Relevant To: Faculty and Staff
The Student Email Communication Policy became effective January 18, 2023. The purpose of this policy is to update the requirements for official communications with students and the student’s responsibilities for the information sent through official university channels.
There were three briefing sessions on the new student email communication policy.
Please visit SUNY Empire's Learnscape page to view the briefing session that was held on February 14, 2023.
View Briefing on New Student Email Communication Policy
Q: Who do students need to inform about email forwarding?
A: If a student would like to forward their university emails to an external email address, they would have to complete and submit the Empire Student Email Forward Settings form. This form is also linked on the MySUNYEmpire Student Homepage.
Q: If a student requests to have email forwarded to their personal email, and they write us from the personal email, are we allowed to respond?
A: You should respond letting them know you will continue the conversation via their SUNY Empire email. Here is the email response template: Email Response Template.
To learn how to use the SUNY Empire Student Outlook directory to look up a student email address, please refer to Student Email Communication Resources.
Q: How will we know which student in the address book is ours for students with common names?
A: The last three numbers of the student's ID number appear in their email address. (Email addresses for students are all in the following format: firstname_lastname123@esc.edu (123 being the last three digits of their Student ID/Banner number)).
Additional help can be found at Student Email Communication Resources.
Q: If a student has opted into forwarding, can we respond to their email by using their SUNY Empire email in the To field, but CC their personal email? In addition, how would we know which students have opted into forwarding?
A: You should not CC their personal email as you cannot authenticate that email is from the student.
You will not be able to tell if a student has opted into forwarding by their email. If the student opted to forward, the email would go to their personal email address.
Q: Should we treat all active students the same and write to their SUNY Empire emails or do we have to differentiate by matriculation date?
A: For all active students, email should be sent to their SUNY Empire email account regardless of their matriculation status.
Q: What if someone outside the SUNY Empire network emails us? For example, prospective students inquire, grad schools send us requests for recommendations, etc.
A: This is only for communicating with current students.
Q: If a student confirms their school email with me, but requests that I contact them via their personal email, do I still have to use the SUNY Empire email every single time I reply? From the perspective of keeping information in organized email threads, continually emailing a SUNY Empire account, and then continually receiving emails from personal accounts breaks up email threads and limits the usability/functionality of the conversation.
A: All email communication from the university must go to the SUNY Empire email. The thread will be maintained if you “forward” to the student’s university email address or “reply” using the student’s university email address, not the personal address.
Q: What about students from long ago who may email us?
A: This is only for communicating with current students.
Q: Will students who have graduated have access to their SUNY Empire accounts? If so, for how long?
A: If they are no longer a student due to graduation, they will have access to their SUNY Empire Outlook account for one year following graduation. They will receive a notification 30 days prior to their license becoming deactivated to give them time to remove anything they may have saved (in Outlook, OneDrive, etc.) prior to that time.
Q: Whenever we send or reply to students’ email message, we must use their SUNY Empire email address. Could we include both? For example, we could use Gmail where they sent the message from and SUNY Empire email address, or just their SUNY Empire email address?
A: You have no way of verifying that the personal email is really that student, which is why you must email to the SUNY Empire address.
Q: What will the procedure be if a FERPA authorized individual (such as a parent) emails a question?
A: There is no change in procedure. This policy is only in regard to communicating with active students.
Q: If the policy dictates not to include personal email addresses, we receive messages from and only include SUNY Empire email addresses, can we include both in the reply?
A: You should only be replying to the SUNY Empire email address.
Q: Is it okay if I put out an announcement to my courses about this policy?
A: You have the discretion to post an announcement if you feel it will help you and your students.
Q: If a continuing student DOES fill out the form (SUNY Empire Student Email Forward Settings) requesting that email forwarding continue, are their incoming emails going to be flagged differently?
A: No, the student’s incoming mail will not be flagged. You will not be able to tell if a student has opted into forwarding by their email.
Q: Even students who have given permission for forwarding, will we receive the banner alert every time they reply from the personal email account?
A: Yes. The banner will appear when an email is received from a free email service. It is not connected to a specific student. This banner serves as a reminder to employees to respond to students using their SUNY Empire email account.
Q: How long after graduation do these university emails work? Will that time be communicated to students? I see in the policy a statement on three years since enrollment. Does that count for alumni?
A: If they are no longer a student due to graduation, they will have access for one year following graduation. If they are no longer a student because they made the decision not to continue taking courses, their license will remain active for three years.
Q: Do we still need to type in the message from the template if a student has opted to forward (receive a copy of SUNY Empire emails to their personal email account)?
A: It is recommended to err on the side of caution if a student hasn't taken action/accepted the risk of forwarding.
Q: Is it possible to access Student Address Book from an iPhone?
A: No, if you have the Microsoft Outlook app installed on your mobile device, you will only have access to the employee address book.
For other help, please refer to Student Email Communication Resources.
Q: Are students made aware that they cannot respond from the personal email forwards at the time they sign up for forwarding?
A: Thank you for this question. We have added this to the SUNY Empire Student Email Forward Settings Opt-in or Opt-out form that students complete to select their email preferences.
Q: Is the email banner removable?
A: When replying to an email containing the notification banner, you can manually remove the banner by deleting it if you choose to.
Q: I have already sent an email to my mentees and posted announcements in my online courses. Several students who have not used their ESC emails have not dealt with the Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) and I have had several students tell me that they are "locked out" of their SUNY Empire accounts. I have told them that they need to complete this information. I have been surprised by the number of students who do not know/understand multiple authentications. Would it be possible for the university to again send this information to the students?
A: Yes, there will be additional communication sent to students regarding the email policy, as well as MFA authentication procedures.
Q: Will students who may have been away for one term or two for various reasons (deployment or other financial) be informed of the new switch to only esc emails being responded going forward?
A: Yes, communications regarding this change went out to all students. The change is also posted on our MySUNYEmpire Student and ITS homepages.
Q: Did this committee consult with the leadership of student government and did students raise any concerns with this change?
A: This policy is for FERPA compliance. Communication to students has been multifaceted in both frequency and mode.
Q: How do we communicate with alumni about updating their email address when it reverts to forwarding?
A: The project manager is working with the alumni office to ensure communication needs between the university and alumni continue to be met.
Q: Can we forward the personal email to the Empire College email account if we remove the personal email, instead of creating a whole new email?
A: Yes, that way the email thread will remain intact.
Q: What if we get an email from a student personal account and we do not know the student's ID number? If I get an email from johnsmith@gmail.com, and the student signs off as John Smith, how am I supposed to know which johnsmith123@esc.edu email it is?
A: The last three numbers of the student's ID number appear in their email address. (Email addresses for students are all in the following format: firstname_lastname123@esc.edu (123 being the last three digits of their Student ID/Banner number).
If you do not know a student’s ID number, there are a variety of ways of looking up the student in this Knowledge Base Article.
Q: What if students send us emails with their personal emails? Should we reply to the emails from their personal email addresses?
A: You should respond letting them know you will continue the conversation via their SUNY Empire email. Here is the email response template: Email Response Template.
Q: I wanted to know what happens when a student graduates and we still need to correspond with them? (Often, they request documents, etc.) Can we correspond with them from a personal email? How long does a student have access to school email after graduation?
A: Since the current student email policy only applies to active students, communication using a personal email address does not go against university policy for a student who has graduated. (If they are no longer a student due to graduation, they will have access to their SUNY Empire Outlook account for one year following graduation. After that one-year time, any emails sent to their SUNY Empire Outlook account will automatically be forwarded to their personal email address on file with the university.)
Q: So, we could reply, replacing the personal email address with the SUNY Empire address, we should also explain it in the email?
A: Yes, that would be helpful to keep the email chain intact and help clarify the reasoning to the student. The link to the Student Email Communication policy may be helpful to share with the student.
You may find the email response template of use: Email Response Template
Q: When emailing prospective students, "attention messages" appear when we respond and are visible to the prospect; however, this message would not apply because they do not have a SUNY Empire email. Is there a way to remove these attention messages?
A: When replying to an email containing the notification banner, you can manually remove the banner by deleting it if you choose to.
Q: What about inquiries and prospects who email faculty with questions about courses, and do not have a SUNY Empire email yet?
A: The current policy only applies to active students.
Q: How are we defining students?
A: Admitted students and active students that have enrolled in courses at SUNY Empire within the last 3 years. This does not include alumni or graduated students, dismissed or expelled students, or inactive students (out at least 3 years or student-initiated withdrawal)
Q: Do you have a general announcement that we can send out or post as Instructors/Mentors about the change?
A: If you would like assistance with messaging, please reach out to Kay.Watkins@esc.edu and she will share what we have already written or assist in creating the communication that is right for the location in which you wish to post.
Q: Although a student can receive a copy of emails sent to their SUNY Outlook account, they will still be asked to reply to any university-related emails from their SUNY Empire Outlook account, not their personal email account. Is that email info provided in the acceptance email from Admissions?
A: The verbiage below is part of their admissions email:
Getting Started with College Email
You have been provided with a Microsoft 365 Outlook email box for your use while an active student with Empire State University. This Microsoft 365 email license will allow you to conduct your university business using your official university email address XXXX_YYYY###@esc.edu
You can access your new Microsoft 365 Outlook mailbox from the following options:
- Go to the SUNY Empire MyEsc Portal at my.esc.edu/ and click on the "EMAIL" icon, or
- Go to your Microsoft Outlook on the web from any browser at https://outlook.office365.com/.
Q: Is there a reason that we could not have done away with allowing them to opt into forwarding the emails altogether and require that they only use their official university email?
A: This policy is for FERPA compliance and is one step toward ensuring the university has done their due diligence in ensuring we have taken the appropriate action of identifying and validating the identity of someone accessing email sent to the student. In addition, when a student receives a SUNY Empire email account, they are given specific login information in addition to setting up multi factor authentication. A more restrictive policy, including the use of university email only, may be considered in the future.
Q: What if a student declines to send an email from their SUNY Empire email address after being asked due to the policy change? Should I still respond?
A: Yes, but respond to their SUNY Empire Outlook account. We are telling students about the policy to let them know why you cannot reply using their personal email, but they may persist in using their personal email.
To reply, remove their personal email and add the SUNY Empire Outlook account or you can forward and add the SUNY Empire Outlook account.
To learn how to use the SUNY Empire Student Outlook directory to look up an email address, please refer to Student Email Communication Resources. Additionally, an email template response is available to inform students about the policy.
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