UF is a large institution that must comply with a multitude of regulations from diverse sources. For those new to UF, coming up to speed on the policies that impact our daily workflows can be confusing. Even for those who have worked at UF for a long time, keeping up with policy changes can be a challenge, as the compliance demands for UF are ever increasing.

An important policy to be aware of is UF’s Electronic Mail Policy. The full policy is published at https://it.ufl.edu/policies/email/electronic-mail/. The key points to know are:

  • The policy applies to all electronic mail sent or received in the scope of employment at the university, or with the intention to conduct university business.
  • All employees of the University of Florida must use a university provided or approved electronic mail service when conducting University business via electronic mail.
  • University of Florida electronic mail may not be automatically forwarded to a non-university provided or approved service.
  • University of Florida business must be conducted using an assigned ufl.edu email address.
  • Emails on the university mail system have the following default retention settings:
    • Inbox and Sent Items: 3 years from creation or receipt
    • Deleted Items: Purged after 30 days

The Electronic Mail FAQ, published at https://security.ufl.edu/faculty-staff/electronic-mail-policy-faq/, answers the question of what is a non-university provided or approved email service. Email addresses that end in ufl.edu are provided by the University of Florida, and approved for use. This includes UF Exchange and GatorCloud email. Email services such as Gmail, Yahoo, and Hotmail are not provided or approved by the university, and not allowed to be used to conduct university business.

Choice of email system may seem innocuous and many have a strong preference for Gmail. However, we are all bound by Sunshine State laws, and email is regulated.  Think twice when you email and remember to use your UF email for UF business.