Best Practices to Follow When Emailing

What is this?

Please consider using the following best practices when sending emails from a Montana Tech account.

Who Does this Concern?

Anyone with a Montana Tech email account.

Appropriate Use of Email/Campus Communication

• Email is for university-related business only.
• Use the bcc line when sending to mass email groups.
• Consider your audience - does everyone on the email need the information.
• Do not “reply all” unless every member of the email chain needs to know.
• Try to respond in a timely fashion, within 24 to 48 hours.
• Don’t use complicated, cartoony, or handwritten type fonts. They can be seen as unprofessional and are often hard to read. We recommend using the fonts Calibri or Verdana.
• Include Montana Tech signature, found on Montana Tech email signature page.
• Do not include personal images in your email signature.
• Avoid using stationary or background images.
• Avoid using emoticons, jargon, slang, or shortcuts to real words.
• If using an image within your content, be sure to include a caption accessible to screen readers.
• Always include a subject in your email messages.
• Don’t get mistaken for Spam; avoid using all caps, all lower case, web URLs, or exclamation points in your email subject line.
• Lastly, don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and call instead of writing an email, especially when you need to explain several different things. The most important thing to remember is that every email you send from a Montana Tech account represents the entire campus, not just you.