LeBow Email Governance Policy

Effective Date: May 16, 2025

Purpose

The Drexel LeBow Email Governance Policy is intended to set standards for acceptable use of the Drexel LeBow College of Business email systems and resources and clarify responsibilities. The Email Governance Policy serves as an addition to University policy.

Scope

The Drexel LeBow Email Governance Policy applies to the use of email systems, including Mailchimp, BeeFree, Slate, Outlook and other systems, on behalf of the LeBow College of Business at Drexel University for marketing or recruitment purposes.

Policy Overview

Governance Structure/Roles and Responsibilities

LeBow Marketing and Communications (MarComm), in partnership with LeBow Web Services (Web Services), has oversight over the following:

• Providing strategic direction for mailings
• Ensuring mailings maintain a cohesive, user-centered focus supported by a consistent look and feel that adheres to Drexel and LeBow brand standards
• Establishing appropriate policies, processes and procedures to govern current and future email standards
• Evaluating effectiveness, content, standards and policies for technology and editorial components
• Editing or removing content that does not comply with the Email Governance Policy, content guidelines or email accessibility best practices

LeBow MarComm and Web Services will be involved in and have decision-making authority over the function, presentation and accessibility of mailings and services pertaining to marketing and recruitment.

Content Liaison Responsibilities

Members of the Drexel LeBow community (faculty and staff) are responsible for providing mailing requests for their department’s needs and verifying the accuracy of the content. Responsibilities include:

• Working with MarComm to create mailings
• Working with MarComm to review mailings
• Working with MarComm and Web Services to facilitate list maintenance, compliance with regulations and best practices as it pertains to acquiring and maintaining email contact lists
• Working with MarComm and Web Services to share ideas, concerns, discuss strategy or to learn more about the services our teams can provide to the community

Policy Updates

LeBow MarComm and Web Services reserves the right to update the governance policy and notify stakeholders of any relevant changes that affect them.

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Procedures and Compliance

All emails pertaining to marketing and recruitment must be developed using Drexel LeBow’s approved mailing services and vendors.

Content Guidelines

LeBow MarComm reserves the right to review and edit all College email communications; this is to ensure brand consistency and adherence to University policies. The specific method of delivery is based on audience and the strategic goals of the email.

Best practices include the following:

• Video guidelines - Videos cannot be embedded within emails, they must be uploaded to web; email copy can hyperlink to video once it’s hosted to a service maintained or monitored by Web Services or MarComm.
• Sender guidelines - Sender’s name must match their email address.
  • The reply-to address can differ from sender address in Slate only.
  • Mailchimp emails should come from departmental email addresses that have been whitelisted with Drexel IT.
• One call-to-action (CTA) button is recommended; multiple links are not advised (except in rare cases, such as including an additional link to a video plus a CTA).
  • Links and buttons should use action verbs and try to include no more than three words total.
  • CTAs should avoid options such as “Click Here” and “More” (among similar variations), as these are not best practice; please also keep language accessible (e.g., “Learn More” instead of “Read More” or “Hear More”).
  • Examples to use include “Learn More,” “Request More Information” and “Register Now.”
• Follow the University style guide.

LeBow MarComm reserves the right to determine if an email is better suited as a standalone email or to be consolidated with other messaging, including but not limited to, digest or newsletter formats. These decisions are made in conjunction with audience and messaging considerations along with assessing the current content calendar.

Accessibility Guidelines

Our goal is to ensure visitors have equal access to use and navigate our emails. This includes people with diverse abilities, including those with vision, hearing, physical, speech and cognitive differences.

Email accessibility is essential at LeBow, where interacting with our mailings is a key part of activities and engaging with the College.

Before templates, content or images are utilized in mailings, the MarComm and Web Services teams will review them to ensure they meet our email accessibility standards.

Email Templates

All email templates are developed in BeeFree, LeBow’s official HTML template-building platform. Creation of new and revision of existing templates is restricted to members of Web Services and MarComm; all other users of BeeFree have view-only access, per request and approval by Web Services.

Email Platforms and Request Timing

The LeBow College of Business utilizes numerous email platforms and services for the distribution of email communications.

Emails Through Slate

Slate mailings are intended for prospects and applicants across program levels. These mailings are facilitated in partnership with EMSS. All Slate mailings utilize EMSS’s Slate-approved templates; exception templates are not available.

Undergraduate

University Marketing and Communications maintains all top-of-funnel and recruit flow messaging for undergraduate program recruitment.

LeBow-specific yield and anti-melt email messaging and sequence tracked on Monday.com shared between undergraduate admissions, MarComm and Web Services. Undergrad admissions coordinates with EMSS to send messages through Slate.

Graduate and Executive Education

LeBow MarComm oversees recruit flow messaging per program, in collaboration with department heads and GSS/Executive Education. These emails require Web Services and AIS to build and send through Slate.

Emails Promoting Events

To send a Slate email promoting an event, the event page needs to be published before the email can be finalized and sent. We recommend publishing an event a minimum of 2 weeks before the event. To accommodate time for both the event page and email, we recommend submitting your request at least 5 weeks before the event is scheduled to take place (please note that EMSS requires two weeks to publish Slate events; this does not include LeBow’s time preparing the event for / submitting it to EMSS). For Slate event add-ons (such as an email or a social media post promoting the event), please complete the “Slate Event Add-Ons” attachment at the bottom of this page and submit it to lebowmarcomm@drexel.edu.

Slate Email Heading Graphics

New header graphics for Slate emails require 10–14 business days for the MarComm design team (when an entirely new heading image is needed) or 5–7 business days (when heading is being adapted from existing assets). To request a graphic, submit the design request form.

If the project requester knows what image they’d like to use or has created their own header graphic, please submit it through lebowdesign@drexel.edu for MarComm approval.

Please note: Slate heading graphics require approval from the MarComm design team.

Emails Through Mailchimp

Mailchimp emails are intended for members of the LeBow/Drexel community (people with a valid Drexel email address) and people who have consented to receive our mailings, such as our alumni, partners and donors. Mailchimp emails are not intended for prospective degree-seeking students or applicant audience, please see Slate mailings.

Authoring emails in Mailchimp requires approval and training from the MarComm team. Access requests must be submitted to lebowcommunications@drexel.edu and are considered for approval by LeBow MarComm.

The MarComm team is the final approver and will schedule sending of all emails through Mailchimp.

Mailchimp Email Templates, Heading Graphics

The LeBow Mailchimp account is restricted to email templates approved by Web Services and MarComm; user generated templates are not available. Requests for new templates must be made to MarComm through the web update request form.

New header graphics for Mailchimp emails require 10–14 business days for the MarComm design team (when an entirely new heading image is needed) or 5–7 business days (when heading is being adapted from existing assets). To request a graphic, submit the design request form.

If the project requester knows what image they’d like to use or has created their own header graphic, please submit it through lebowdesign@drexel.edu for MarComm approval.

Emails to Alumni

Allow 10 business days for an email to be prepared for an alumni list.

Emails to College or Subset

Audiences or subsets thereof should be specified in the initial request, along with a target send date. Target send dates may need to be adjusted based on other communications going out to the same audience or a subset of the same audience.

For messages where copy and subject line are provided by the requester, expected turnaround time is a minimum of two business days.

Emailing Through Outlook

For emails to a large audience (50+ people), contact:

• lebowmarcomm@drexel.edu - for prospects and/or applicants
• lebowcommunications@drexel.edu - for alumni

Emailing Through Qualtrics

College templates for emails sent through Qualtrics are available upon request.

Managed Audiences

Web Services and MarComm maintains several contact lists for communicating with a variety of LeBow constituents. These lists are automatically kept up-to-date and can be used to target your message to specific populations and include current students, faculty and staff.

In addition, a list of LeBow alumni is managed by LeBow’s Office of Engagement and Alumni Relations. Email lcbevents@drexel.edu to discuss options for any mailing to this population or subsets.

All mass communication messages to prospective students must be sent through Slate. Refer to Emails through Slate.

Web Services also supports managed audiences for centers and initiatives that require maintaining a list of their constituents for communication purposes. Web Services will work with list maintainers on defining the list parameters and storage, along with policies for cultivating a list that complies with applicable laws (CanSpam, GDPR, etc.) and Drexel policies. Reach out to lcbweb@drexel.edu to discuss options. All new list requests will require review through Web Services and MarComm.