Email Privacy, Security and General Use Disclaimer

Students in a Computer Lab

Truckee Meadows Community College encourages the use of TMCC-provided email as the official means of communicating with members of the community including faculty, staff and students. Faculty and staff should use this service in support of the mission of the College.

The College has the right to send communications to students via email and the right to expect that those communications will be received and read in a timely fashion.

Access to email at TMCC is a privilege and must be treated as such by all users of this system. Abuse of this system can be a matter of legal action or official disciplinary procedures. Range of penalty for violating this policy can be from written warning, to loss of access, to referral to appropriate TMCC authorities for disciplinary action. In cases where violation severely impacts performance and/or security, TMCC's Information Technology (IT) Department will immediately suspend the individual’s email privileges.

Privacy

Email users should exercise extreme caution in using email to communicate confidential or sensitive matters and should not assume that email is private and confidential. It is especially important that users be careful in sending messages only to their intended recipient(s). The same is true for forwarding received emails.

The College respects the privacy of users. It does not normally inspect, monitor or disclose electronic messages without the user’s consent; however, users should realize the following:

  • Electronic mail, whether or not created or stored on TMCC’s equipment, may be considered as a College record and be subject to disclosure under the Public Records Act or other laws or as a result of litigation.
  • IT might need to observe certain transactional information in order to ensure proper functioning of the system.
  • If there is a reason to believe that the account has been used in violation of TMCC’s policies and/or of the law, contents of the email may be inspected, and/or disclosed without the prior consent of the user. These actions are usually initiated by the President or Legal Counsel of the institution.

See Also: Website Privacy Statement

Email Security

Faculty, staff and students at TMCC are responsible for the use and security of their email accounts. Your password should not be shared with anyone. TMCC's IT Department will never ask for your password.

Users should also exercise extreme caution in sending confidential and sensitive matters, and should take a particular care when using the "reply" command during email correspondence.

Users should be aware that any email utilizing College-owned computer and network resources may be disclosed under College policies, state and federal laws and regulations.

Email and Phishing Scams

Attempts to scam students and/or faculty and staff in the form of emails that appear to be from the College may ask for your credit card, Social Security number, or other personal information are 100% false. Never supply your personal information, including your TMCC log-in or password to any email solicitation. TMCC will never ask for your log-in or password (or any other sensitive personal information) via email.

Please do your part in being aware of and avoiding such scams to collect your personal information. Notify TMCC IT Customer Service at 775-673-7800 of any suspicious emails or websites that appear to represent TMCC.

Gmail

Email for TMCC is handled by Google under their Google Apps for Education product. This was facilitated in order to provide a consistent, reliable means of communications from TMCC. It also allows users to use other products under the Google Apps umbrella (such as Google Drive, Calendar, etc.) for free. Since we are using their product, we are also governed by Google's Terms of Service.

Assignment of Email Address

TMCC Information Technology assigns all students and employees an official College email address. The naming convention adheres to internal guidelines. Please contact IT for more information.

Redirecting of Electronic Messages

Users who redirect their official TMCC email address to another address may do so at their own risk. The College will not be responsible for handling of email by outside vendors. Emails lost during redirection does not absolve users from responsibilities associated with communication sent to their official College email address.

Expectations Regarding Student Use of Email

Students are expected to check their official email address on a frequent and consistent basis in order to stay current with the College communications. The College recommends checking email daily since certain communication may be time critical. Users who are provided a TMCC mobile device (phone, tablet, etc.) or receive a stipend for their personal device, are required to sync their devices and frequently check their email to assure that important messages are received and acted upon quickly. IT can assist with the synchronization setup.

Inappropriate Use of Email

Email service may not be used for:

  • Unlawful activities
  • Commercial purpose unrelated to the College or approved by the College.
  • Sending unauthorized bulk email messages or spam.
  • Using the service for harassment.
  • Using someone else's identity and password.
  • Uses that violate other TMCC policies or guidelines as they apply to intellectual property, sexual or other forms of harassment, and others.
  • Misrepresenting your identity or affiliation in email communications.
  • Letter bombs (resending the same email repeatedly to one or more recipients to interfere with the recipient’s use of email).
  • Distributing viruses, worms, defects, Trojan horses, corrupted files, hoaxes or any other items of a destructive or deceptive nature.
  • Promoting illegal activity.

Violations of this policy may result in restriction of access, or disciplinary action (up to and including dismissal).