General Regulations
Accommodations and Assistance
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is strongly committed to complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act and assuring that no qualified individual is by reason of disability, excluded from participation in or denied the benefits of any services, programs, or activities provided by the University. The Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) provides reasonable accommodations to persons with disabilities whenever necessary to afford otherwise qualified students access to services, programs, or activities. The Director of Affirmative Action, Dr. Barbara Wofford, holds the responsibility of ensuring University compliance with ADA. For more information, please come by the OSD office located at 110 Frist Hall, or call (423) 425-4006.
Student Email Guidelines
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga adopts email as an official means of communication with students.
Each student, upon enrolling, is issued a UTC email account with an address on the utc.edu domain. This is the account used for University business and official University communications to students. Students are expected to regularly check their UTC accounts for University communications. Students may use the UTC account for personal communication at their discretion.
Students may also, at their discretion, routinely forward email from their UTC account to a personal account. They should keep in mind that UTC email may be more secure than other email systems.
UTC accounts remain the property of the State of Tennessee. The University reserves the right to disable accounts after graduation or other severance from the University.
The expanding reliance on electronic communication among students, faculty, staff, and administration at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) is motivated by the convenience, speed, cost-effectiveness, and environmental advantages of using email rather than printed communication. Because of this increasing reliance and acceptance of electronic communication, email is considered an official means for communication.
Implementation of these guidelines ensures that students have access to this critical form of communication. These guidelines seek to ensure that all students can access email as the need arises.
These student email guidelines regard the following aspects of email as an official means of communication: University use of email; assignment of student email addresses; and student use of and responsibilities associated with UTC email.
- University use of email
Email is an official means for communication within UTC. Some communications may only be made by email. Therefore, the University has the right to send communications to all students via email and the right to expect that those communications will be received and read in a timely fashion. - Assignment of student email addresses
UTC will assign all students an official University email address. It is to this official address that the University will send email communications; this official address will be the address listed in the University’s records database for that student. - Redirecting of email
A student may have email electronically redirected to another email address. If a student wishes to have email redirected from his or her official UTC address to another email address (e.g., @aol.com, @hotmail.com, etc.), they may do so, but at his or her own risk. The University will not be responsible for the handling of email by outside providers. Having email redirected does not absolve a student from the responsibilities associated with communication sent to his or her official email address. For assistance in this process contact the Help Desk at 425-4000. - 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 University communications. The University provides a limited amount of storage space so students are expected to manage (read, delete, file, etc.) their accounts accordingly. The campus recommends checking email several times a week at a minimum, in recognition that certain communications may be time-critical. - Educational uses of email
Faculty expect that students’ official email addresses are being accessed, and faculty may use email for their courses accordingly. Faculty members determine how email will be used in their classes. Faculty may have email requirements and expectations that they specify in the course syllabus. - Appropriate use of student email
Email is not appropriate for transmitting sensitive or confidential information. All use of email will be consistent with the Administrative Guidelines Statement on Use of Electronic Email and UTC’s Acceptable Use Practices. Confidentiality regarding student records is protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). All University use of email will be consistent with FERPA guidelines.
The Office of the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Information Technology will review these guidelines as needed. Changes will be authorized by the approval of the Information Technology Coordinating Council and the Chancellor’s Executive Council. Students with questions or comments about these guidelines should contact the UTC Help Desk at 425-4000.
