Email Policy

Email Accounts

  • The use of an account is the personal responsibility of the account holder;
  • Those who use University email services are expected to do so responsibly... that is, to comply with state and federal laws, with this policy and other policies of the University, and with normal standards of professional and personal courtesy;
  • Access to University email services, when provided is a privilege that may be wholly or partially restricted by the University without prior notice and without consent of the email user. Access will be denied when there is a substantiated reason to believe that violations of policy or law have occurred or, in time-sensitive cases, when required to meet critical operational needs;
  • University electronic mail systems and services are University facilities;
  • The administrators of the University email facility may within certain limits block email including external, unsolicited, bulk-email, or "spam."

Security, Privacy and Confidentiality

  • Users should not assume the confidentiality of their email;
  • Users are advised not to send confidential University communications via email;
  • email may be subject to disclosure under law;
  • Backup copies may be retained for periods of time even if the user has deleted the message from the account;
  • In the course of routine system maintenance, trouble-shooting, and mail delivery problem resolution, network or systems staff may inadvertently see the content of email messages;
  • University employees are expected to comply with University requests for copies of email records in their possession that pertain to the administrative business of the University, or whose disclosure is required to comply with applicable laws;
  • The University can not guarantee the retrieval of email messages that are over 30 days old;
  • University employees may, under certain circumstances, have email files accessed by others when it relates to University functions;

Changing your Eagle Mail Password on Campus

  1. Login to a computer with your Eagle Login
  2. Once logged in, press and hold the CTRL+ALT+DELETE keys
  3. A Microsoft Windows security screen will pop up and choose Change Password. Passwords must meet University criteria.

University Password Criteria

  1. Password minimum length must be no fewer than eight characters
  2. Can not reuse any of the accounts five prior passwords
  3. Passwords must be composed so that they include at least one character from at least three of the following classes:
    1. Lowercase Letters
    2. Uppercase Letters
    3. Numerals
    4. Punctuation (#, $, %, etc)

Staff & Faculty accounts expire every 365 days

Email Abuse and Policy Enforcement

  • In general, use of University email services is governed by policies that apply to the use of all University facilities;
  • University email services may not be used for unlawful activities, commercial purposes not under the auspices of the University, personal financial gain, personal use inconsistent with this policy and other University guidelines including intellectual property, sexual harassment, and other forms of harassment;
  • University email users shall not employ a false identity;
  • University email services shall not be used for purposes that could reasonably be expected to cause excessive strain on any computing facilities or interference with others' use of email. Such uses include chain letters, "spam", and email bombs;
  • Administrators of systems and networks have the responsibility to protect the rights of users, to set policies consistent with those rights, and to publicize those policies to their users. They have the authority to control or refuse access to anyone who violates these policies or threatens rights of other users; and they must make reasonable efforts to notify users of decisions they have made;
  • Individuals who disagree with an administrative decision may submit an appeal of the decision to the Vice-President of Information Services;
  • Violations of University policies may result in restriction of access to University information technology resources. In addition, disciplinary action may be applicable under other University policies or guidelines.

Email Retention

Electronic mail (email) at CMU is defined as any message sent or received through or stored on the University's email server. Such email may include, but is not limited to, correspondence and attachments, calendar schedules, and forms transmitted electronically:

  • All email remaining in a recipient's DELETED ITEMS folder older than 30 days will be automatically and permanently deleted;
  • All email remaining in a recipient's JUNK MAIL folder older than 30 days will be automatically and permanently deleted;
  • All email remaining in a recipient's SENT MAIL folder older than 6 months will be automatically and permanently deleted;
  • All email other than the above mentioned items will remain in a recipient's mailbox up to the point when the maximum limit has been reached

Originators and recipients of email are responsible for identifying and saving documents that must be retained in order to comply with Federal, State, or local laws, or University policy, or other reasons.