Skip to main content
Back to LUC.edu
Information Technology Services

Electronic Mail and Voicemail Use and Disclosure

Policy Statement

This document sets forth Loyola University Chicago's policy regarding access and disclosure of email or voicemail sent or received by university faculty, students, and staff through Loyola's email and voice mail systems. It also sets forth policies on the proper use of these systems. While other Loyola policies do address the issues of information privacy and use of university resources (see Related Policies at Loyola in this document), there are aspects of email and voicemail which these policies do not address that are addressed in this document.

Definitions

Not applicable.

 Policy

Permissible Uses of Electronic Mail and Voicemail

Loyola provides email and voicemail to its faculty, students, and staff for educational, research, health care, and internal business purposes. Members of the Loyola community should limit their use to these purposes.

Persons outside the Loyola community may be given access to Loyola email and voicemail on a case-by-case basis by special authorization from Information Technology Services and under certain conditions, including adherence to this and other applicable policies.

The use of email and voicemail at Loyola should comply with other University policies regarding computing facilities and disclosure of information. This includes Loyola policies on the authorized use of public computing facilities, ethical conduct for computer use, and handling of confidential information.

Official Business Email Usage

Loyola University Chicago mandates that all official business emails will be sent exclusively to your official university email address. It is the responsibility of all employees to regularly check their university email and respond promptly to any necessary communications. Faculty members are strongly advised to use their university email address for all correspondence with students and to include this email address in their syllabi.

Confidentiality of Electronic Mail

Loyola cannot guarantee the confidentiality or privacy of email or voicemail messages and makes no promises regarding their security. Decisions as to what information to include in such messages should be made in accordance with the Data Classification Policy.

The following elements guide the administration of email and voicemail as it relates to confidentiality:

  • Administrative Activities: Loyola reserves the right to conduct routine maintenance, track problems, and maintain the integrity of its systems. As is the case with all data kept on Loyola University Chicago computer systems, the contents of email or voicemail messages may be revealed by such activities.
  • Monitoring: Loyola University Chicago does not monitor the contents of email or voice mail messages as a routine matter. However, such monitoring may be conducted when required to protect the integrity of the systems or to comply with legal obligations.
  • Directed Access: Loyola University Chicago reserves the right to inspect the contents of email and voicemail messages during an investigation triggered by indications of impropriety or as necessary to locate substantive information that is not readily available by some other less intrusive means. Loyola University Chicago will comply with all legal requirements for access to such information.

Limitation on Disclosure

Any third-party disclosure of the contents of email or voicemail obtained according to this policy will be limited unless such disclosure is required to protect the integrity of Loyola University Chicago systems or to comply with legal obligations.

Violations

The use of email and voicemail services is a privilege granted to Loyola University Chicago faculty, staff, and students. Loyola University Chicago reserves the right to revoke this privilege in case of policy violations.

Related Documents and Forms

Not applicable.

Roles and Responsibilities

Jim Pardonek, Director and Chief Information Security Officer

Enforcing the Policy at the University by setting the necessary requirements.   

 Related Policies

Please see below for additional related policies:

  • Security Policy
  • Student Handbook
  • Employee Handbook
  • Ownership and Use of Data

Approval Authority:

ITESC

Approval Date:

April 1, 2006

Review Authority:

Jim Pardonek

Review Date:

April 9, 2025

Responsible Office:

Information Security and Compliance

Contact:

datasecurity@luc.edu