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Alumni E-mail Policy

Goal

The ease and affordability of using electronic communications increase the danger of overburdening our alumni and friends with frequent and seemingly disconnected messages, making the University appear disorganized and unprofessional in its communications approach. Therefore, this policy is designed to protect our long-term relationship with our alumni and to accomplish these specific goals:

  1. Prevent alumni from being flooded with e-mails from all departments on campus
  2. Support the central Banner database for all e-mail addresses, so that everyone can work
    together to collect and correct them
  3. Send targeted communications to alumni for maximum long-term results
  4. Collect more data from alumni to help us understand their needs, attitudes and behavior

Projected Calendar

Based on research from the Internet Association Corporation and others, it appears that a maximum of 2 mass e-mail contacts per month (or 18 to 24 per year) strikes the best balance between relevant information and spam. (Engaged alumni obviously self-select at a greater frequency, which is represented by the specialty e-newsletters listed below.)

Until we gather more information about our specific alumni, it is recommended that we adopt a similar approach regarding the volume of e-mail we send to them. A projected annual distribution calendar is listed below for reference. Any additional requests will have to be approved by the Associate Vice President of University Communications or the Vice President for Advancement.

  • 12-15 SpiderWeb e-newsletters. Includes URAA information. Second Monday of each month. (University Communications)
  • 1 "thank you" rich media presentation. - Summer (Annual Fund)
  • 1 end-of-year (fiscal) solicitation broadcast e-mail - June (Annual Fund)
  • 1 "stock contributor" end-of-year (calendar) broadcast e-mail - December (Annual Fund)
  • 1 save-the-date Homecoming invitation - June (Alumni Relations)
  • 1 final Homecoming invitation - September (Alumni Relations)

For local alumni:

  • 12 CommunityWeb e-newsletters. Last week of each month. (University Communications)

For alumni in Reunion years:

  • 1 survey (Advancement)
  • 1 save-the-date Reunion invitation - November (Alumni Relations)
  • 1 final Reunion invitation - February (Alumni Relations)
  • 3 class gift solicitations - Winter/Spring (Annual Fund)

For regional chapter events:

  • 2 broadcast e-mails per event (Alumni Relations)

From Planned Giving:

  • 2 broadcast e-mails (Planned Giving)

For Jepson alumni:

  • 3-4 e-newsletters (Jepson School of Leadership Studies)

For Business School alumni:

  • 3-4 e-newsletters (Robins School of Business)

For athletic boosters:

  • Daily Spider Sports Update e-newsletters (Athletics)
  • 4+ Spider Club e-newsletters (Spider Club Office/Athletics)

For Law alumni:

  • Weekly with "Alumni Leadership" (Law School)
  • Monthly communications to various select segments (Law School)

For local alumni interested in the arts:

  • 12 e-newsletters (Modlin Center)

For University families:

  • 2 "invite" broadcast e-mails for Family Weekend (Annual Fund)

Project Workflow

New E-mail Projects
Until further notice, University Communications must approve all alumni e-mails stated above authored from within the Advancement division with the exception of regional chapter events, which will adhere to the policy of two e-mails per event. Alumni Relations will produce all chapter event e-mails. Any broadcast e-mail to alumni not in the above calendar must receive special permission by the AVP of University Communications or the VP of Advancement.

For campus units outside of the Advancement division, please contact AVP of University Communications or the VP of Advancement to align overall alumni communication efforts.

To allow appropriate time to implement a new project, goals and strategies for broadcast e-mails, regardless of who produces the work, should be discussed with University Communications a minimum of six weeks prior to initial launch. Rich media projects will require a minimum of 10 weeks and may incur outside expenses. Send requests to Tim Roberts, executive director of marketing communications, or Dan Kalmanson, AVP of University Communications.

SpiderWeb E-newsletter
To have news items included in SpiderWeb, please submit them to Brian Eckert by the first of the month. Promotional news items can run a maximum of two months in a row.

CommunityWeb E-newsletter
To have news items included in CommunityWeb, please submit items to John McCulla by the 15th of each month prior to the publication month. Promotional news items must publicize events occurring in the upcoming month.

UR Online
For online alumni communications via the UR Online Web site, please contact Robb Moore, director of UR Online.

Surveys
The University currently plans to survey 20 percent of its alumni base on an annual basis-many through e-mail. The segment coincides with their reunion year, and the survey is distributed in early fall. For additional information, contact the Office of Institutional Research.

Participants in Family Weekend are surveyed regarding their experience. This is also coordinated with the Office of Institutional Research

Updating Alumni Contact Information

Alumni are referred to www.uronline.net to update their contact information, including e-mail address. This information feeds into our Banner system on a regular basis.

If you are updating contact information on behalf of alumni, please contact Advancement Services, who will input the new information directly into our Banner system. The University's Banner system is designed to be the official repository of alumni information.

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