UMUC Adjunct Faculty E-mail vs. WebTycho Private Messaging

General Guidance to Faculty on the Differences and Appropriate Usage

Since January 4, 2010, all business-related communications—such as messages about appointment documents, parking passes, textbooks, proctored exams, and course evaluations—have been sent to your @faculty.umuc.edu e-mail account.

Beginning with the Summer 2010 term, all Adelphi faculty members will be expected to use their campus e-mail address in on-site and online classes. Instructors may also use private messaging to communicate with students.

What is private messaging?

Private messaging is a system embedded in WebTycho that allows all class-related communications to take place completely inside of the secure, closed WebTycho classroom. It works a lot like e-mail, but eliminates the need to use a separate e-mail account to write to one or more students enrolled in a course.

How does private messaging differ from your UMUC e-mail account?

• Messages sent via the private messaging feature reside within WebTycho and can only be viewed by recipients who are logged into WebTycho.
• Messages are not delivered or linked to a specific e-mail account (i.e. faculty@umuc.edu, johndoe@yahoo.com, etc.).
• Messages sent to multiple recipients will not include a listing of all addresses; recipients will only be able to verify that they received the messages.
• There is no "reply to all" mechanism.
• Message recipients can only reply to the sender, and replies can only be viewed by the initiator of the message.
• To send a private message to a student or faculty member in a specific course, you must be on the roster for that course.

• Confidential communication with students, particularly when it is necessary to document and archive correspondence (e.g., when a paper is overdue or a student is in academic jeopardy)
• General questions regarding assignments, resources, etc.

Use your UMUC e-mail account for

• Business-related communications with UMUC academic and administrative personnel (such as staffing requests, personnel issues, general employment information, etc.)
• Drawing students into the classroom space and providing general information at the beginning of a course
• Informing students of WebTycho accessibility issues, changes in scheduling, and other matters that may affect a specific section of a course
• Contacting students who are not participating in the WebTycho classroom
• Contacting students after the semester has ended (e.g., resolving Incompletes)

Keeping these distinctions in mind will help you make the most of your electronic communications at UMUC.