Guides and Guidelines

Much of your job will be writing emails to administrators you haven’t met. This is your chance to make a good first impression, and so it’s helpful to know the conventions. The following little guide has never steered us wrong!

1. Always start the email with “Dear”.
2. Titles vary depending on the position of the person:
   1. Students are always referred to by their first name
   2. Faculty (as in teaching/standing faculty) are always “Professor [LAST NAME]”
   3. Staff without a PhD are usually just by first name, unless they’re over 65 in which case they’re Mr./Ms. Last Name.
   4. Staff with a PhD are always Dr. Last Name.
   5. House Deans and all other Dean-ranked officials are always addressed as “Dean” Last Name.
   6. High-ranking administrators (those of VP rank or above) are usually not contacted by email at all, certainly if you don’t know them. If you do contact them, their title goes first – so “Vice-President Rush”, or “Provost Price” and so on.
   7. Always address women, if you use their feminine title, as “Ms.” and never “Mrs.”
3. If you’re cold-emailing the person, always begin by introducing yourself. Pertinent information includes your name, your school, your year, and what organization you’re representing.
4. Then, in that same paragraph, tell us what you’re emailing them “in regards to”.
5. Para 2, make your request. Always, always use “please”. The best phrase is “please may I”, but anything in the subjunctive is fine.
6. Never put anything substantive in an email. If you’re describing a problem, just say that your constituents have raised concerns and you want to follow them up by having a meeting. Substantive emails are off-putting and no-one has time to read and respond to them.
7. Make your email short and sweet.
8. Avoid ostentatious language and hyperbolic statements. Avoid sounding patronizing in general.
9. Always end the email with some variation on “thank you”. I like to close with “many thanks,” but other variants are “cheers”, or saying “thank you very much!” and then going “regards”.
10. Sign off with just your name.
11. Have an email signature which includes your postal address, your phone number, and your school email. Ideally include your title, but this is not necessary.
12. Proofread! Proofread! Proofread!

Example:

Dear Val,

My name is Michael Krone, and I am a Junior in the College and member of the Undergraduate Assembly. I’m writing in regards to the student government budget, specifically whether it will be increased this academic year. Would it be possible for us to meet and discuss this? I’m generally free on Mondays and Fridays after 12pm.

All the best,

Michael

Below are the guidelines that the Undergraduate Assembly will use in considering political issues. These guidelines represent different criteria that the body uses to evaluate each resolution. The items below are guidelines, rather than binding rules. However, resolution authors should strive to adhere to these standards when presenting proposals to the body.

1. Student Focused. The issue being addressed should affect students in their capacity as students on the University’s campus.
2. Impact. The Undergraduate Assembly should take a stance if, and only if, taking a stance on the issue has a reasonable chance of impacting the actual policy under consideration.
3. Process. In the process of writing a political resolution student groups with varying views on the issue should be invited to share their views and work together with the authors to shape the resolution.
4. Legal Standing. The resolution should not support or oppose a particular bill or act. The resolution may, however, reference a bill or act.

Penn student government is decentralized. While this may frustrate some, this has proven to be the best way of becoming experts in very niche ways to give the most to the university and student body. With this in mind, and remembering that each branch is, completely, independent of the others, it is important to remember that leaders and members of different branches are experts in their particular fields, having worked in their organizations for years, operating with as much passion as you have tackled issues on the UA. Due to all of this, please observe the following when reaching out to members of other branches or writing discussion papers regarding best practices of PSG.

1. Recommend, never require. Again, each branch is independent. Other branches want to do the best they can to provide great services to the student body. Your advice can be a huge part of that. You are a direct, elected, representative of the student body. However, each branch has its own expertise. They know what is feasible and what is not within their realm of student government. Besides, the UA, constitutionally, has no authority to directly require another branch to do something that it does not want to.
2. Never blind-side another branch. Anything that is to appear on the agenda must be submitted to the Secretary in writing by the Thursday night prior to meetings. When submitting things regarding other branches, CC the branch heads. This will allow the other branch to prepare a response and allow you to get the most out of your discussion come Sunday night.
3. CC Exec or Committee Directors. Whenever directly contacting a head of another branch of PSG, first email UA Executive with a draft of the email. We will get back to you with approval or edits. Once you do send the email to a branch head, you must CC UA Executive. If you are contacting members of other branches that are not on their respective Executive boards, this is not necessary, but a courtesy of CC’ing your committee director should be observed if the email is involving official UA business.
4. Follow the email guide. Observe the correct usage of email and the guide to writing emails to administrators found on the Lobbyist Online. Think of branch heads as administrators within their own right. They receive many emails, and will be most happy to reply when they receive a concise, properly written email.
5. Never be afraid. Do not let these guidelines reduce your contact with other branches. We work best when we work together and keep each other informed. Simply ignoring other branches will benefit no one, but observing these courtesies will guarantee your projects are successful.