Effective email communication at Fort Lewis College

Over 90% of our community depends on email for essential updates and communications, highlighting its critical role in our daily operations. To optimize your email experience, being familiar with our guidelines is crucial.

Discover FLC's Email Policy


Combating email fatigue

In response to the challenges of email overload, our Marketing & Communications office is committed to refining email interactions, ensuring you receive information that's both relevant and engaging:

  • Engaging email newsletters: Our carefully curated newsletters offer a glimpse into campus life, spotlighting everything from academic highlights to groundbreaking research. Each is designed to keep you informed without overwhelming your inbox.
  • Efficient Listserv management: By meticulously managing our listservs, we ensure that only pertinent updates make their way to you, respecting your time and attention.

FLC newsletters: tailored for our community

To further address email fatigue, wehave three unique newsletters, each designed to cater to different interests within our community. Whether you're keen on campus news, academic milestones, or community events, there's a newsletter intended for you.

Mindful communication: responsible use of FLC email lists

Before leveraging FLC's email distribution lists for mass communications, it's imperative to:

  • Review our email guidelines: Ensure your messages align with FLC's mission and communication policies.
  • Moderation and quality: Keep in mind that these lists are moderated to maintain the integrity and relevance of the information disseminated.
  • Enhanced engagement through visuals: To facilitate navigation and draw your attention to important information, each section should be complemented by thematic visuals, enriching your experience and understanding of our email communication strategy.

Emma: Your email design friend

Emma sets the standard for email design at Fort Lewis College with its intuitive interface and customizable FLC templates, guaranteeing that every communication is professional and perfectly aligned with our brand identity.

Getting started with Emma:

  1. Complete Digital Accessibility Training: A prerequisite to ensure all communications are inclusive.
  2. Request an account: Contact Scott Kadera at kadera_s@fortlewis.edu to set up your Emma account.
  3. Attend Emma training: Gain insights into creating compelling email content.
  4. Login to Emma: Access your department's subaccount with your FLC credentials.
  • FLC Insight
  • The Fort Report
  • Bulletin Board
FLC Insight

FLC Insight is a weekly newsletter distributed to current FLC students each Monday during the semester. It consists of messages and announcements from offices across campus. Insight helps address email fatigue by eliminating the need for offices to email students directly and increase consistency in our messaging.

Distributed to

All students

Frequency

Every Monday morning during the semester

Moderation

Asunta Barone, student communications specialist, compiles and edits all contributions for clarity and consistency before sending out the newsletter.

Submissions

Contributions are solicited each week through the FLC Current Student Communications listserv. Content is uploaded to the FLC Current Student Communications SharePoint

Appropriate content may include 

  • Upcoming deadlines (the week of, or the week before a deadline)
  • Important announcements or policy changes (e.g. the dining hall is only open for take-out starting this week)
  • Changes in services provided (e.g. students must now go to Skyhawk Station to make payments in person)
  • Changes to office locations, hours of operation, virtual/in-person offerings, etc. 
  • New programs or services, grand openings, etc. 
  • Upcoming closures, temporary re-locations, etc. 
  • Health and safety announcements

Does not include

  • Event announcements, with rare exceptions
  • Basic information about offices and their services that isn’t tied to a specific, relevant, and timely call to action
  • Repeated information
The Fort Report

The Fort Report is a biweekly newsletter comprising the latest news clips of current campus happenings and what our alumni are doing in the world. Some articles and videos are produced in-house by the MarComm team, while others are pulled from outside media sources nationwide.

Distributed to

Current employees and students, alumni, family members, and friends of FLC

Frequency

Every other Wednesday during the semester and occasionally over breaks

Moderation

The media relations strategist compiles news clips and coordinates FLC stories for release through The Fort Report.

Submission

Have a story tip? Submit your idea to the team for consideration.

Appropriate content may include

Media mentions related to FLC (e.g., student, faculty, staff, and alumni awards, interviews, published research, job promotions, community service, donations, and grants)

Does not include

  • Event promotion
  • Ideally, all news shared in The Fort Report has an associated hyperlink; the newsletter is not a bulletin, rather a compilation of FLC-related news clips
Bulletin Board

Frequency

Every Friday morning during the semester

Moderation

Before sending the newsletter, the event & conference coordinator compiles and edits all contributions for clarity and consistency.

Submissions

Contributions are taken directly from our FLC event calendar and Skyhub every Thursday. For your event to be in this newsletter, you must submit it to either the event calendar (25Live) or SkyHub.

Appropriate content may include

  • Campus-wide events
  • Community events for FLC students
  • Lectures/guest speakers
  • Departmental activities

Does not include

  • Events not open to the public
  • Repeated events
  • Club meetings

FLC-Official
FLC-Student-Official
FLC-Faculty & FLC-Staff
FLC-Announce & Classifieds