FAQs: Directed and Formal Email (D-mail)

What are "Formal" University Communications?
To which groups may "Formal" e-mail messages be sent?
What is d-mail?
What is required to process a d-mail request?
How do I place an order for d-mail?
What information can I put in the mailing?
Who decides what "Formal" messages may or may not be sent?
Is a specific format required for "Formal" University communications?
How do I send a "Formal" message to University students, faculty or staff?
What can I expect?
Can I be sure that every student, faculty, or staff member will receive the "Formal" message?

What are "Formal" University Communications?

Formal University communications are mass e-mailings to faculty,staff, and students that may include general announcements, human resources information, policy messages, budget updates, and other information. These e-mails must be approved by the University President or Vice Presidents.

To which groups may "Formal" e-mail messages be sent?

Formal bulk e-mailings may be sent to faculty, staff, and students, or any combination of these 3 groups. These "formal" communications are of general interest and importance and are meant for general distribution to faculty, or staff, or students only.

What is d-mail?

D-mail stands for Directed Email. The Office of Information Technology is now providing a service to send directed email to targeted groups of campus members. All D-mails require an appropriate VP signature before they will be sent.

What is required to process a d-mail request?

Receive VP approval to send D-Mail
Identify Subject, From: and Reply to:
Audience the d-mail is intended for (enrolled students, faculty, etc.)

How do I place an order for D-mail?

Once you have composed your message according to the D-mail Guidelines for Mass Emails and D-mail Mass Mailing Best Practices and are ready to send it, you can begin the mass mail process.

Contact the cognizant VP of the audience to whom the d-mail will be sent to and get approval to send the message.
Fill out a Request for Mass Email - make sure to complete every field. You will need to Login with your UNID and password. If you intend to send multiple mailings, fill out a separate Request for each mailing.
Click the Submit button at the bottom of the Request Form. You should see a new screen with the notice: Your request has been submitted.
You will receive an auto-reply and an OIT representative will contact you within 24 hours to verify the VP approval and the format of the d-mail
Allow 2-3 business days for your D-mail to be sent once the mailing list is compiled.

Note: If you do not see the " request submitted " page, then there are incomplete fields on the Request Form. You will see a notice in red letters at the top of the Request Form, e.g., Please provide a valid email address in the FROM field . Enter the information to complete the form and click Submit again.

What Information Can I Put in the Mailing?

The information in the email is up to you. Review the D-mail Guidelines for Mass Emails and D-mail Mass Mailing Best Practices. It must be approved by the cognizant VP for the intended audience, so make sure it is the kind of email that will be considered appropriate for campus.

Who decides what "Formal" messages may or may not be sent?

The cognizant Vice President or the University President must approve the content and delivery of 'mass' e-mailings, including D-Mail, that will be sent to groups under their jurisdiction. For example, email to faculty would be approved by the Senior Academic Vice President or designee.

Is a specific format required for "Formal" University Communications?

Yes. Besides the body of the message, the e-mail must include the following elements: (a) subject line, (b) "To" the recipient population, i.e., to: faculty, staff, students, (c) "From" the message originator, (d) a return/reply address, and (e) the delivery time and date. Attachments cannot be sent using this system. However, your message may include a link to other web pages containing information which normally would have been included as an attachment.

How do I send a "Formal" message to University students, faculty or staff?

Please see the D-mail web page for guidelines and procedures on sending D-mail.

What Can I Expect?

There are hundreds of e-mail servers on campus and thousands of recipients. As a result, the delivery of bulk mailings will take more time than you have personally experienced when sending or receiving an individual message. That said, you can expect your "Formal" communication to reach each recipient within one half of a day after it is sent by NetCom.

Can I be sure that every student, faculty, or staff member will receive the "Formal" message?

Our ability to reach every person is dependent on whether or not they have kept their personal directory record up-to-date. While we are making every effort to ensure that each student, faculty or staff member has an e-mail address in the directory, problems do occur. Individuals sometimes change their e-mail address without updating the directory. Some people never check their e-mail. So keep in mind that people are people.

To make this system more effective, we encourage all students, faculty and staff to update their records with a current e-mail address. Using their uNID and Password, individuals can update their e-mail address at Campus Information System (CIS).

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