SOE Listservs Protocols

Owned by Martin Walls
Last updated: Sep 04, 2024
6 min read

School of Education Listservs

General Policies

Faculty and Staff Listservs

  • In general, all SOE listservs are governed by Syracuse University listserv policies and procedures.

  • This policy applies to all SOE faculty and staff who both receive SOE listserv messages and who may request a message be distributed to listservs (see Procedure for Sending a Listserv Message below).

  • Any member of a listserv can send an email to that listserv email address to request it be sent to all recipients.

    • As Moderators, the Director of Marketing and Communications or the Executive Assistant to the Dean gives final approval for any message sent to faculty and staff listservs.

    • If a listserv email is not approved, the Executive Assistant to the Dean will work with the original sender to correct the email, explain policies, and/or offer an alternative mode of communication.

  • Messages should be sent to the most appropriate list on the SOE Listserv Tree.

    • Suggestions of message types for each list are offered below.

    • If in doubt, ask the Executive Assistant to the Dean or Director of Marketing and Communications which list is appropriate for your message.

  • Technical questions about listservs should be directed to soehelp@syr.edu.

  • Only internal, official communications are appropriate for SOE listservs:

    • School-wide announcements, such as academic and community events

    • Personnel notices (hiring, retirement, tenure, promotion)

    • Some personal notices, as determined by the Office of the Dean

    • Official and administrative notices (School and University policies, business, or transactional reminders)

    • Program-to-program communications (course and research opportunities).

  • Given the official nature of listserv communications, all SOE faculty and staff are automatically listserv subscribers and are placed within an appropriate list.

    • Faculty and staff cannot unsubscribe from a list

    • If you believe you have been placed on a wrong or inappropriate list—or if you should be on a listserv but aren’t—contact the Executive Assistant to the Dean.

Student Listservs

  • Student undergraduate and graduate listservs are managed by the following: Dean, Dean’s Executive Assistant, Assistant Dean for Student Success (ADSS), ACS Office Coordinator, Director of Marketing and Communications, and Director of Information Technology.

  • Under normal circumstances, requests to send to the listservs should be made to the ACS Office Coordinator, cc’ing the ADSS and any other relevant ACS staff.

  • In an emergency or out of hours, requests should be made to the Dean and other senior leaders who manage these lists.

  • Typical messages for student listservs include School-wide events, academic opportunities (e.g., scholarships, study abroad, etc.), calls for volunteers, or career opportunities.

Alumni Communications

  • All alumni communications are managed by the Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations.

  • No mass communications can be disseminated to alumni except by coordinating with the Assistant Dean for Advancement and the Development Assistant.

    • Because alumni communications must be carefully tracked and logged to provide advancement and development data.

    • Because alumni communications policies, including use of data and privacy, are governed by SU Institutional Advancement. 

    • Therefore, the use of Listservs to contact large groups of alumni is prohibited.

  • Faculty and staff may send communications to individual alums and small cohorts, but if in doubt contact the Office of Advancement and Alumni Relation first.

Requesting a New Listserv

  • If a faculty or staff member wishes to create a new Listserv, first contact the Technology Support Group and Director of Marketing and Communications.

  • The Technology Support Group will determine appropriate Owners, Editors, and Moderators for the new list.

    • Members of the Technology Support Group must be added as list Owners.

  • Refer to SU policies and procedures for proper use and maintenance of a list.

List Removal

(Per SU Listserv policy)

  • Lists are targeted for removal if there is no posting activity for two years.

    • A list owner may also request that a list be removed by visiting the Delete List Request Form.

  • If a list owner's email address is no longer valid, or the list's owner is consistently unreachable or unresponsive, the list is considered "orphaned" and is subject to immediate removal.

    • We will make a reasonable effort, time permitting, to determine if the owner simply changed addresses or has left the University.

    • If the owner cannot be contacted, the sponsor for the list will be contacted to determine whether the list should be deleted or a new owner designated.

    • If the sponsor cannot be located, the list will be removed.

Procedures

Writing and Responding to a Listserv Email

  1. State concisely and clearly the topic of your email in the subject line.

  2. If forwarding a message, include only the relevant portions of the original message in your reply. Delete any other information, especially a long email thread and any hyperlinks that are irrelevant or suspect.

  3. Given the volume of emails our community members receive, messages should be as short and concise as possible.

  4. Include any relevant information for follow up or action (e.g., an RSVP).

  5. The original sender's signature block/contact information must accompany the message.

  6. Do not attach large files to your message (larger than 10mb).

    1. In this case, upload the file to Microsoft Sharepoint or Google Drive and provide a link to the document.

  7. Important! Do not “reply all”: Reply only to the signatory of the original message, not to the entire listserv.

  8. When using an Auto Reply message for when you are out of the office, please be sure to "Create a Rule" (through Microsoft Outlook’s Out of Office Assistant) that prohibits sending the message to a list.

Procedure for Sending a Listserv Message

  1. Any SOE community member can compose an appropriate listserv message and submit it for approval.

  2. Using the above policies, determine whether 1) your message is appropriate for a listserv and 2) which listserv best suits the message.

    1. If in doubt, contact the Executive Assistant to the Dean or Director of Marketing and Communications.

  3. Copy the listserv email address into the "To" line.

  4. Compose message taking care to 1) provide a properly descriptive subject line; 2) write a concise message with appropriate links and actions; and 3) provide your contact information.

  5. Listserv messages to members of the SOE community must follow accessibility guidelines, including:

    1. Alternative text for images

    2. No text-dominated images

    3. Accessible color contrast

    4. Accessible PDF documents and other attachments

    5. Nested headings if titles and sub-titles are used

  6. When you send the email, it will first go to the lists Moderators for approval.

    1. If approved, you also will receive the message (assuming you are a member of the listserv to which it is sent).

    2. If not approved, the Executive Assistant to the Dean will help you fix the email, explain why it cannot be sent to a listserv, and/or offer an alternative mode of communication.

Appropriate Messaging

SOE Community

SOE-All@listserv.syr.edu (ALL faculty, staff, and emeriti faculty)

  • School-wide Event Announcements (Convocation, Welcome Back Picnic)

  • Administrative Business (Office of the Dean)

  • Some Personal News (births, marriages, deaths—as determined by Office of the Dean)

SOE-FacStaff-FT@listserv.syr.edu (Full Time Faculty and Regular Staff)

  • Event Announcements (conferences, symposia, lectures)

  • Administrative Business (Office of the Dean)

  • Administrative Business (Office of the Dean administrative offices)

  • Personnel News (hiring, tenure, promotion)

  • Some Personal News (births, marriages, deaths—as determined by Office of the Dean)

Faculty

SOE-Fac-All@listserv.syr.edu (Full Time and Part Time Faculty)

SOE-Faculty-FT@listserv.syr.edu (Full Time Faculty)

SOE-Faculty-PT@listserv.syr.edu (Part Time Faculty)

SOE-Emeritus@listserv.syr.edu (Emeritus Faculty)

  • Administrative Business (Office of the Dean)

  • Administrative Business (Associate Dean for Administration, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Associate Dean for Research)

  • Program-to-Program Communications (e.g., course opportunities, calls for collaboration)

  • Some Personal News (births, marriages, deaths—as determined by Office of the Dean)

Staff

SOE-Staff-All@listserv.syr.edu (Regular and Temporary Staff)

SOE-Staff-Reg@listserv.syr.edu (Regular Staff)

SOE-Staff-Temp@listserv.syr.edu (Temporary Staff)

  • Administrative Business (Office of the Dean)

  • Administrative Business (Associate Dean for Administration)

Students

gradnews@listserv.syr.edu (graduate students)

ugnews@listserv.syr.edu (undergraduate students)

  • Administrative Business (Office of the Dean)

  • Administrative Business (Associate Dean for Administration)

  • Event Announcements (conferences, symposia, lectures)

  • Academic Opportunities (i.e., grants or research projects)

  • Career or Professional Opportunities (i.e., networking events, on-campus employment)