy because the nature of electronic mail systems and the Law School's retention of its right to monitor electronic mail preclude users from expecting that unencrypted electronic mail messages are guaranteed to travel from the sender to the intended recipients in total privacy.
2. The confidentiality of electronic mail cannot be assured. Such confidentiality may be compromised by applicability of law or policy, including this Policy, by unintended redistribution, or because of inadequacy of current technologies to protect against unauthorized access by "hackers" and others. Users, therefore, should exercise extreme caution in using electronic mail to communicate confidential or sensitive matters, unless encryption or other safeguarding technologies are used.
3. Electronic Mail Message Monitoring

1. University officers, and Law School administrators designated by the Law School Dean, shall have the right to read any electronic mail when permission for such access has been given by the individual user who sent the mail message.
2. Under certain circumstances members of the Law School computer staff may, in the course of their professional duties, access an individual's electronic mail or observe certain transactional addressing information for legitimate system management or maintenance purposes. On these occasions a member of the computer staff may inadvertently see the contents of electronic mail messages. Unless otherwise provided in this Policy and except with respect to electronic mail messages sent to or by that member of the computer staff, no member of the computer staff is permitted to see or read the contents of electronic mail messages intentionally, to read transactional addressing information where not germane to network or system administration purposes, or to disclose or otherwise use what he or she has seen. However, the person or persons with the duties of electronic mail system postmaster may need to inspect electronic mail when re-routing or disposing of otherwise undeliverable electronic mail, but the postmaster must use the least invasive level of inspection required to perform those duties, and must not disclose or use information seen or read in the course of performing those duties, except for good faith attempts to route the otherwise undeliverable electronic mail to the intended recipient. Re?routed electronic mail normally should be accompanied by notification to the recipient that the electronic mail has been inspected for rerouting purposes. The Associate Dean for Information Services shall designate in writing the identities of all members of the computer staff to the Dean when this Policy is adopted and at any time that a person departs from or is added to the computer staff.
3. If an occasion arises when a University officer or a Law School administrator believes that access to an individual's electronic mail account is required for the conduct of University or Law School business or required by law, requesting the user for access is deemed by the officer or administrator to be appropriate, the user is not available or otherwise fails to provide access to the account, and a system administrator is required to access the individual's electronic mail account, the following procedure shall be followed:

1. The University official or Law School administrator shall secure permission to access the electronic mail account from the Dean and shall at the same time notify the user that the Dean 's permission is being requested, except in those cases where the Dean determines, in his or her considered judgment, that notice would be inappropriate or inadvisable under the circumstances.
2. The Dean may seek from the University official or Law School administrator, and from the student, whatever information the Dean determines is necessary for deciding whether to grant the access request. If the user is not available, the Dean may determine whether the reason for the access request is of such a nature that waiting for the user to be available would be inappropriate or inadvisable under the circumstances. If the Dean has approved a request to delay notification of the user, the Dean shall proceed based on the information provided to the Dean by the University official or Law School administrator who is seeking access.
3. If the Dean approves the access request, an appropriate form with the signature of the Dean shall be presented to the system administrator allowing the system administrator to proceed to access the electronic mail account for this purpose. A copy of the form shall be provided to the user, if the user is to be notified.

4. Safeguards

1. The Law School attempts to provide a secure and reliable electronic mail system. The system administrators for the Law School electronic mail system are expected to follow sound professional practices in providing for the security of electronic mail, messages, files, application programs, and system programs under their jurisdiction. However, because professional practices and protections are not foolproof, the security and confidentiality of electronic mail cannot be guaranteed. Furthermore, system administrators of the electronic mail system have no control over the security of electronic mail that has been downloaded to or placed on a Law School or other computer under the control of a user. As a deterrent to potential intruders and to misuse of electronic mail, users should employ whatever protections (such as passwords) are available to them.
2. Users should be aware that even though the sender and recipient have discarded their copies of an electronic mail message, backup copies may remain on the electronic mail system and these copies can be accessed. Electronic mail systems may be "backed up" on a routine or occasional basis to protect system reliability and integrity, and to prevent potential loss of data. The backup process results in the copying of data onto storage media that may be retained for periods of time and in locations unknown to the originator or recipient of electronic mail.

IX. Archiving Electronic Mail

1. It is the policy of the Law School to make automatic backups of electronic mail messages stored on the electronic mail servers. This is done to facilitate network administration so that servers can be restored when the system has malfunctioned. However, recovery of specific electronic mail messages from the backup media is difficult, if not impossible, and so time consuming that such recovery will be undertaken only with the approval of the Associate Dean for Information Services upon a showing of necessity to the Law School. Users are encouraged to make their own backups of electronic mail messages or their contents that are important to the user. Because of space limitations, permanent copies of electronic mail cannot be maintained on the servers nor on the backup media.
2. Because of space limitations on the electronic mail system servers, network administrators will delete electronic mail messages from the servers on a periodic basis, most likely at or shortly after the end of each of the three Law School semesters. Deletion of electronic mail messages for faculty, staff, and students may not necessarily take place at the same time or with the same frequency. Electronic mail messages that are archived or otherwise copied by a faculty or staff user to the Law School computer under the control of the user, or by a student to the student's network drive, are not deleted when electronic mail messages are deleted from the servers. All users must remember, however, that the network drive and the hard drives on the Law School computers have limited capacity. Accordingly, users who need to retain electronic mail messages for a period that extends beyond the date the message would otherwise be deleted when some or all of the messages on the electronic mail server are deleted must archive those messages. Each user is encouraged to learn how to archive electronic mail messages from the person assigned to training the user. The network administrators shall send an electronic mail message to all affected users at least one week before those users' electronic mail messages are deleted from the servers, reminding the users to refer to this provision of this Policy, specifying the date range or other identifying characteristic of the electronic mail messages that will be purged from the system, and providing any other relevant information that would assist users in archiving electronic mail messages before the purging occurs.

X. User Assistance and Concerns

1. A user who through the Law School electronic mail system receives from another user (whether or not the message originates within the Law School electronic mail system) a chain letter or spam is strongly encouraged to forward that electronic mail message to the Associate Dean for Information Services or a person designated by that Dean for this purpose, and that Dean or the designate shall commence appropriate action. A user who through the Law School electronic mail system receives from someone not a user a chain letter or spam is strongly encouraged to forward that electronic mail message to the computer staff for informational and possible corrective purposes.
2. A user who through the Law School electronic mail system receives from another user (whether or not the message originates within the Law School electronic mail system) any other inappropriate or offensive materials may forward the electronic mail message, including any inappropriate or offensive attachments, to the Associate Dean for Information Services or a person designated by that Dean for this purpose, and that Dean or the designate shall commence appropriate action. A user who through the Law School electronic mail system receives from someone not a user any other inappropriate or offensive materials may forward the electronic mail message, including any inappropriate or offensive attachments, to the computer staff for informational and possible corrective purposes.
3. A user who through the Law School electronic mail system receives from another user (whether or not the message originates within the Law School electronic mail system) any electronic mail message whose contents appear to violate the Code of Conduct or the sending of which appears to violate the Code of Conduct shall forward the electronic mail message to the Honor Board and otherwise comply with the requirements of the Code of Conduct in this regard.

XI. Enforcement

1. Any violation of this Policy may result in restriction of access to law School information technology resources, including but not limited to the electronic mail system.
2. Any violation of this Policy may result in disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal to the extent appropriate under other University or Law School policies.

XII. Effective Date

Upon adoption by the Law School, this Policy is effective immediately.

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