Email is an asynchronous form of communication. That means that email is not delivered immediately when you send it, that there is a delay time receipt of email and my reading of it, as well as a further delay between me reading it and having enough time to write a proper response.
That’s all to say: do not expect an immediate response to email.
I try to get back to all people who email me within 24 hours. Clearly, that does not always work out, but I do my best. Having said that, please note the following:
If you want to report a cybersecurity issue, please email infosec@adelphi.edu for a faster response or call the IT Help Desk at (516) 877-3340.
Please use my PGP key if you want to send me encrypted email. See my about page for a keyslip.
Please review my expectations for emails sent to me.
If you are emailing me about a course that I teach, please let me know which course (and section) your question pertains to. I do my best to learn all your names, but sometimes it is good to hit me over the head with it. I am not easily offended, so don’t worry about being afraid that you might hurt my feelings :-)
If you are a current student and you are looking for assistance, always use
your official @mail.adelphi.edu-address. I will not respond to
random addresses that I cannot verify. That’s the law (FERPA), sorry.
If you are a parent, please ask your child to use their official Adelphi email address to contact me. Even with a FERPA-waiver on file in the Registrar’s Office, I will not respond to you. I am a parent of a college-aged student as well, so I know how annoying that is. Please note that I do not do this to irritate you or to just be a bit petty. Since I have no way to verify who you are, this is the only way in which I can protect your child’s privacy.
Email is asynchronous. That means that there is always a delay between when I receive your message and me sending a reply. If you wish to meet with me in realtime, come to my office hours.
Email is treated according to a priority queue. The table below is a guideline.
| Priority | Description | Target response time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Same day |
| 2 |
|
24 hours (Mon – Fri) |
| 3 |
|
1 – 3 business days |
| 4 | Everything else | Within a week, likely longer (if at all) |
Some messages will be deprioritized. That includes repeated requests for the same issue, over-enroll requests and requests that are more appropriate for office hours or class time.
During specific crazy times (planning and registration, for example), I may have to give up on email altogether for a while. If that happens, I’ll have an autoresponder up.
Please do not leave voicemails for me. It is likely that I won’t get them on time. If you wish to speak on the phone, call the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at (516) 877-4476.
If you simply wish to have a form signed, leave it with Mrs. Vikki Desiderio in SCB 413. She’ll let you know when it is ready for pickup. The whole print-scan-email back routine got old pretty quickly during the pandemic and is much more work for me than simply signing a paper form. Likewise, we’re not set up to effectively sign digital copies. The workflow typically does not support it. Drop off the form, and come get it when it is ready.
Do not expect a response between Friday afternoon 4.30 pm and Monday morning 9.00 am. It might happen, but it isn’t guaranteed to.
Monday and Wednesday are heavy days for teaching and meetings. It is unlikely that you’ll get a quick response on those days. I’ll monitor my inbox and respond to time-sensitive messages, but issues that can wait until the following day will have to do so.
Messages from students who are taking classes with me, or from professors in my department will be answered first. Next, I will answer any inquiries related to me being chair of the department, or those of prospective students. My third priority goes to students who are not taking classes with me. Anything else goes last.
During open planning, you can make an appointment to review your course schedule and register for classes. I will help you outside this designated interval, but you are not my first priority.