Terms of Service

Last updated: 6/15/2022

Services

RamsConnect is THE student engagement platform for campus life activities at VCU for all members of the campus community. Students engage with clubs and organizations, departments, teams, and more on RamsConnect.

RamsConnect users can:

• Search VCU Student Orgs and Department groups
• View, search, and register for events via the VCU Calendar of Student Activities
  Connect with peers, faculty, and staff with shared interests
• Connect with peers, faculty, and staff with shared interests
• View, search, and register for events via the VCU Calendar of Student Activities
• Connect with peers, faculty, and staff with shared interests

Communication

As a RamsConnect user, you will receive email communications about student organizations, campus activities, and other involvement related information, such as newsletters, notifications, and event marketing information. However, you may opt out of receiving any, or all, of these communications by following the unsubscribe instructions provided in any email received through RamsConnect.

Privacy and Personal Information

VCU is committed to information privacy. VCU has a contract with RamsConnect that designates RamsConnect as a university official and authorizes RamsConnect to use the student information provided by VCU only for the purpose of fulfilling its contract obligations to VCU. VCU provides student VCU email addresses to RamsConnect.

Users can customize their user profile and change their privacy settings in RamsConnect.

For more information on VCU student privacy rights and other university policies, please visit:

VCU Privacy Policy

VCU Disclosure of Student Contact Information

FERPA Compliance

Disclaimer

As the user, you are responsible for the content that you share on RamsConnect. Your use of RamsConnect must be consistent with university policies and law. You will be responsible for any posting in violation of applicable law or university policy. Consider, for example, copyright laws and the VCU Student Code of Conduct, which prohibits using electronic or other means to make or disseminate a video, audio, or photographic record of any person(s) where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy without the person's consent.

University staff will report user content or posts suspected to violate applicable policy or law to the university officials or law enforcement authorities responsible for enforcement.

Contact Us

For questions related to RamsConnect, please contact ramsconnect@vcu.edu.

RamFeed Usage Policies

The RamFeed allows you to engage and network with the VCU Community. This space is provided to share news about upcoming events and activities and to facilitate connections between students with similar interests.

As the user, you are responsible for the content you share on RamsConnect. Your use of RamsConnect must be consistent with university policies and laws. The Community/Newsfeed may not be used to post any content that violates applicable law or university policy. You will be responsible for any posting violating applicable law or university policy.

University staff will report user content or posts suspected of violating applicable policy or law to the university officials or law enforcement authorities responsible for enforcement.

Any content that violates the VCU Student Code of Conduct will result in the author being referenced to the Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity for review.

RamsConnect Platform-Wide Communication Guide

Procedure Statement and Purpose

This procedure describes the requirements for distributing information to all members of a VCU audience group via RamsConnect. The purpose of the procedure is to identify individuals authorized to send such emails as well as the appropriate content of messages in order to ensure that RamsConnect emails are timely, relevant, coordinated and properly vetted for content and quality.

Who Should Know This Procedure

Employees of Virginia Commonwealth University who utilize RamsConnect are responsible for knowing this procedure and familiarizing themselves with its contents and provisions.

Definitions

• Audience Groups - Include all faculty, all staff, all students or substantial segments thereof.

• RamsConnect Email - An email sent to all or substantial segments of faculty, staff, or students through the RamsConnect email system by a designated or authorized sender.

• Designated or Authorized Senders - The only individuals authorized to send a RamsConnect email to audience groups.

• Member of the University - An individual employee of VCU or a specific division, unit or subunit of the university.

Contacts

The Division of Student Affairs officially interprets this procedure. The Division of Student Affairs is responsible for obtaining approval for any revisions. Please direct procedure questions to the Division of Student Affairs.

Policy Specifics and Procedures

1. Designated or Authorized Senders

Only trained employees who have administrator access within RamsConnect (collectively referred to as “authorized senders of RamsConnect emails”) are authorized senders of RamsConnect emails to audience groups. All others must be approved by the Division of Student Affairs. Requests for RamsConnect email approval should be sent to ramsconnect@vcu.edu. A response will be provided as soon as practicable.

2. Audience Groups

Authorized senders of RamsConnect email are permitted to define at their discretion the segments of RamsConnect audience groups to whom RamsConnect email is to be sent. RamsConnect audience groups may be further narrowed (e.g., students may be segmented by year; involvement on campus; school/unit, etc.). Messages must be consistent with VCU’s nondiscrimination policy.

3. Criteria for RamsConnect Email Content and Subject Lines

RamsConnect email use must be limited and restricted to announcing programs, events and other important related information that is pertinent to audience groups. RamsConnect email use should not solely be used if at least one of the following is met: Urgency. (Urgent messages would be those that require immediate action and/or pertain to safety, health, or crisis situations); Required by law or regulation; Subject lines for RamsConnect emails must be brief and must include relevant information that describes the intended purpose of the email. For example: Update, Announcement, Action Required by, News and Information.

4. Exceptions to this policy may be granted by the Division of Student Affairs. Requests for exceptions must be submitted to ramsconnect@vcu.edu. A response will be provided as soon as practicable (generally within two business days).

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why do we have/need this procedure?

A: This procedure is designed to ensure RamsConnect emails are timely, relevant, coordinated and properly vetted for content and quality.

Q: Can external third-party products (such as Constant Contact or MailChimp) be used to send mass mails to defined audience groups (i.e., all faculty, all staff, etc) at the university?

A: No. Although (subject to any applicable university policy) third party tools may be used by university divisions, units and subunits to send emails, those tools cannot be used to avoid this policy. The exception to that rule is if members of the university community voluntarily add themselves (opt in) to an email list.

Q: Who decides what gets sent out?

A: The Division of Student Affairs will strive to provide the proper training and guidance for VCU employees utilizing RamsConnect as a communications tool. Ultimately, the Division of Student Affairs has discretion as to what can and will be sent as a RamsConnect email.

RamsConnect Homepage Banner Request & Guidelines

The RamFeed allows you to engage and network with the VCU Community. This space is provided to share news about upcoming events and activities and to facilitate connections between students with similar interests.

• If you are interested in promoting an event or program on the RamsConnect Homepage (via a banner), the following criteria must be met and a request must be submitted at least two weeks before the event's start date:

• The event or program must open to a large population of the VCU student body for an extended period of time (ex: Weeks of Welcome, Homecoming Week). Important announcements and programs can also be considered for a Homepage banner, as long as they are relevant to the VCU student body (ex: SGA Student Elections).

• All of the events included in the promotion must be uploaded and finalized with complete information in RamsConnect, including basic information (title, description, location, time, registration, etc.) and an event photo. All of the events must have real audience contact time, regardless of delivery format (i.e. no announcements or sign-ups created as events).

• A custom image/graphic to be used for the promotional banner on the Homepage for the overall event or program promotion. This image must be 750 x 300 pixels and should include the event title, date(s), time, location, and group name.

• Please submit a request by emailing ramsconnect@vcu.edu.

Additional Information:

• The RamsConnect system administrator will work with you to finalize the banner settings and answer any questions before it is approved or added to the Homepage.

• The promotional banner can be posted on the Homepage for the full duration of the event/program dates and can be posted up to one week before the first event start date.

• Specific event information can be added or changed up to one day prior to the event start date, but should remain completed with all of the event information mentioned above. Access restrictions can also be set based on targeted audiences, but generally promoted events/programs should be open to all VCU students.

Event Posting Guidelines

Events that are posted in RamsConnect should meet all of the following guidelines:

• The Event should be tied to an actual event that takes place at the specified date, time, and location (whether it be virtual or in-person).

• Most Events in RamsConnect should be single-day events. If you are creating a Multi-Day event, it should be divided up into the separate events that are occurring each day rather than one Event in RamsConnect.

• If the Event is a regularly repeated event (like a weekly meeting), there should be a separate Event in RamsConnect for each occurrence. If the same event will be repeated, you can use the Recurring Event feature when creating/editing the first Event.

• A RamsConnect Event should not be created or used to make an announcement, call for participation/interest, or be used as a sign up form. These types of things can be utilized in RamsConnect, but would be better created as a RamFeed post or a Survey/Form.

If an Event in RamsConnect does not meet these guidelines, the Group/Host of the Event will be asked to edit the Event to satisfy the requirements or it will need to be removed from RamsConnect.

Contact Us

For questions related to RamsConnect, please contact ramsconnect@vcu.edu.