Drowning in email?

The average person sends and receives more than one hundred emails daily. So how best to keep up?

A new Policy on Email Management (SG-11) has been established to better manage our email as an institution.

This new policy, effective September 3, 2013, aims to improve efficiency by managing email according to content and value to the university.

The policy outlines the function of email and its institutional ownership:

• There are four categories of emails: personal, unofficial, transitory and official.
• Email systems are provided to faculty and staff primarily to pursue the academic mission and administrative function of the university.
• Emails are owned by Concordia and not by individuals; they are not private and could be displayed in case of legal, privacy or governance issues;
• The university retains the right to access, examine, or disclose any material transmitted or stored on its email systems in accordance with the law.

Email management guidelines

In addition to the policy, the Records Management and Archives (RMA) Department has developed guidelines to help you manage your emails. These are effective measures that are based on recognized best practices by identifying which emails need to be retained and for how long. These guidelines also include tips and tools on how to organize your emails with Records Classification and Retention Plan (RCRP).

Responsibilities

The Policy on Email Management is under the overall responsibility of the Secretary-General. RMA is responsible for establishing guidelines, for delivering effective training and for ensuring that the appropriate retention periods are applied. Maintaining an email environment and ensuring its disaster recovery are under the responsibility of Instructional and Information Technology Services (IITS).

As a user, faculty and staff are accountable for applying the policy and its related guidelines, identifying their email with an appropriate signature and deleting all unofficial and personal emails according to retention period identified in the guidelines.

Training

Training will be provided by RMA to faculty and staff at the beginning of October. Check out the complete training schedule on the RMA website.