Use SPIRE to create, refresh, and delete a class email list. Please note:

• You must have an active OIT Account in order to use email lists created in SPIRE. Need to sign up for an OIT Account? Come to OIT Account Management, A113 LGRC Lowrise with a picture ID.
• Class email lists are generated based on current class rosters and include students enrolled in your courses at the time a list is created. Remember to update your lists as students add or drop your classes during the registration period.
• Use the automatic or manual Refresh options to obtain new copies of your lists based on the most recent class rosters. Note that any members added manually will be deleted and need to be re-added.
• Class email lists do not automatically include co-instructors or Teaching Assistants. As the list owner, the instructor who created the list in SPIRE can use Mailman, our list management software, to add other subscribers.

To create an email list, log on to SPIRE. In the left Menu, go to Faculty Home > Class Email Lists. Follow our instructions on how to create and refresh a class email list.

Once a class email list is created, use Mailman, our Web-based list management software, to add or remove students from your list and perform other list administration functions. Note: Wait for an email confirming that your list has been created before using Mailman.

From SPIRE:

1. In the left Menu, go to Faculty Home > Class Email Lists. The Class Email Lists search page will open.
2. On the Class Email Lists search page leave all fields blank and click Search. The courses for which you have a class roster available (for the current or any future term) will appear under Search Results on the same page. Click any class to go to its Create/Edit Class Email Lists page.
3. At the bottom of the Create/Edit Class Email Lists page, click List Administration page. An Administrator Authentication page will open.
4. In the List Administrator Password field, enter your UMail password, then click Let me in... The List Administration page will open.

Administer more than one list? To access all of your lists, go to http://list.umass.edu and click Manage Your Mailing Lists. You will need your UMail user name and UMail password to log in. Note: Your UMail user name is often, but not always, the same as your NetID (OIT Account user name).

Learn how to manage Mailman lists.

Mailman comes with numerous options for configuring an email list. We encourage you to browse our Mailman documentation and explore your List Administration page for general configuration options. Learn how to configure a Mailman list.

Below, please find the default settings for your list:

• Only subscribers can post messages to the list.
• If an individual not subscribed to the list attempts to post a message, the message is delivered to the list owner, then discarded.

To set up your list as an announcement tool, where only you and your TAs can post messages to the list:

1. Go to your List Administration screen.
2. Under Configuration Categories, click Membership Management.... The Membership List will open in the lower part of the screen.
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, and under Additional Member Tasks, select On for Set everyone's moderation bit, including those members not currently visible.
4. Click Set to save the changes. All postings will be re-directed to the moderator for approval. As the list moderator, you will have the option of approving or rejecting any message.
5. To apply these settings to any new members:
   • On your List Administration screen, click Privacy Options..., then Sender filters.
   • Under Privacy Options..., select Yes next to By default, should new list member postings be moderated?.
   • Click Submit Your Changes to save these settings.
6. To allow messages from certain subscribers, including yourself, to go straight to the list:
   • Under Membership List, clear the mod check box next to a member's name.
   • Click Submit Your Changes to save the new settings.

To set up your list as a discussion tool, open for everyone to contribute, without the moderator's approval:

1. Go to your List Administration screen.
2. Under Configuration Categories, click Membership Management.... The Membership List will open in the lower part of the screen.
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the page:
   • Under Additional Member Tasks, make sure Off is selected for Set everyone's moderation bit, including those members not currently visible.
   • Under Membership List, make sure the mod check boxes are not selected next to any list member.

Unlike other Mailman list owners, class email list owners (i.e., the instructors who created the list in SPIRE) are already subscribed to their class email lists.

While your students are automatically added to a class email list, you may want to add others, such as your TAs, any additional instructors, or other guests. Learn how to add subscribers.

A few things to remember:

• Send a Welcome message. In the beginning of the semester, your students will not be aware of their membership in a class email list. Your first message should welcome them to the list, explain its purpose, and include the URL for accessing list membership options (https://list.umass.edu/mailman/listinfo/listname where listname is the name of the class email list, e.g., ce-engin-290a-01-fal04 in ce-engin-290a-01-fal04@courses.umass.edu). Remember to send a welcome message to any new member you add via Mailman.
• Add your TAs. Your Teaching Assistants, teaching partners or any other guests will not be automatically added to any class email list. Don't forget to add them!
• The automatic and manual Refresh options available in SPIRE update your list by erasing its contents, and replacing it with the most recent class roster. This means that any list members added manually will be deleted. Remember to re-add them as needed.

Some students may withdraw from your course after the end of add/drop and may wish to be removed from your email list. Learn how to delete subscribers.

All class email lists will become inactive a month after the end of each semester. Lists will no longer be available on:

• July 1 (Spring semester lists)
• February 1 (Fall semester lists)
• October 1 (Summer sessions lists)
• March 1 (Winter session lists)

All messages sent to a class email list are securely archived for a period of 6 months. In this way, even after a list no longer exists, you and your students can still access its contents. Please note:

• No message can exceed 1MB. For sizable attachments, consider uploading them to the Web rather than posting them to the list.
• Messages are archived in text format. No attachments. No HTML. Make sure you include critical information in the body of your message!

To access a list's archive:

1. Go to your List Administration screen, then click Go to list archives. The [listname] Archive page will open.
2. On the [listname] Archives page, all the messages posted to your list will be archived by month.
   • For each monthly archive, you can view messages sorted by [Thread], [Subject], [Author], and [Date].
   • To view all the posts from a particular month in one document, under Downloadable version, click the [Text...] link. The messages will be listed in a .txt document.

If you encounter problems, submit an online Help Request.
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Contact the OIT Help Desk at 545-9400.