Submitting a Broadcast Communications Request

Audience

System Office Information Technology Services staff who need to send broadly targeted communications to members of the Minnesota State community.

Purpose

Helps ensure broadly targeted messages follow a consistent, approved format using the ITS Communication Template. It applies only to enterprise‑wide or large‑audience communications and does not apply to narrowly targeted messages or internal groups (such as ITEvents).

Message Approval Requirements

Before submitting a broadcast request:

• ERP‑related messages must be approved by the System Director of Software Development or their designee.
• Messages to the entire Minnesota State community must be approved by the Associate Vice Chancellor or their designee.
• Approval must occur before the Announcement Request is submitted.

Timing of Broadcast Communications

Broadcast communications are sent 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday–Friday. Requests received after hours are sent at the start of the next business day.

Communications for major incidents follow the Major Incident Procedure, which includes immediate notifications, status updates, and resolution messages, even outside of business hours.

Using the ITS Communication Template

All broadcast messages must follow the required template structure and include:

• Message source (from) – who approved the message and the team sending it
• Target audience (to) – listserv(s) or Outlook groups (*if not sure, do your best to describe the audience)
• Message subject – category + classification + description
  • Category - identifies the system(s) impacted (ISRS, Network, StarID, etc.)
  • Classification
    • Urgent – emergency, time‑sensitive notices
    • Informational – general ITS updates
    • Action Needed – user must complete a task
    • Resolved – issue previously reported is now resolved
    • Production Release – software released to production
  • Description - very short description of the communication or issue, possibly effective date(s)
• Message content:
  • Message Summary - short summary with effective date/time
  • Message Detail - information to be shared
  • Contact information - who to contact for questions (if different from the Enterprise Service Desk)

Submitting an Announcement Request

1. Open the predefined Announcement Request Outlook template.
2. Address the email to SO‑Announcements.
3. Update the subject line “Announcement Needed by [date/time]” to reflect the required send-by deadline.
4. Construct the message using the ITS Communication Template (see above).
5. Send the email request.

Questions

Submit a service request using the"Broadcast Email (Listserv)" service.