Stewardship & Custodianship of Electronic Mail
University IT Policy 5.5
Summary of Policy
Cornell University owns and operates its electronic mail (e-mail) infrastructure, which must be managed for the entire university community in a manner that preserves a level of privacy and confidentiality in accordance with relevant laws, regulations, and university policy. While the university permits limited personal use of its email infrastructure, those availing themselves of this privilege do not acquire a right of privacy in communications transmitted or stored on university information technology resources.
Email custodians must not inappropriately access or disclose the content of mail transmitted or stored on Cornell-owned or Cornell-controlled information technology resources (e.g., desktop computers, routers, servers, personal digital assistants, etc.), except in the following situations: (1) as a response to a court order or other compulsory legal process, (2) in certain other circumstances only with the permission of authorized individuals or the Provost, (3) when the correspondent is unavailable and the information is necessary to conduct university business, or (4) in health and safety emergencies.
Reason for Policy
The university strives to protect electronic mail from inappropriate access or disclosure in order to contribute to the trust of university information technology systems and comply with relevant regulations, laws, and policies regarding the protection of certain types of data.
In this section
- Summary
- Procedures