Email Requirements

Essential Access and Experience for Online Students Student Provided WebEmail Account Login (Gmail) GMAIL USER GUIDES Proper Email Formatting Subject Line Conventions Signature Conventions Message Body Conventions Attachments Email Discussion List (Listservs) Free Email Services Privacy and Netiquette Internet Service Provider
1. Essential Access and Experience for Online Students	TOP
All TCC students are required to use their college provided email address as their official email address when corresponding via Email with TCC Faculty & Staff. Students may elect to forward mail (at their own risk) from their official VCCS email account to another (student-selected) email system. Students in online classes must be proficient users of electronic mail and are responsible for adhering to all the following criteria. If you are unable to fulfill these requirements, another class delivery method is more appropriate for you. Online students must have sufficient email and Web access to do all class activities on schedule. Students are responsibile for finding alternative resources when necessary. You also can use the open computer labs at any of the four TCC campuses. See Note to AOL & other OSP users. You must check the class Web site and your email as often as the professor indicates, usually daily or at least every other day. You must be able to perform the following email functions unless your professor indicates otherwise: Check for and access new email Save copies of all incoming mail for your records Send email and save a copy of all outgoing mail for your records Set an automatic signature (or remember to include an appropriate signature at the end of every message) according to the guidelines for each class: a typical signature includes your name, email address, and other appropriate contact information such as a phone number Follow subject line conventions requirements that your professor assigns. Keep in mind that your professor might receive hundreds of emails each day, and the required subject settings identify your email as a priority for class credit. Send, receive, read, and save Attachments in the formats that your professor requires (usually current versions of Word or WordPerfect or possibly txt (ASCII or DOS text), rtf (Rich Text Format), or html (Hypertext Markup Language). Be sure to follow directions from your professors for each class and assignment. Print email messages and file Attachments for backup records If you use AOL, see Note to AOL & other OSP users.
2. Subject Line Conventions	TOP
Follow subject line setting requirements that your professor assigns. Keep in mind that your professor might receive hundreds of emails each day, and the required subject settings identify your email as a priority for class credit. Your classmates also will appreciate this courtesy. Be sure to check with your professor about any variations to these conventions. All mail to the professor or the class must include the following items in order: An appropriate descriptive short topic unless one is assigned Your last name initial cap (for example, PSmart) Course information no spaces (for example, eng112-77) For example, Pat Smart's welcome message for Math 204-77 and Humanities 105-77 would have this subject line: Welcome PSmart mth204-77 and Welcome PSmart hum105-77 Note the spacing of the subject lines, necessary for email filters to file your submissions correctly so that your professor will receive the message and you will receive credit. Most class activities have designated subject headings for students to use. Adhere to these exactly to ensure credit. For other email, you determine the topic part of the subject heading but should still include your lastname and the courseinfo format at the end. When you determine your own subject line, be sure it is short but accurately indicates the topic. Instead of "help" use "quadratic equation help.
3. Signature Conventions	TOP
Be sure to check with your professor about any variations to these conventions. Because email often arrives with no identification about the sender other than an email address, your professor and classmates need for you to include clear identification of the sender as a signature at the end of the email message. All mail to the professor or the class must have a signature at the end according to criteria the professor designates. A typical convention is the following pattern in one line if possible, using the first name you would like your classmates to use when they communicate with you: Firstname Lastname <email@address> classinfo For example, Pat Smart's signature block would begin: Pat Smart <smartpat@beach.net> psy201-77a or if Pat prefers to be called Patty: Patty Smart <smartpat@beach.net> psy201-77a You may include additional information in the next line of the signature, for example, alternate email addresses and phone numbers—but keep it fairly short. Most email software allows you to automate the signature block so that you do not have to type it every time. Check your software help files for instructions.
4. Message Body Conventions	TOP
Be sure to check with your professor about any variations to these conventions. Unless the professor and every student in the class are using the same email software, it is advisable not to use any fancy formatting. Most software has a way to turn off formatting. Most basic email software does not operate like word processors, so substitutions are made for formatting features. In the body of email messages, do not attempt to double space. Single space all messages, and add an extra space between lines to distinguish paragraphs. Keep paragraphs short to improve readability. If you are copy-pasting from a word processor, you will lose some or all of your formatting such as automatic page numbers and centering. Therefore review the email message body and make appropriate adjustments before you send it. Proofread every message before you send it to be sure it is readable and that it is addressed to the right recipient in the "To" and "CC" lines. Some email is informal and requires no special courtesies in the message body. However, sometimes an email message is substituting for a "formal" paper, in which case follow the conventions your professor assigns. Check with your professor about these special conventions. Unless otherwise specified, use no fancy format features such as bold or italic or colors in your email messages. If your email is capable of formatting, turn such features off because not all your readers will be able to read them. Instead, to designate italics or underlining when necessary in "formal" writing, use the _underscore_ mark before and after. Some people use asterisks or quotation marks to add emphasis and substitute for *bold* type. Do use standard quotation marks for "quoted items." Use email attachments only when assigned or required and follow the attachment formats provided by your professor or these suggestions for Attachments. For additional information, see Submission Formats.
5. Attachments	TOP
Be sure to check with your professor about any variations to these conventions. In particular, different classes or different activities within a class may require different file formats for submissions. Send file attachments only when you have arranged with your professor to do so or when you are required to do so. Otherwise, include messages in the body of email. Your email system must permit the sending and receiving of attached files saved in current WordPerfect or Word or Rich Text Format and also html files. In some cases, ASCII/DOS text or Rich Text Format are acceptable. Check with your professor about which file formats each class requires. All Web pages, graphics files, and html submissions that will be uploaded to TCC's Web server must use lowercase (not all caps) 8+period+3 DOS naming conventions and htm extensions (for example, file4ps.htm and mydog.jpg). TCC servers accept only these conventions. For additional information, see Submission Formats
6. Email Discussion List (Listservs)	TOP
Listservs as a Discussion Environment and Bulletin Board
7. Privacy and Netiquette	TOP
Email may seem private, but it is not. Think of it more like a postcard than like a letter. The message is accessible to many people who have no interest in reading it; however, it is possible for them to read it. After all, cyberspace consists of computers all over the world linked together electronically. Most organizations back up everything on their servers daily, including incoming and outgoing email at academic and commercial sites, meaning there might be a permanent record of your messages somewhere. Additionally, sometimes people accidentally send email to somebody other than the intended recipient. So be aware that your audience might be larger than you originally intended--and be careful that you have the correct email address in your "To" and "CC"  lines. Deleting email removes it from your own directory but not necessarily from the server maintained by the organization whose services you are using. Web Forums and Web pages (unless password protected or maintained on a closed network or intranet) are accessible to everybody who has access to the World Wide Web. Think of such messages as more like a global bulletin board posting or a billboard than like a letter. As with email, such messages are likely to be preserved on a server. Be especially careful about your diction and tone; irony and humor aren't always understood. Clear communication of your intention and meaning depend entirely on your choice and arrangement of words (and sometimes of multimedia elements). So choose your words and sentence structures carefully. Do not type all capitals, which is difficult to read and has come to be considered the electronic version of "shouting." Do be courteous, even when you disagree, and always provide clear, logical support for your views. Always provide a clear context for your messages: appropriate subject lines and enough information in the message itself to establish clearly the situation about which you are writing. Your subject line should be short but specific: Question about Miss Emily's isolation rather than Question or Help. In the message give some background information if necessary. Avoid reposting long previous messages: paraphrase them instead (identifying the original sender) or quote excerpts (identifying the original sender and the fact that they are excerpts). Always follow the specific directions and criteria of your professor or supervisor. As a member of the academic community, you are expected to conduct yourself in person, in print, and on line in a responsible way and in the spirit of courteous educational inquiry. Of course, you are expected to abide by the policies of the college and the laws of the state and the country.

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