It is the intent of Southwestern Community College and the Board of Trustees to provide efficient services for its employees, students, and also for the public. The Board of Trustees encourages College officials and students to use electronic means, especially electronic mail, when conducting College business when those means result in efficient and improved service.

Therefore, the Board of Trustees adopts this policy to encourage the acceptance of electronic signatures in e-mails from college campus accounts.

An electronic signature is defined as an electronic process attached to, or logically associated with, an electronic record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record. Specifically, this includes communication through college issued e-mail accounts but does not require the use of digital signatures which simulate handwritten signatures. The College will accept electronic signatures from employees, students, and prospective students so long as the signature is related to an e-mail account provided by the College and which bears the College's domain name. The College will not accept electronic signatures from private domain e-mail accounts.