These protocols seek to improve the effectiveness of email and to encourage UAS sections to routinely consider whether email is the most appropriate channel to use. Refer also to the UAS Channel Framework which provides guidance on individual channels.
UAS sections are encouraged to maintain an ongoing dialogue with divisions and departments about their proposed approach, so that the most appropriate channel can be considered at an early stage.
University mailing lists are valuable tools for effectively communicating with large groups of people. However, the creation, maintenance and use of them needs regular monitoring and review.
The policy and guidance introduce governance around the use of new and existing mailing lists.
Before deciding to use a mailing list, you should first consider whether additional channels such as Items for Internal Dissemination and the Cascade may be appropriate alternatives. Refer to the 'Cascading information via the divisions' section for more information.
In the first instance you should check to see if there is an existing mailing list in operation that you can use. The key mailing lists summary provides details of the lists that are likely to be most useful to UAS Sections; and it includes details of who to contact to use a list. The UAS Channel Framework also has guidance on email lists and specialist emails.
You should also check if there are other mailing lists that may include your intended audience by logging into Sympa. Guidance on using Sympa is available on the IT Services website.
You must use existing lists and should not create local lists (e.g. Outlook Groups) that duplicate those on the key UAS mailing lists directory.
Consult the relevant Divisional Communications Lead before creating a new list. They may well have existing lists to which you can send your communication, without the need to create a new one.
Where there is no other option of reaching the target audience, either from an existing list or other means of dissemination, it may be necessary to create a new mailing list.
Before creating a new mailing list be aware that the creator of the list will become the list owner and should be willing to accept the responsibilities associated with this, including:
When creating a mailing list:
To avoid inundating colleagues with multiple emails, and/or with emails which may not be relevant to them, UAS sections should consider:
Frequency - UAS sections should limit the number of emails that can be sent to the same mailing list each week to avoid overburdening recipients. Consideration of appropriate channels and forward planning of timing of communications may be needed to facilitate this.
This does not apply to urgent emails (particularly of a security-nature) which have their own processes. If you have an urgent communication requirement, and need to send a message immediately to key lists, please contact your Communications Lead, or UAS Communications.
Number of lists sent to - care should be taken to avoid sending an individual email to too many mailing lists at once as, despite best efforts, membership of the lists may overlap.
NB: Sympa will automatically prevent individuals receiving emails more than once in one send. Therefore, if you are planning on sending to multiple lists, you should do this in one email rather than several different messages.
Heads of Administrations and Finance (HAFs) and Heads of Departments and Faculty Board Chairs (HoDs) mailing lists are important resources for UAS sections seeking to communicate information to these groups. See also the UAS Channel Framework for guidance on reaching leadership teams. The protocols, below, introduce governance around the use of these lists to ensure that they are used effectively and appropriately.
In the UAS, UAS Section Heads are added to the HoDs list, and a single lead administrator in each UAS section is added to the HAFs list. Academic Divisions and GLAM apply their own policies for adding individuals to the HAFs and HoDs list. If you believe you should be added to the HAFs or HoDs list, please contact your relevant Communications Lead.
Two members of staff from each UAS section are authorised to send to these lists. Please liaise with the relevant UAS Communications Lead for your section.
Only urgent updates that cannot wait (or would not be appropriate for) the University Cascade should be sent direct to HoDs and HAFs. Find out more about the University Cascade.
If you are sending or copying your email to the HAF or HoD mailing list, you must follow the guidance on writing emails, and use the email format set out in the email best practice. Approval will not be given to use the HAF and HoD mailing lists to send an email that has not been written in line with the guidance and is not set out using the format provided. The guidance is also relevant for sending emails to other groups /mailing lists.
Where permission is not given to send an email to the HAF or HoD mailing lists, the approver should set out clearly the reasons for not providing approval and try to agree changes that would allow permission to be given. Please go to Section 6 below, ‘Issue Resolution’ in the event of agreement not being reached.
Where possible, UAS sections are encouraged to cascade information via academic divisions (and Conference of Colleges, in the case of colleges).
There are two core ways of doing this: Items for Internal Dissemination and the University Cascade.
The University Cascade is disseminated via divisions to departments and via the Conference of Colleges for Oxford Colleges every two weeks during term time.
It is designed for HoDs, HAFs and local leadership teams, to ensure they are aware of key policy and operational decisions that may impact them.
If information about UAS activities needs to reach a large number of staff and students, but is not necessarily relevant to senior leaders, Items for Internal Dissemination is an alternative channel to reach them.
IFID is an email digest which is sent to all Communications Officers across the collegiate University every Wednesday throughout the year via Heads of Divisional Communications and the College Communications Network.
Communications Officers then use IFID contents to include information in local communications channels such as newsletters, social media pages and Teams groups.
IFID should usually be used when there is a need to reach a wide audience through local communications channels.
To submit content to IFID, use this IFID submission form following this detailed guide. When completing this form, you can specify audiences (including specific parts of the University).
If it is felt that the Cascade or IFID are not appropriate channels for a particular piece of information, emails or other channels can be used (refer to emails section above or the Channel Framework).
When information that is being submitted to IFID is detailed and/pr complex. a communications pack will ensure your content is easily transferable for departmental audiences.
A communication pack could contain the following:
Examples of communications packs can be found on the UAS communications SharePoint site. .
Communications packs should be hosted on the UAS Communications SharePoint site and linked to from IFID submissions.
Please note that communications packs should not usually be included in the University Cascade. Instead, Cascade entries should state that communications packs have been shared with communications teams.
Comms packs should only be included in the Cascade when there is a need for a very specific (non-communications) audience to make use of them (for example, asking teaching staff to share information with their students).
If you have an urgent email (particularly of a security-nature) that you need to disseminate to divisions and departments, contact the relevant UAS Communications Lead, who can liaise with Divisional Communications Leads to disseminate the information in the most effective way. Divisional Communications Leads have direct lines of communication with Divisional Registrars, Heads of Administration and Finance (HAFs) and Heads of Department (HoDs).
Newsletters can provide a reliable communication channel internally with staff. They are a means of sharing important information to a large group of staff at once. They allow colleagues to be updated and feel included and will often be used as the main source for briefing teams. Newsletters should be visually engaging, and their frequency should be carefully considered. Also refer to the guidance in the UAS Channel Framework.
Departments/Divisions/UAS sections should have their own guidance around creating and using newsletters in place that meets the needs of their team.
Where possible, newsletters should be sent using a GDPR compliant mailing client, such as Adestra, that allows analytics to be gathered.
They should be sent as email text, and not as attached PDF or Word documents – or included as text within images, for accessibility reasons.
Too many newsletters may result in staff, and particularly HAFs, receiving more newsletters than they can keep up with. This means the newsletter is less likely to be read, diminishing its potential impact. Full guidance is available for creating new newsletters.
All new UAS newsletters must be approved by the relevant Section Head, and the Head of Communications, Professional Services.
It is good practice to proactively and regularly seek feedback from the people you send communications to so that you are aware of any problems or dissatisfaction and can identify opportunities to make improvements.
Regularly seeking feedback on the emails and information you send to divisions and departments will help you to identify areas for improvement to help to ensure that they have the impact you want and that recipients are satisfied with what you send them. Adestra can also be used to measure email open rates.
Please share any feedback you receive via your Communications Lead to help us to continuously improve this policy and guidance.
Some examples of issues that may arise when using the policy and guidance are:
Any problems or issues arising from the use of the policy and guidance should be brought to the attention of your UAS Communications Lead in the first instance. In the unlikely event that agreement cannot be reached, or an issue resolved, the matter should be discussed with the Head of Communications and Engagement, Professional Services.
UAS sections should have in place a process for dealing with any complaints relating to their communications. Complaints should be recorded, investigated, responded to and where they are of relevance to this policy and associated guidance, shared with the Head of Communications and Engagement, Professional Services, via your Communications Lead.
In some cases, disagreement over the use of the protocols may be an indication that the protocols and/or the guidance need to be reviewed.
You may also have general feedback to provide on the policy or have received feedback from departments and divisions on a specific communication, which is also relevant to UAS communications more widely.
Please email any feedback to your Communications Lead, or to uas.communications@admin.ox.ac.uk
Page published: 10.09.2021
Page last updated: 26.02.2024
