Columns:: E-mail distribution list being developed for major UGA news

since 12/15/98

Columns::October 29, 2001

It takes a village
Research figures show increase for fiscal year 2001
Research professor receives ‘MERIT’ award from NIH
Killer diagnosis
Gearing up for the future
Well-connected: Internet access is now in 96 percent of UGA residence hall rooms
New Peach State Poll surveys Georgians about public policy issues
Linguistics professor examines effectiveness of vernacular speech
College of Pharmacy names assistant dean for MCG pharmacy programs
Newsmakers
Heads up

Campus News

E-mail distribution list being developed for major UGA news

By Beth Roberts
beth@uga.edu

Several offices on campus are working together to build a campus-wide e-mail distribution list for major institutional announcements, and all faculty, staff and students are being asked to register a preferred e-mail address for this purpose by Nov. 1.
“When the university canceled classes Sept. 11 following the attacks in New York and Washington, we faced again the difficulty of notifying all faculty, staff and students promptly,” says Tom Jackson, associate VP of public affairs. “We notified radio and television stations, and posted the information on UGAToday. An all-campus e-mail list will give us another method of getting the word out in an emergency.”
According to Kirk Bertram, chief information officer and associate provost, a second impetus for developing a centralized list of e-mail addresses is to enable students to withdraw from courses electronically. The registrar’s office has developed a process for students to withdraw using the OASIS system, and it has been approved by University Council. Its success depends on being able to notify teaching faculty, instructors and graduate assistants by e-mail. As e-mail becomes more and more common, a central registry of usable e-mail addresses becomes as necessary as a list of campus mail addresses.
Bertram is working with Greg Ashley, director of University Computing and Networking Services, on the technical aspects of the new policy. Although details about access and control are not yet final, Bertram says it will not be used for general information that can readily be distributed through more conventional channels.
“No one wants to have to deal with several more e-mail messages a day,” he says. “I can’t imagine that this will be used more than about once a week.”
He also emphasizes that e-mail will never be considered the sole way of notifying the university community about weather or any other emergency, since e-mail sent in bulk to large numbers of people will not arrive instantaneously--it takes time to send tens of thousands of messages.
Faculty, staff and students who already have an e-mail address registered in the online UGA phonebook need take no action immediately. In the next few weeks, everyone with a registered e-mail address will receive a message at that address with instructions about how to verify that address as the preferred one.
Anyone who does not already have an e-mail address registered, or who wants to register a different address than one already registered, can register or change addresses on the Web at www.emailinfo.uga.edu. Faculty, staff and students can also indicate at that site that they do not want their e-mail address published in the phonebook, either digital or printed. The preferred e-mail address should be one that is checked by the user at least twice a week.
Staff who do not have access to e-mail as a regular part of their duties should check with their supervisor about how e-mail distribution will be handled in their unit. Department heads will be responsible for developing a procedure for disseminating information to staff members who do not have access to e-mail.
Questions about registering e-mail addresses can be addressed to the UCNS Help Desk (542-3106, helpdesk@uga.edu).

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