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Mailing Lists

Mailing Lists

Service Description

Mailing lists are a feature of email that allow a user to post a message to a group of users by means of sending to a single email address. The single email address (or list address) is expanded to a group of email addresses associated with that list.

Lists are for University business purposes only.

The following mailing list services are available:

Staff Lists

  • Automated Lists
  • Self-Managed Lists
  • All Staff List
  • JISCMAIL (the National Academic Mailing List Service)

Student Lists

  • Course Lists
  • Specified Lists (using SRS data)
  • Ad-hoc Lists
  • Self-Managed Lists
  • All Students Lists

Other Lists

  • smallads

Details for Staff Lists

Automated Lists

Microsoft Exchange Online (part of Office 365 suite) provides email distribution groups that are listed in Outlook Address Book (GAL). Membership is governed and updated nightly by the HR database. They provide School or Departmental staff lists aligned to Human Resources.

Lists include the ability to add individuals not already in the automated group.

See here for features.

Enquiries as to whether a School or Department email distribution group can be created in Exchange Online, and so visible in Outlook Address Book (GAL), should be directed to the IT Service Desk - myit.abdn.ac.uk.

Self-Managed Lists

Mailman allows you to manage self-service mailing lists in support of valid University activities, e.g. for a research project, social or interest group, project or work groups (i.e. transient lists) – via a web interface.

Mailman lists can contain:

  • Staff
  • Students
  • External Members (using email addresses)
  • Combinations of the above

See here for features.

Guidance on list administration is available at www.abdn.ac.uk/staffnet/working-here/it-services/communications.php, under the Mailing Lists tab.

All Staff

List - Staff mailing list is provided for the circulation of information to all University staff. This list is moderated by the Communications Office. To send a message to this list, contact communications@abdn.ac.uk

JISCMAIL

The National Academic Mailing List Service offers the facility for creating and maintaining wider discussion lists, open to academics and researchers on a national level.

See www.jiscmail.ac.uk for further details.

Details for Student Lists

Course Lists

Auto-generated student course lists, based on Student Records System (SRS) data, are available via the appropriate VLE (Virtual Learning Environment):

Lists are updated nightly.

Specified lists

Lists can be created in and are based on parameters within the Student Record System (SRS). Parameters are as follows:

  • School
  • Discipline/Qualification
  • Individual Programme
  • Course
  • Student type (UG and/or PGR and/or PGT)
  • Programme Year
  • Session (First Half Session, Second Half Session, Both Half Sessions)
  • Personal Tutor/Supervisor

For example:

  • All students on programme X who have XX as a personal tutor
  • All Year 1 PGRs in School of Social Sciences

Ad-hoc lists

Members of staff may also request from Registry one-off emails are sent to a specific cohort, based on Student Record System parameters (e.g. all students in a School who have a home address in a specific country). Registry require 10 days’ notice for such requests. Contact studentrecords@abdn.ac.uk   

All Students

Mailing lists are provided for the circulation of information to all students or student types (i.e. undergraduate, all taught postgraduates, or all research postgraduates). Lists are moderated by the Communications Office. To send a message contact communications@abdn.ac.uk

Other Lists

smallads - a mailing list for the circulation of small advertisements and other non-University business information within the University of Aberdeen. The list is open to University staff and research postgraduates. To subscribe/unsubscribe, visit https://mlisthost.abdn.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/smallads/

Features of each service

Automated Lists

  • Automatic nightly update of list memberships according to HR data
    • (Note: you cannot add/remove members which are managed automatically using HR data)
  • Internal members only
  • Based on Admin Units, Schools, or Disciplines
  • Can include all staff, or filter by Core, Honorary, or Temporary
  • Can add and remove extra members
  • Moderation of posts
  • Restrict posts
  • User and Admin interface through OWA
  • Visible in Outlook Global Address List

Self-managed Lists

  • Self-subscription
  • Approval of addition and removal of members
  • Internal and external members
  • Moderation of posts
  • Restrict posts
  • User and admin interfaces through Mailman GUI
  • Delegation of list management
  • Archiving

Course, Specified, and Ad-hoc Lists

  • Automatic membership management from Student Records
  • MyMBChB, MyBDS and MyPA specific:
    • Message Scheduling for future dates and times
    • Personalise messages using ‘smart fields’
    • Message Priority Settings and Read Receipts
    • Delivery reports

Users

  • Staff
  • Honorary staff

Level of Service

Availability

  • 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Backups

  • Mailing lists managed by Mailman are backed up nightly.

Restrictions

  • Mailing lists managed by Mailman are not visible in the Global Address List (GAL) in Outlook or OWA.
  • Default message size limit:
    • Mailman – 2MB, or as set by list Administrator.
    • Exchange Lists – 25MB, or 2MB if >= 5000 recipients (after expansion).
  • Permission to post to restricted mailing lists must be sought from the list administrator.
  • Emails sent to VLE Mailing Lists must be composed in the VLE, there is no email address to send messages to.

Support and Documentation

Request Process

User Responsibility

Costs

  • Mailing Lists are provided free of charge.