Email Basics at GHC

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Email Usage

When using your GHC email account, always:

    • Ensure that email messages and replies are addressed to the appropriate recipient(s). Do not use “reply all” to respond to a message unless it is necessary to do so.
    • Compose each message with a clear, concise subject line that matches the message body.
    • Follow professional etiquette for written communication.

 

Mass Email Distribution

Do not send mass email messages without specific, documented approval by one or more members of GHC’s executive leadership. Examples include sending to an “Everyone on all Campuses” distribution list or a combination of distribution lists that reach all employees and/or students. GHC Inform and GHC Student Inform are the institution’s official newsletter and announcements systems and should be used for these purposes. 

 

Email Forwarding

Email that employees send and receive is subject to the Georgia Open Records Act. Utilizing a third-party (personal) email account for work purposes puts an employee at risk by making his/her personal account subject to open records requests by members of the public, regardless of their legal merit. This activity also puts the institution at risk by bypassing our security controls. As such, forwarding your GHC email to a personal account is not permissible. (O.C.G.A. 50-18-72, IT Email Policy)

 

Email Signatures

Email signatures are part of GHC’s image to the public and should be treated as such. Email signatures should follow the standardized template included in the IT Email Standard and MAY NOT include:

    • any images, logos, graphics except for marketing logos approved and distributed by MarCom.
    • personal contact information, such as personal phone numbers or email addresses.
    • quotes, aphorisms, or any expression that a reasonable person is likely to interpret as a political or religious endorsement.

 

Email Security

Email is transmitted across the Internet using the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), which does not protect the confidentiality of email messages. Much in the same way that postcards travel through physical mail, email messages can be viewed by unauthorized parties that are able to intercept them during transmission or through the compromise of an email server. This design creates serious legal and ethical risk when email is used to handle data that the institution is obligated to protect. Therefore, GHC employees must not send or solicit the receipt of confidential information by email. Examples of confidential information include: Social Security Numbers, credit card or bank account numbers, and Federal or State identification numbers.

NEVER PUT SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS, FEDERAL OR STATE IDS, CREDIT CARD ACCOUNT NUMBERS, OR MEDICAL RECORDS IN EMAIL OR AN EMAIL ATTACHMENT.

Unintentional disclosure of PII or confidential information can be extremely costly, damage an institution’s reputation, and have serious legal consequences. In 2018 the Ponemon Institute estimated the average cost of each lost or stolen record is $148. Consider the probable costs being incurred by Augusta University from the breach of a small number of email accounts that were inappropriately used to transmit PII and health information: (www.ajc.com/news/state–regional/university-breach-risks-health-personal-information-417-000/nPuUSV8qqvQXTQjY0ML8wN/)