BC_All Email Listserv Guidelines

Printable Guidelines

BC_all is a moderated email distribution list that encompasses all employees of Bakersfield College (BC). Users submitting messages for approval are required to adhere to the following guidelines. Please note that not all submitted messages will be approved, and the approval process may take up to 48 hours. Messages may not be approved outside of regular business hours on campus.

Notes:

  • The President of Bakersfield College grants authority to approvers to uphold and ensure compliance with the guidelines for the distribution list.
  • Messages originating from sources outside of Bakersfield College or the Kern Community College District will be declined.
  • Messages will only be approved outside of business hours in cases of urgency or emergencies.
  • Matters not explicitly covered in these guidelines shall be at the discretion of the approvers.
  • Messages intended for the student body including direct department or program announcements or events, shall be publicized via the student government weekly e-newsletter.
  • Students are not subscribers of BC_all
  • All employees of BC are automatically subscribed and cannot unsubscribe.

Guidelines for Approving Messages

  1. Messages must be for the sole purpose of college employees to communicate only work-related information to all employees.
  2. Messages must contain information relevant for all employees.
    • Messages geared towards a certain segment of the campus community are to be sent via their appropriate employee distribution group.
      • Each employee distribution list is unmoderated and is not subject to BC_All’s guidelines. Appropriate professional decorum is required when using all BC distribution groups.
  3. Messages and attachments must meet Accessibility standards per Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act as amended §508. Email submitters are responsible to ensure that their email is accessible before sending.
  4. All messages must include appropriate contact information.
  5. Allowed messages include (but not limited to):
    • System interruptions.
    • Department/service closures.
    • Campus issues and updates.
    • Human Resources announcements.
    • On-Campus Bakersfield College and co-sponsored events.
    • Announcements to be conveyed to students.
  6. Messages that will not be approved include (but not limited to):
    • Non-BC related Sales or side businesses.
    • Lost pets or lost items.
    • Non-BC related or community events.
    • Emails or attachments which are not accessible.
    • Replies or forwarded messages.

Tips for Making Emails Accessible

  • Link text must be human readable out of context.
  • Images, including logos, must have alt text.
  • Attachments must be accessible. Documents use a heading structure, PDFs are appropriately tagged, images have alt text, link text is human readable, etc.

Link Text

Link text should be representative of where the link will take the reader and understandable out of context of the surrounding text. In other words, it should be able to stand on its own. URLs (web addresses) do not meet this requirement.

Learn more about Link Text. 

Alt Text for Images

Use images that have little to no text. If your image has a lot of text, you will need to also include the information in the text around it. Images must have alt (short for alternate) text. To learn how to add alt text see Improve Image Accessibility in Outlook from Microsoft.

Images must be in the body of the email, not as an attachment. It is not possible to add alt text to an image attachment.

Logos in your signature are images and must also include alt text.

Tips for Alt Text

  • Alt-text depends upon the context and surrounding text.
  • Make it descriptive and succinct of the meaning the image conveys.
  • Keep it to 100 characters or less.
  • Avoid images with text, but if you have to use one, the text needs to be in the alt-text if it is not in the surrounding text.
  • Do not start with "image of" or "picture of".
  • End with a period so the screen reader will pause.
  • Do not repeat what is in the surrounding text.

Resources for Alt-Text

Accessibility Center Resources