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Bulk Email Guidelines

Academic class surveys and projects do not qualify for bulk email unless sponsored by a department.

Bulk email from alerts@bryant.edu are emails that contain urgent and/or critical university information, announcements of university initiatives, or newsletters. They are distributed to three university-wide target audiences: faculty, staff and students.  Email your alert request to the primary sender for your division. If the primary is unavailable, contact the backup sender for your division. If neither is available, the alert must be approved by the VP/Provost of your division and sent by Information Services.

  • Announcements should be submitted ready to email. Each request should be thoroughly proofread for grammar, spelling and punctuation, and for accuracy, especially for dates, times and places, and contact information.
  • Announcements will be released AS IS. The integrity of the message is your responsibility.
  • Specify your audience: faculty, staff, and/or students
  • Announcements should be as brief as possible: Just the facts. Links may be included.
  • Alerts must pertain to Bryant business or Bryant-sponsored campus activities only.
  • Clubs and/or organizations requesting an announcement must be officially recognized by the Office of Campus Engagement.
  • Alerts are subject to approval and sent at the discretion of the university.

Accessibility and ADA Compliance

To ensure our email communications are accessible to all members of the university community, please do not send poster or flyer images as a substitute for written text. Image‑only messages are not ADA compliant because screen readers and other assistive technologies cannot read text embedded inside images. This makes the content completely inaccessible to individuals who are blind, have low vision, or rely on assistive technology.

Why ADA Compliance Matters

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and related federal regulations require universities to provide equal access to information, programs, and services for students, employees, and members of the public with disabilities. Beyond legal compliance, we have a moral and educational obligation to remove barriers and ensure that everyone can participate fully in the university community.

Failing to provide accessible communications can:

  • Exclude students and employees with disabilities
  • Create inequitable access to important information
  • Expose the university to legal and compliance risks

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and related federal regulations require universities to provide equal access to information, programs, and services for students, employees, and members of the public with disabilities. Beyond legal compliance, we have a moral and educational obligation to remove barriers and ensure that everyone can participate fully in the university community.

Failing to provide accessible communications can:

  • Exclude students and employees with disabilities
  • Create inequitable access to important information
  • Expose the university to legal and compliance risks
Required Best Practices
  • Always include essential information as plain, readable text in the body of the message.
  • Images may be used only as a supplement—not as the sole method of communication.
  • If an image is included, it must not contain critical information unless that information is also provided as text.
  • Always include essential information as plain, readable text in the body of the message.
  • Images may be used only as a supplement—not as the sole method of communication.
  • If an image is included, it must not contain critical information unless that information is also provided as text.
Color Contrast Requirements

When creating digital content (emails, websites, documents, posters converted to PDFs, etc.), color contrast must meet accessibility standards so text is readable for users with low vision or color blindness.

Minimum requirements under WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines):

  • Normal text: Contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1
  • Large text (18pt+ or 14pt bold): Contrast ratio of at least 3:1
  • Avoid using color alone to convey meaning (e.g., “items in red are required”)

Low‑contrast text (such as light gray on white or red on green) is difficult or impossible for many users to read and should be avoided.

When creating digital content (emails, websites, documents, posters converted to PDFs, etc.), color contrast must meet accessibility standards so text is readable for users with low vision or color blindness.

Minimum requirements under WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines):

  • Normal text: Contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1
  • Large text (18pt+ or 14pt bold): Contrast ratio of at least 3:1
  • Avoid using color alone to convey meaning (e.g., “items in red are required”)

Low‑contrast text (such as light gray on white or red on green) is difficult or impossible for many users to read and should be avoided.

Helpful Accessibility Resources

Email sent from Third Party Systems

Mass emails sent to the Bryant community from third party systems such as EventBrite or Constant Contact should be avoided. Such emails must be cleared with the primary sender of your division. All third party emails must be configured by IS to avoid delivery issues.

Alternative Announcement Channels

Alerts that do not meet this criteria of urgency and/or critical university information, should seek other
methods of relaying their information, such as: