Faculty Email Policy

Scope

This policy applies to all Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM) faculty who use
email to conduct business of the school including information technology resources
regardless of affiliation, and irrespective of whether those resources are accessed from
on-campus or off-campus locations.

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Policy Statement

At Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM), each faculty in a leadership role or
overseeing medical students will be expected to set up an Indiana University email
account for use during the time in which they are faculty at IUSM.
Email shall be considered an appropriate mechanism for official communication by
Indiana University with IU Faculty unless otherwise prohibited by law. The University
reserves the right to send official communications to faculty via the designated IUSM
email with the full expectation that faculty will receive email and read these emails in a
timely fashion.

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Reason for Policy

Protection of Student Information

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR
Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law
applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S.
Department of Education. Given the increasing importance of the electronic transmission
of information between the school, its faculty and its students, IUSM must take steps to
ensure that student information is protected.

Regular Use of Email

Electronic mail (.e-mail.) has become an essential tool for accomplishing the University's
day-to-day academic and administrative activities.

Administrative communications in e-mail carry the same business requirements as do
communications on paper; for example, restrictions on access to data protected by statute,
retention schedules, etc. As requirements vary for different business processes, individual
administrators and offices must understand what these requirements are related to
activities in which they are involved.

Additionally, given the multiple campus model of IUSM, and a new single statewide
curriculum, there is an increasing need for fast and efficient communication with faculty
and students in order to conduct official business.

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Procedures

Assignment of Faculty Email

Per IU Policy IT-18, official IUSM email accounts will be made available for all faculty.
Official university communications will be sent to the faculty’s official university email
addresses.

Use of IU-Assigned Email

Faculty are expected to use their IU-assigned email account for IUSM-related
correspondence. They are expected to check it on a frequent and consistent basis in order
to stay current with university-related communications. Faculty must ensure that there is
sufficient space in their accounts to allow for email to be delivered. Faculty have the
responsibility to recognize that certain communications may be time-critical.

Forwarding of Email

Faculty who choose to have their email forwarded to a private (unofficial) email address
outside the official university network address (AOL, Hotmail, departmental server, etc.),
do so at their own risk. The University is not responsible for any difficulties that may
occur in the proper or timely transmission or access of email forwarded to any unofficial
email address, breaches of confidentiality and any such problems. The faculty’s Indiana
University email address remains the official destination for official university and school
correspondence.

Compliance Procedures

Faculty who are not compliant with the above policy, will likely miss critical information
and will be unable to fulfill their responsibilities in an effective or timely manner. As a
result, they will be referred to Faculty Affairs and Professional Development (FAPD). In the event that compliance remains an issue, Department Chairs and/or the Executive Associate Dean, Faculty Affairs and Professional Development will be notified to discuss possible sanctions (see below).

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Definitions

Indiana University Information Technology Resources includes all University-owned
computers, peripherals, and related equipment and software; voice communications
infrastructure, peripherals, and related equipment and software; data communications
infrastructure, peripherals, and related equipment and software, and all other associated
tools, instruments, and facilities. Included in this definition are classroom technologies,
computing and electronic communication devices and services, modems, electronic mail,
phone access, voice mail, Fax transmissions, video, multimedia and hyper media
information, instructional materials, and related supporting devices or technologies. The
components may be individually controlled (e.g., assigned to an employee) or shared
single-user or multi-user, and they may be stand-alone or networked.

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Sanctions

Failure to comply with Indiana University information technology policies may result in
sanctions relating to the individual’s use of information technology resources (such as
suspension or termination of access, or removal of online material); the individual’s
employment (up to and including immediate termination of employment in accordance
with applicable university policy); the individual’s studies within the university (such as
student discipline in accordance with applicable university policy); civil or criminal
liability; or any combination of these.

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Additional Contacts

Email Issues: Health Technology Services (HTS)  (317) 274-5336  htshelp@iu.edu

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