University Provided Email- Standard

This Standard supports and supplements the University of Central Oklahoma’s (“University” or “UCO”) Information Security Policy. The standard is mandatory and enforced in the same manner as policy. It will be periodically reviewed and updated as necessary to meet changes in legal and regulatory requirements. The purpose of this Standard is to establish the eligibility, expectation, and parameters for UCO provided email.

University Provided Email- Standard

‌Purpose

This Standard supports and supplements the University of Central Oklahoma’s (“University” or “UCO”) Information Security Policy. The standard is mandatory and enforced in the same manner as policy. It will be periodically reviewed and updated as necessary to meet changes in legal and regulatory requirements. The purpose of this Standard is to establish the eligibility, expectation, and parameters for UCO provided email.

‌Scope

This Standard applies to:

1. All divisions, colleges and units established by the University that exercise any information technology (IT) function relating to the mission of the University except for those specifically exempted in writing by the senior leadership (as defined in the information security policy) of the University.

2. All email accounts maintained, provided, and offered by the University. This Standard applies to all uco.edu email addresses and sub-domains.

‌Standard Details

FACULTY AND STAFF:

UCO provides email accounts to all current faculty and staff to conduct University business.

1. STUDENTS:

   UCO provides email accounts to all currently enrolled students at the University. In addition to the UCO policies applicable to all members of the UCO community, student use of email is subject to the University’s Student Code of Conduct.

2. INFORMATION CLASSIFICATION RESTRICTIONS:

   While the University will make every attempt to keep email messages secure, it is important to note that email generally is not considered a secure form of communication.

   Refer to University’s Data Classification Policy and its corresponding Guides and Summaries for best practices on transmitting university data.

3. OWNERSHIP OF UCO EMAIL ACCOUNTS:

   UCO owns all University provided email accounts. Subject to underlying intellectual property rights under applicable laws and University policies, the University also owns the information transmitted or stored using UCO email accounts.

4. AUTHORIZED USERS OF UNIVERSITY PROVIDED EMAIL ACCOUNTS AND TERMINATION OF SERVICES:

   Authorized Users	Termination of UCO Email Service
   Students - Alumni	Access to UCO email ends 30 days after graduation, then transitions to a commercial, non-fee email provider for alumni.
   Students	Access to UCO email ends upon separation from the University and may be terminated prior to separation for misconduct or in the best interest of the University.   Students on official leave of absence maintain access to email, calendar, and productivity tools.   Access to UCO email ends 365 days after a student is placed on academic suspension.
   Faculty - Emeritus	Eligible for access to UCO email with the following requirements: 1. Use is for the purpose of continuing academic endeavors on behalf of the university. 2. must submit a service request to continue email account with evidence of emeritus status prior to separating from the university 3. Accept terms of emeritus faculty email usage agreement. Accounts inactive beyond 365 days may be terminated.
   Faculty (Full-time, Adjunct, and/or Affiliate)	Access to UCO email ends after separation from the University. Access may be terminated immediately for misconduct or in the best interests of UCO.
   Staff (Includes Full-time and/or Part-time and Contractors)	Access to UCO email ends on last day at the University. Access may be terminated immediately for misconduct or in the best interests of the University.
   Sponsored Affiliates (e.g., Visiting Scholars)	Access to UCO email ends on the last day of their designation.

   Once email services have been terminated, UCO will no longer retain, provide and/or restore email, unless required by law to do so. Supervisors may request temporary

   access to former employee’s email accounts for a period of up to 90 days, at which point the account will be deleted. Inactive email accounts are subject to deletion. Inactive accounts are defined as any email account which hasn’t been logged into in more than 365 days.

5. RELEASE OF UCO EMAIL OF CURRENT AND FORMER FACULTY, STAFF, AND STUDENTS:

   To ensure compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and in consideration of general privacy principle, the University will not release – or otherwise provide - the email of any current or former student, faculty, or staff member to a third-party, including, but not limited to, family members of any student, faculty, or staff member, absent a subpoena, search warrant, or court order or where such email could be required or authorized by law to be produced or lawfully requested for any other reason, including disclosure to a government agency.

6. ACCEPTABLE USE OF UCO EMAIL ACCOUNTS:

   Members of the University community must comply with all University Policies, including, but not limited to, Acceptable Use Policy, Information Security Policy, related Standards, Position Papers, and must comply with applicable state and federal laws, when using UCO email accounts to conduct University business.

   UCO email is an official means of communication for the University. Faculty, staff, and students are required to conduct UCO business from their university assigned email address containing the uco.edu domain. Additionally, the use of university email for non-university business or personal matters is not permitted.

7. UCO EMAIL SUBJECT TO LEGAL HOLDS:

   To the extent UCO email is relevant to, or the subject of, a legal hold, please note that the deletion and/or destruction of all such email will be suspended immediately upon notice that an investigation or litigation is pending, imminent, or reasonably foreseeable. The suspension will be tailored to cover only those records, documents, drafts, and copies relevant to the investigation or litigation, as determined by the Office of General Counsel.

   A legal hold remains in effect until it is released in writing by the Office of General Counsel. After the University community receives written notice of the lifting of a legal hold, all records, including email, relevant to the legal hold shall return to their normal handling procedures and retention schedules.

8. UCO EMAIL SUBJECT TO OPEN RECORDS ACT:

Emails sent or received from university email accounts are considered university-owned electronic records and are subject to the Open Records Act. Email records may be requested, through official channels, to be made available for public inspection.

‌Standard Violations

1. Failure to comply with this standard or other University policies will result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment and/or enrollment. All persons to whom these policies, standards, and guidelines are applicable, as stated above, are responsible for adhering to these rules.

2. All supervisory personnel are responsible for ensuring that these policies, standards, and guidelines are adhered to within their respective areas of responsibility. Any user may report University policy or law violations to their immediate supervisor, representative faculty or school personnel or using UCOMMENT.

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