Effective Jan. 1, a new policy at CU-Boulder will establish CU e-mail as an official means of sending information to students.
The policy states that all students will receive an official e-mail account from the university and students are responsible for maintaining their official CU e-mail address.
The new policy was discussed and approved by the UCSU legislative council last spring. Edo Cohen, a tri-exec for the CU Student Union said, "The students are aware that a standardized form of communication, such as e-mail, will be beneficial to students as it will clear up any confusion about using different e-mail addresses."
Students will be responsible for checking their official CU e-mail addresses, which are listed in PLUS, or they can redirect their official e-mail address to another account, if they choose. However, the university will not be responsible for handling e-mail by outside vendors or by departmental servers.
Students can activate their accounts, change passwords and redirect their mail using PLUS, the Personal Lookup Service through which students are able to access their billing, grade and course records at .
"The purpose of this policy is to enhance communication with our students who are increasingly mobile and adept at using this form of technology," said Michael Grant, associate vice chancellor for undergraduate education.
"Faculty, administrators and staff can increasingly use university e-mail to notify students of class assignments, campus emergencies, programs and services, but many students use e-mail accounts other than the official CU-Boulder e-mail account and therefore are not receiving important pieces of information," he added.
The new policy outlines that students are expected to check their official CU-Boulder e-mail address on a frequent and consistent basis. It is recommended that students check e-mail once a week at a minimum, in recognition that certain communications may be time-critical.
CU-Boulder also is developing guidelines and best practices for using e-mail as a means of communication. "Students should not be inundated with e-mail," said Bobby Schnabel, associate vice chancellor for academic and campus technology. "By developing best practices and guidelines we hope faculty, staff and students use e-mail in a judicious manner."
Students also are encouraged to sign up for the new WebMail system, a Web-based browser that is user-friendly and offers e-mail access from multiple locations as well as more space for saving e-mail.
For more information on the student e-mail policy, call (303) 492-3864 or (303) 735-5225 or visit the Web site at . To verify their official e-mail address, students should logon to and visit the email and passwords section.
For help with e-mail services, call the ITS Service Center at (303) 735-HELP or send an e-mail to itsc@colorado.edu.