Create an Email List

What you need to know about building an e-mail list from classlists

  • You must be the "instructor of record" as coded on the Office of the Registrar instructor file. If you are unable to view a class list, contact your department office to make sure you are coded correctly on the file.
  • FERPA and ISU confidentiality guidelines apply to downloading, viewing and printing class lists as well as creating e-mail lists.

Creating e-mail lists

You can create an e-mail list that will allow you to send one e-mail to all class members. The following options are suggested, depending on your preferred features.

Account Services on the Web (ASW) allows you to:

  • Automatically create an e-mail list populated with the e-mail addresses of all students enrolled in your class who have an Iowa State Net-ID. (This requires an overnight process the first time.)
  • Use an e-mail list that is automatically updated each night with data matching the class lists available via AccessPlus.
  • Create a list with whatever e-mail addresses you wish. This option might be useful if you want to create a list of a special group of members from your class list, such as graduating seniors.

Copying and pasting e-mail addresses from a class list allows you to:

  • Create a mailing list that is current for a limited time. (It won’t automatically reflect the e-mail addresses of students who have added or dropped the class.)

Majordomo mailing list allows you to:

  • Create a list with whatever members you wish.
  • Use mechanisms to moderate mailings to and from the list.
  • Exploit features including the creation of digests of postings, archival of postings, and the ability for members to automatically subscribe themselves to the list.

Note: Majordomo requires more technical knowledge and time commitment than the other methods noted here. More information on majordomo lists is available from the solution center at http://www.it.iastate.edu/help/ or by calling 515-294-4000.

Creating a class list via ASW (Accounts and Services on the Web)

1. Logon to ASW.

2. Choose Manage Lists, then Create a Class List.

3. Choose the class list that you will use for your e-mail list. Note: you will use this list for e-mail only. For class list functions, you must use AccessPlus. (If you do not have access to your class, contact your departmental office. You must be coded as the instructor of record in the Office of the Registrar instructor file.)

4. Choose Create a classlist.

5. The student email addresses will be added to your list. This may take awhile. Do not interrupt the process. When all student emails have been added, logout from ASW.

6. The next day you can send email to your class members using the email address of "myclass@iastate.edu" where "myclass" is the name given to the list (it will be in the form: semester.dept.course[.section]). This email list will exist for at least 2 years unless you request its early removal.

Creating a mailing list via ASW (Accounts and Services on the Web)

1. Logon to ASW at https://weblogin.iastate.edu/cgi-bin/index.cgi

2. Choose Manage Lists, then Create a List.

3. Enter a name for the mailing list and a description (if you like). Click Create List.

4. On the screen that appears, click on Get Properties. Select Mail to denote this as an email list.

5. Click Get Members. Enter an email address in the field after Member. Click Add. Repeat until you have entered an email address for all the members of the list. (You could also upload email addresses from a file. See instructions in the previous section.)

6. Click Update Now. The mailing list will be created through an overnight process and available for use the next day.

Copy and paste into e-mail

1. From AccessPlus, download your class list.

2. Open the downloaded file in Excel and delete all unnecessary columns. The file should contain (at a minimum) first and last name, student ID and Iowa State University email address. If you would like to use this file as a resource (e.g., gradebook), save it.

3. Highlight and copy the column of Iowa State University email addresses from the Excel classlist file, excluding the column header.

4. Open your e-mail application (e.g., Outlook) and create a new message.

5. Paste the list of email addresses in the BCC: (blind carbon copy) field.

Remember that you will need to download your class list data each time you send an e-mail to your class to ensure that you have the most recent class list.

If you have questions, contact the Solution Center at 515-294-4000.