Student use of Union e-mail

 

Policy:

 

The @uu.edu student e-mail accounts provided by Union University are considered an official means of communication between each student and the university's employees. Each Union University student is responsible for reading e-mail messages sent to his or her personal Union e-mail account. Each student is also responsible for responding to those e-mails, if requested.

 

 

Why...

1. Why is student use of Union e-mail being required?
2. Why can't non-Union e-mail be used?

 

Who...

3. Who is required to check Union e-mail?

 

Where...

4. Where can Union's GroupWise e-mail be checked?

 

Account creation details...

5. Which students get new accounts?
6. When are accounts created?
7. Is it possible to get accounts created for one student?
8. Why might a student not have accounts?

 

How...

9. How does a student access his network account or his e-mail account? If a student prefers to use a different e-mail address, how can he forward Union e-mail? How do students check Union e-mail when not on campus?
10. How do UU Selmer, Dyersburg, and San Francisco students access their e-mail accounts?
11. How can someone mass-mail all students for university purposes?
12. How can a student get more information or help?

 

 

E-mail is the most commonly used computer application in the world. It seems natural to require its use by all Union students and employees.

 

Questions and answers about the use of Union e-mail follow.

 

1. Why is student use of Union e-mail being required? Due to the numerical and geographic growth of the university, there is no single common communication medium that conveniently and economically unites all students, faculty, and staff better than e-mail. Resident students have campus mailboxes, but most other students do not. Paper mail is a common medium but is expensive, especially for frequent communication. Telephone service is ubiquitous, but is not convenient for contacting large numbers of students simultaneously. E-mail provides quick, free communication to one person, to one class, or to all concerned.

 

2. Why can't non-Union e-mail be used? Virtually everyone now has an e-mail account at home or at work. Though it might be possible for the hundreds of new students' individual addresses to be entered each year, each e-mail provider has its own rules for storage and transfer of messages. Some companies that used to provide unlimited e-mail now provide free service only up to a certain amount of storage space, with further messages simply being refused by their e-mail server and not being delivered. By using Union's e-mail system, students and employees can be more certain their messages will be delivered.

(For more information on this question, see question 9 below.)

 

3. Who is required to check Union e-mail? This e-mail policy applies to all students at the Jackson, Germantown, Selmer, Dyersburg, and San Francisco campuses.

 

4. Where can Union's GroupWise e-mail be checked? Students can check e-mail using any computer on the Jackson or Germantown campuses on which GroupWise has been installed. This includes university-owned computers and student-owned computers in the residence complexes. Students can also check e-mail off campus around the world at mail.uu.edu.

(For more information on this question, see question 9 below.)

 

5. Which students get new accounts? In order for a new student (or one who has been out about the equivalent of a fall (August - December) or spring (February - May) term) to get a fully functional network account and an e-mail account, four prerequisite conditions must be met.

• The student's general information must be in the central database on the HP3000 administrative information systems computer.
• Birth Date must be included in the HP3000 information, as it is used to form the student's initial password.
• Social Security Number must be included in the HP3000 information, as it is used to form the student's initial password. (Jackson-campus international students will have a Union-only Social Security Number created. It can be obtained from Union Station.)
• The student must be registered in the HP3000 for at least one credit hour.
• Note: If the student's HP3000 information does not include Social Security Number and Birth date, the accounts will be created but cannot be used until the student requests a password be set by a Computing Services staff member. The student can request the network password to be set by visiting the student helpdesk on the Jackson campus or by visiting Tabitha Washburn on the Germantown campus. This must be done before the student will be able to access the campus network or GroupWise e-mail by any method.

 

6. When are accounts created? Each student meeting the four conditions in question 5 is normally provided accounts by 5:00 p.m. the next working day after being registered for his first class.

 

7. Is it possible to get accounts created for one student? Due to the large number of accounts that are created or deleted each time, a separate, automated process is used to do this work. In general, manual creation and deletion of student accounts is not practical.

 

8. Why might a student not have functional accounts? By reviewing the process and requirements above, we can see why a student might not access to an account.

• If either Birth Date or Social Security Number data has not been entered, no initial password can automatically be created. Existence of this information on the HP3000 can be checked by departmental administrative staff (using the Student (01) BIOG screen) or by Union Station. See the last bulleted item in question 5 above.
• If a student did not get registered for his first class at Union until the day classes began or until during the Add period, he would not have an account created until he is registered and until the next time the automated process is run. Having all required information in the HP3000 is a prerequisite for getting accounts, but the accounts are not created until the next time the separate account creation process is run. Again, this process is run almost daily, so the new account should be created soon thereafter.
• If the student is returning to Union after having been out one or more fall/spring terms, his account would have been deleted. A new account will be created after all the above prerequisites have been met. Files and e-mail will not be restored from the previous account.
• If the student is taking a class at Union but is considered the student of another school (e.g., Lambuth University, Freed Hardeman University), he will not have an account created because, according to university policy, he is not entered in the HP3000 database. This is evidenced by the fact that his name is not included on university class rolls or grade sheets. Such a student must be e-mailed separately. If accounts are needed for such a student to complete course assignments, the faculty member teaching the course can request this by contacting Chris Johnson in Computing Services.

 

9. How does a student access his network account or his e-mail account? If a student prefers to use a different e-mail address, how can he forward Union e-mail? How do students check Union e-mail when not on campus?

 

Students can visit www.uu.edu/computing/and click the link titled "Answers to Union students' most common technology questions", then the link titled "What three things do ALL STUDENTS NEED TO KNOW about technology at Union?" They should first read the brief sections labeled 1a and 1b. Section 1c should answer questions about logging in and use/forwarding. If a student chooses to forward his Union GroupWise account to a non-Union address, he does so at his own risk. Union is not responsible for the handling of e-mail by outside vendors. If a message is sent to a Union e-mail address but is not forwarded/delivered to a non-Union account, the student is still responsible for its contents.

E-mail can be checked off campus at the mail.uu.edu web site.

 

10. How do UU Selmer, Dyersburg, and San Francisco students access their e-mail accounts?

 

UU Selmer, Dyersburg, and San Francisco students can access their Union e-mail accounts by using mail.uu.edu as explained on the page linked in question 9.

 

11. How can someone mass-mail all students for university purposes?

 

To coordinate mass communication with students (that is, to prevent spamming of students), all mass e-mail messages should be sent only by the Office of Student Services. A combined message will be sent to all students once each week notifying them of upcoming events.

 

a.     To request an item be included in the next weekly message, e-mail the text of the message in final typed form to Ashley Guinn and Kimberly Thornbury, no later than noon Wednesday of the week before the week the event.

b.     Suggested content and format is

-         Who the message concerns (All students, All female students, Anyone interested in (topic), etc.)

-         The name/phone/e-mail of the contact person

-         The message subject

-         The event's date(s)/time(s), when registration begins/ends, etc. (Notification of events several weeks in the future will be allowed, depending on the overall length of the combined message.)

-         The event's location, where to register, etc.

-         How much the event costs, how much time is involved, etc.

-         Web link for more detailed info

c.     A weekly e-mail will be sent Thursday morning. A header section will have a concise list of topics each day. The full text for each item will be provided below the header section. For example, next week's header might be:

-         Monday

                                                                  i.      Pottery Sale all day in SUB

                                                                   ii.      4pm Soccer game

-         Tuesday

                                                                  i.      Pottery Sale continues

-         Wednesday

                                                                  i.      Mid-term grades available via IRISLink

-         Saturday

                                                                  i.      Play in theatre 8pm

All mass-mail messages will be set to auto-delete about two weeks after being sent, removing them from the mailboxes of those students who have not opened them.

 

12. How can a student get more information or help?

 

This information will be updated when appropriate. Questions or comments should be directed as follows

-         General usage of Groupwise or mail.uu.edu; resetting passwords; other account issues:

                                                                  i.      Jackson: Student Helpdesk - x5400

                                                                   ii.      Germantown: Tabitha Washburn, Technology Support Coordinator - 901-759-0026 x126; twashbur@uu.edu

-         Installation or troubleshooting of Groupwise on student-owned computers in the Jackson-campus residence complexes: Ashley Guinn, Administrative Assistant to the Dean of Students - 731-661-5090, aguinn@uu.edu - She will make an appointment for a student worker to visit the room

-         Policy issues:

                                                                  i.      Kimberly Thornbury, Dean of Students - 731-661-5090, kthornbu@uu.edu

                                                                   ii.      John David Barham, Director of Computing Services - 731-661-5329, jdbarham@uu.edu