Web & Electronic Communications

as of June 2005

Departmental Web Responsibilities

Each department on our campuses is responsible for maintaining and updating that department’s area on the Palmer College of Chiropractic Web site. It is extremely important that the information on our Web site is kept up-to-date as it is our most “real time” way of communicating about Palmer College of Chiropractic and its campuses.

Palmer Web Site Editing Guide

For consistency, all Web page editing should conform to the following:

Do not use all caps on the Web site. Please keep this in mind when updating material.
All text should be flush left without indentations or tabs. Bulleted or numbered lists automatically indent when the formatting is applied.
Use just one space after a sentence and between items such as phone numbers, between a state and zip code, etc.
Do not apply any font to information being added to a Web page. The font is controlled by a separate file, which is not available to the average editor. This maintains a consistent look and feel).
If you need to create a header or a section break, use the styles feature. “Heading 3” is for page titles and “Heading 2” is for section breaks.

Intranet Web sites

Departments and Faculty can request space for a web page. Departmental and Faculty web pages are the responsibility of the the individual and are generally used as a means of assisting employees or students of Palmer College. Contact Marketing and Public Relations for more information.

E-mail

E-mail
E-mail, like postal mail, is a tool for official Palmer College of Chiropractic communication to students and employees. It is the right of Palmer College to send e-mail communications to students and employees with the expectation that these communications will be received and read in a timely manner.

It is the responsibility of every student and employee to check his or her College-provided e-mail accounts for official College communications.

All-Campus or All-College E-mail
To eliminate unnecessary interruptions and maintain a professional level of communications, all campus-wide or College-wide e-mails must be distributed by or under the direction of the Marketing and Public Relations Department.

Approved messages may be sent out through Palmer’s Marketing and Public Relations Department as Palmer Communication e-mails or through the College’s electronic newsletters, including TuesdE-news or the Weekly Bulletin.

E-mails to Off-Campus Sources
E-mails representing Palmer College of Chiropractic or any of its entities (including public e-blasts) must come from an official College source (i.e. Palmer Communications, Palmer Highlights) rather than an individual.

E-mail Tips
Check e-mail regularly. As e-mail is an immediate form of communication, it requires or dictates a prompt response. This is especially true for off-campus requests. Messages should also be checked often so unwanted messages can be deleted from storage.

Be aware of the business hours of people you are e-mailing. They may be in a different time zone and are unable to reply in a timely manner.

Make sure you log out completely when using a multiple user system (not your personal station’s computer) to ensure that the next user is not logged in under your name and password.

On-campus e-mail is never totally private. Computer terminals are College property, and all transactions may be viewed by a third party.

E-mail should be professional and considerate. While e-mail communication is easy and fast, it should be used with respect. Remember, it can be easily forwarded.

Be clear and precise. E-mail communication can easily be misconstrued.

Include alternative contact information when sending e-mail to an off-campus party. A phone number and mailing address as well as the Palmer URL (www.palmer.edu) should be included.

Refrain from using ALL-CAPS. Many users feel the use of ALL-CAPS “shouts” at the reader. ALL-CAPS is difficult to read and requires re-typing in order for the information to be used electronically or in print publications.

Forward questions to the appropriate party if you receive a query via e-mail and are not the proper person to answer the question. After promptly forwarding the question to the appropriate individual, reply to the original sender to let him or her know you have done so.

Follow the chain of command. Complaints or concerns should continue through the chain of command and not be sent to the “top” just because e-mail makes it easier.

Use common sense regarding chain e-mail. Each one is an interruption and should be discouraged.

If you have questions about e-mail use on campus, please contact Marketing and Public Relations at
(563) 884-5662.