Sending Email

  • Sending Email to Large Groups (Mass Emailing)

    • UVU Policy forbids sending email that consumes “inordinate amounts” of resources.  IT interprets this policy on a case by case basis, as there is evidence of extreme pressure on the systems.  Additionally, the policy requires that an email sender have permission to send any messages to “large groups” of recipients.
      The purpose of this policy is to protect the email system from loads that may cause outages or other problems for UVU’s large email user base.  Situations that can cause problems include delays in delivery of email, running out of disk space to store email, and the sending of inappropriate messages.

    • What is the best method for sending a message to a large group?

    • What constitutes a large group?

      • Any more than the membership of one section of your own students.
      • Any more than 20-30 email addresses.

    • Why is it "inordinate" to send to large groups?

      • Sending to more than a few recipients adds a significant processing load on the sending and receiving email servers, causing delays or even outages for other email users.

    • How does one get permission to send to large groups?

      • The process is:
        1. Read and understand the rules and policies regarding mass emailing.
        2. Ask nicely and promise not to abuse the systems.
        3. You will be given access and permission to send.

    • How does one lose permission to send to large groups?

      • Send a message to a large group without permission.
      • Abuse the systems by consuming "inordinate amounts" of resources.

    • How do I send a message to my class?

      • UVLink and Banner Self-Service provides methods for instructors to send an email to all registered class members.  Individuals as well as full class messages are possible.
        1. Log Into UVLink
        2. Click on the "Home" tab in UVLink
        3. In the middle of the page, click "Registration Menu"
        4. Click on "Faculty Services" tab
        5. Click link that says "Summary Class List"
        6. Select Term and Class Section
        7. Click on the link at the bottom of the page that says "Email Class"
        8. That will bring up a New Email window with all the students email addresses in the Blind Copy field (BC)
        9. A faculty address needs to be added to the "To" line before the email can be sent

    • How do I request a bulk mailing (Mach4)?

      • First of all, be sure this is the right way to send a message. Learn about choosing the best method for sending a message to a group, or contact David Tobler (x8948) to find out if there is a better way to reach your intended audience.  Once there is an agreement that using Mach4 Mailer for your bulk email is the right way to go, you need two things:

        1. A message to send. This can be a typical bulk message, or it can contain information specific to each recipient. You need to know what you want said, and have it formatted approximately as you want it.
        2. A list of email addresses (or UVIDs) to which the message will be sent. Often these lists are created by requesting some custom programming from the Administrative Programming group. This is to be provided in an electronic format, usually an Excel file or a database format of some type.

        You will provide the information listed above to David Tobler. He will discuss with you the particulars of how and when the message should be sent and clarify any questions he or you may have. Once these messages are sent, they cannot be retracted, so be sure your data and message are exactly the way you want them.

    • Guidelines and suggestions for administrators, departments and advisors sending messages to large groups

      • In your role, you are often required to communicate with large numbers of students or employees.  Guidelines and policies restricting mass communication via email are not meant to deny nor deter your efforts to communicate with your messaging audience.  In other words, we want to help you do your job, and do it in a way that doesn’t overload the email system.  We are confident that the email systems currently in place can adequately handle the load if prudent care is taken to ensure everyone at UVU receives their email in a timely way.

        1. Please read and understand the content of this website.
        2. Many groups, mailing lists, and other facilities already exist to provide access to the majority of large groups you are trying to reach.  Please ask for help in choosing the most appropriate method to communicate with these groups.
        3. Occasionally, the methods previously provided for contacting your target audience may not provide the type of feedback or time-sensitive delivery you are seeking.  In these cases, please contact us to discuss how we can help you.
        4. Often, the mix of methods provided is based on policy or technical limitations.  Please think about how the methods that are provided can meet your needs if minor changes to your business process are implemented (i.e. planning ahead, scheduling, etc.)
        5. If you have questions about the guidelines and suggestions here, please ask.

    • UVU Mailing Lists Service

      • A mailing list is a distribution list allowing a group of subscribers to automatically receive by email all messages sent to the list.  Please follow this URL to access UVU's Mailing List Service -  Lists Service
      • Follow the links on this page for information on how to use the Lists Service - Lists Help

  • Sending Large Messages

    • Message size is limited to 25 MegaBytes (MB)

      NOTE


      Setting message size limits for email messages is required to ensure system stability and keep costs in check. E‐Mail systems administrators set the maximum message size based on several factors, related to both the environment in which the system is used and characteristics of the email system being used. UVU’s Communications Core Team has approved a limit of 25 MegaBytes (MB) for use in UVU’s e‐mail systems. The limit of 25 MB was arrived upon after researching what other email systems allow. Most corporate and public e‐mail systems allow only 5 or 10 MB, but Gmail allows 25 MB. Since many UVU employees, students, and those with whom they interact electronically use Gmail or similar services, 25 MB was chosen for UVU.

    • How big is my message?

      • To calculate your message size, take the following into account:
        • Attachments
        • HTML messages are significantly larger than text formatted messages. Fancy HTML formatting requires a lot of space.
        • Images or backgrounds included in messages are attachments.

    • Why are attachments a problem?

      • • Attachments take up more space than you think. Do the math: 500 emails x 5 MB attachment = 2500 MB = 2.5 GB stored in the email system.
        • Time and Email Backlogs: Attachments take a long time to send and receive. Each attachment is scrutinized carefully by the spam/virus filters. For example, 500 attachments x 1 minute each to virus/spam check - 500 minutes - 8 hours 20 minutes that they system can't work on everyone else's email.
        • The concept and design of email in general was never created for sending documents and files, and therefore email systems have severe limitations in functionality related to document management, storage, and transport of files. This is inherent in the email protocol. Email was meant as a medium for relatively short messages between two people.

        NOTE


        When sending messages, remember that all UVU email accounts have a quota.  It doesn't take too many attachments to fill this quota, after which, email may be rejected by the server and the recipients may not receive other important messages (For your students, this may mean Financial Aid, Registration, Tuition Notices, etc. are rejected).

    • How can message size be reduced?

      • • If possible, rather than attach a document, link to the document posted on a web site (like UVU’s UVShare system).  Documents should be kept to a smaller size on the web to minimize download time.
        • If attachments are necessary, reduce their size as much as possible. PDF files can be reduced/optimized by using tools within Adobe Acrobat.  Other document formats can also be optimized using the associated application.
        • Don't use HTML formatting unless necessary, especially with pictures, graphics, etc.
        • Keep messages brief; memorandums should be used for longer communications.
        • Don't include large, graphical, or fancy formatting of your email signature, disclaimer, etc.

    • How to I share documents?

      • How then, does a person collaborate on a large document with colleagues?  UVU would prefer that no documents were shared through email. Instead, we suggest using document libraries found in the new collaboration system called UVShare. UVShare can be accessed in a number of ways, including over the Internet via web browser (http://uvshare or http://uvshare.ad.uvu.edu). You can also map a drive to specific document libraries, create shortcuts to them, or even access these locations via your Outlook client.

    • How do I transfer big files?

      • What about transferring larger files to colleagues who aren’t UVU employees?  UVU has provided a system for transferring large files (up to 1 GB in size).  This system is called Big File Transfer (BFT).  You can access BFT by pointing your web browser at http://bft.uvu.edu.  After a file is uploaded to BFT, an email is sent to the recipient providing a link to download the file.  A link is also available to the sender in order to include it in his/her own message if desired.  Files uploaded to BFT are available to download only for one week, so server storage resources will be available to others later on.  If too large a message is sent to or from UVU’s Exchange system, the message will be returned to the sender, with a note and link, directing them to the BFT system.