Faculty: Use UNT's Bulk E-mail Service to Communicate With Students

By Claudia Lynch, Benchmarks Online Editor

Academic Computing Services launched a bulk E-mail service this past summer to facilitate better communication between UNT faculty and administrators and students. UNT Bulk Mail can be useful to you because it will allow you to use a simple Web page interface to send E-mail to students in any of your classes. Here are some brief instructions on using the bulk mail system.

The only resources you will need for sending bulk E-mail are a Web browser connected to the Internet, your EUID (Enterprise User-ID), EUID password, and your Internet E-mail address. If you don't know your EUID, visit: https://getlogin.unt.edu/cgi-bin/whatsmyeuid -- your password is your UNT ID number.

To send Bulk E-mail:

1. Go to the Bulk Mail Website (http://www.unt.edu/bulkmail/) and log in with your EUID and password.

2. Click on "Send Mail by Enrolled Courses."

3. Set the options for which classes you want to send mail etc. (only your classes will be visible to you).

4. Click on "Create Message"

5. Create and send your message as instructed.

Because this is a bulk mail system, messages are not guaranteed to be sent instantaneously, although they might be. They will likely be sent within three hours but may be sent much sooner than that. You will receive confirmation that your message has been sent to the E-mail address you gave when you sent the message.

In order for students to receive the bulk E-mail you send they must have activated their UNT Student E-mail Service, called EagleMail.

EagleMail: They've got to have it!

As you can see, the UNT Bulk Mail system can be a great benefit to you and your students. In fact, a new University policy (#18.5.7 http://www.unt.edu/planning/UNT_Policy/volume3/18_5_7.html) says that students are responsible for reading their E-mail frequently enough to receive important communications from the University. The only catch is that if your students don't activate their EagleMail accounts, they cannot receive your E-mail. If a student already has a UNT Internet Account (or jove account), then they already have access to EagleMail. We are asking for your help to spread the word to any students that haven't activated their accounts.

Please encourage your students to apply for an EagleMail account by visiting the eaglemail.unt.edu Website.

EagleMail provides a number of benefits to students over commercial E-mail services. Please convey some of these benefits to your students.

EagleMail...

...will deliver directed important and official information.

Part of EagleMail is the ability of professors and administrators to send out messages to groups of students with similar interests, whether those groups are all the members of a class or all graduating seniors. We can send information, which applies to them more quickly and accurately by E-mail than by traditional means.

...saves paper and promotes school spirit.

There's nothing greener than EagleMail. It helps the environment by saving on the amount of paper that the University must mail out each year. There's no better way for a student to connect with their professors and fellow students than EagleMail.

...is free with UNT enrollment.

There are no special fees for EagleMail. All they have to do to use it is to activate their account.

...is accessible from labs, home, or anywhere on the Internet.

Students can use EagleMail anywhere they have access to the Internet. The General Access Labs located in 10 different buildings all over campus makes it easy to quickly read mail between classes.

...requires no special software.

EagleMail now includes a Web browser client. If students have access to a Web browser, they have access to EagleMail.

...is reliable and backed up.

EagleMail is running on highly reliable hardware and software and we're continuing to improve its reliability. All mail messages are backed up nightly.

...provides a UNT E-mail addressbook.

EagleMail is the best place to look for addresses of friends and professors on campus.