From: Sangeeta Bishop <Sangeeta.Bishop@cuny.edu> Date: Tuesday, April 8, 2025 at 12:52 PM To: Sangeeta Bishop <Sangeeta.Bishop@cuny.edu> Subject: FW: Brightspace Email Tool Configuration – Change in Messaging Permissions Dear Chairs, Please see message below about a change in the email feature in Brightspace. Please share with your faculty. Best, Sangeeta _________ Sangeeta K Bishop, Ph.D. Interim University Dean for Faculty Affairs City University of New York (CUNY) 205 E. 42nd Street, 9th floor New York, NY 10017 646-664-8068 Sangeeta.Bishop@cuny.edu<mailto:Sangeeta.Bishop@cuny.edu> https://www.cuny.edu/academics/faculty-affairs/ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ From: Leizel Vergara <Leizel.Vergara@cuny.edu<mailto:Leizel.Vergara@cuny.edu>> Sent: Monday, April 7, 2025 4:49 PM To: LMS-Admin <LMS-ADMIN@LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU<mailto:LMS-ADMIN@LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU>> Cc: CO-LMStransition <LMStransition@cuny.edu<mailto:LMStransition@cuny.edu>> Subject: Brightspace Email Tool Configuration – Change in Messaging Permissions Dear LMS Admins, We are writing to inform you of a change in the Brightspace Email tool configuration. Background and Rationale The Office of Academic Affairs recently reviewed messaging permissions in our LMS following an incident where a student sent an unsolicited mass email to the broader university community. While the message was course-related, this ability to message users beyond course rosters raised concerns about platform misuse, data privacy, and operational consistency. Currently, Brightspace's default configuration allows all users to contact individuals outside their enrolled courses through the email tool feature. This functionality presents risks related to spam, miscommunication, and unintended exposure of email addresses. Approved Change CUNY leadership has approved a system-wide configuration change to restrict the email tool feature for all Brightspace roles, including students, faculty, staff, and teaching assistants. Users will retain messaging functionality within their course (via the Classlist), preserving necessary academic communication channels. This change supports our institutional goals of minimizing unsolicited messaging risks, enhancing privacy and FERPA compliance, and standardizing messaging protocols across all campuses. Implementation and Impact This change will be implemented centrally without requiring additional tools or integrations. Please note that colleges that have hidden the Classlist tool should be aware that this may inadvertently disable student messaging. To reverse this, instructors can customize their NavBar to make the Classlist visible again. The Office of Academic Affairs will coordinate with CIS to update all documentation and support materials accordingly. This change will be implemented on Friday, April 11th. Reference: [?docx icon] Background Document on this decision<https://cuny907.sharepoint.com/:w:/s/OfficeofAcademicTechnology/EdW6hCGUzV1Ot1BQM_hWZssBk08X3OT4POecrrJmTKhcdg>. Sincerely, LMS Transition Project Team Best, Leizel -- Leizel Vergara-Spagnola, PMP Director of Academic Technology Operations, Office of Academic Affairs For Updates on the LMS Transition to Brightspace, visit: cuny.edu/lmstransition<http://cuny.edu/lmstransition>
