Lansing Community College
Procedure Details

Procedure Title: Email Communication with Students
Procedure #: RO.034
Revision #: 000

Unit Responsible: Registrar’s Office
Individual Responsible: Registrar

Effective Date: 02/16/2026
Initial Approval Date: 02/16/2026
Last Review/Update Date: 02/16/2026
Next Review Date: 02/01/2029

*Does this procedure support a Board Policy? Yes
If yes, identify: 3.030-Academic Records; 6.050-Identity Theft Protection Protection

Board policies can be found at: LCC Board of Trustees Policy Page

*Does this procedure support HLC criteria and/or Assumed Practices? Yes
If yes, identify: 2A

HLC Criteria can be found at: HLC Accreditation Criteria
HLC Assumed Practices can be found at: HLC Assumed Practices

*Does this procedure support a State or Federal Regulation? No
If yes, identify: N/A

*Note: Standard Operating Procedures should be in furtherance of some LCC policy and/or accreditation criteria, even if the relationship is not direct. Assistance in determining this information can be obtained from the Academic Procedure Advisory Committee (APAC) and/or the Accreditation Liaison Officer.

Email Communication with Students, BP 3.030 & 6.050

1. Purpose

To ensure best practices when communicating with students.


2. Scope

Applies to LCC employees who communicate with students through email.


3. Prerequisites

When communicating with active students via email, LCC employees are required to utilize the students' LCC student email account.

After students have been inactive for 3 consecutive semesters, LCC will deactivate their LCC logins and emails.  There still may be a need for students and employees to communicate via the student’s personal email to discuss academic and account information.

Because personal email accounts are outside of LCC’s security controls, LCC employees should assume a higher risk of impersonation or phishing when communicating to a student’s personal email.

LCC employees should take extra caution when verifying identity and ensuring that they are communicating to the correct student. Concerns that arise from using personal emails can include:

  1. Misdelivery
  2. Shared inboxes
  3. Account security
  4. Increased susceptibility to phishing, spoofing, and account compromise, which may result in unauthorized access to student information or fraudulent requests for information.

If a student requests information from their account after being inactivated, they should first be referred to the Reactivation webpage, which will provide information regarding how to access certain records without the need to reactivate. Further inquiries regarding reactivation may be directed to the Help Desk, if access is necessary to resolve any LCC matters.


4. Responsibilities

  • Registrar or designee – Responsible for providing training and oversight regarding email communication with students. 
  • LCC employees – Responsible for following this procedure when communicating with students.

5. Procedure

  1. When communicating via email, LCC employees will only use the student’s LCC student email, unless the student’s account has been inactivated.
    1. When the need arises to communicate to a student via personal email, LCC employee will first verify inactive status in the college SIS (inactivate checkbox in SPAIDEN under student email).
    2. If the student’s email is still active, the employee will refer the student to the Help Desk to assist them with their login information. All further email communication should be conducted via the LCC student email account once access has been achieved.
  2. If a student’s account is inactive, LCC employees will ensure that the personal email on record (within SIS – Banner SPAIDEN) belongs to the student by verifying identity through confirming full name, date of birth, and at least one other key identifier such as the street address, dates of attendance, last known student email address/username, or previously earned degree.  
  3. When preparing email communications, ensure that the content complies with FERPA. College staff should avoid sending the following information through email communications unless necessary:
    1. Grades
    2. GPA
    3. Academic standing
    4. Disciplinary records
    5. Financial aid details
    6. Disability and/or Accommodation Information
    7. Sensitive Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
  4. If sensitive academic or personal information needs to be discussed further, staff should send a notification email and request that the student use an appropriate means of contact for more information, for example, by phone, in-person, or virtual meeting.


6. Reference


7. Definitions

  • Active student – Students who have been admitted or registered within the last 3 semesters, for the current semester, or for a future semester.
  • Inactive student - Students who have not been registered for the previous 3 consecutive semesters or for a current or future semester.