All Purchase College students, faculty, staff and administrators have a College email account.
Communications methods: The College’s Email System (Outlook/Exchange) and our Web site provide four distinct electronic communications channels, each of which is suited for different purposes. You may want your audience to contribute as well, but you may not want them to be able to ‘quit’ the list, nor others to join it. There is no single ‘best’ method - you must consider the purpose and your audience and choose the proper method, or methods. Some are public, some conversational, some passive and some active:
Exchange Distribution Lists (DL): for secure and required top-down communication
• Uses exchange addresses only.
• Every class has a DL automatically created for it
• (i.e. SP06-LWR1010.20@purchase.edu each semester. Faculty do not have to create their own lists. Three semesters worth of lists are available, past, present, and future. The first two characters tell you what semester (SP=Spring, FA=Fall) and the next two tell you what calendar year the list is for (SP06=Spring 2006).
• Provides receipt/read tracking.
• Users cannot opt out of list.
• Individuals can create their own DLs with fewer than 30 recipients; larger DLs must be created by CTS and populated by the list manager.
• Can limit to certain users or moderate contents
• Official business should be limited to DLs so that sensitive data and communications are secure from viruses and do not get sent outside of the campus to a commercial providers with spotty security. DO NOT EMAIL SSNs OR OTHER SENSITIVE INFORMATION - it could easily fall into the wrong hands.
• DLs are an ‘active’ method of communication since materials are received via email.
ReddFish Listserve: for optional or off-campus multi-directional communication
• uses any email addresses – on campus or off.
• provides recipients ability to join/quit the listserve.
• Listserves can be moderated by the list manager, or they can be a free-for all.
• Lists are created by CTS and populated by the list manager.
• Listserves should not be used for sensitive communications or official business since the materials may leave the campus.
• Listserves are an ‘active’ method of communication - materials received via email.
Portal: home.purchase.edu: For optional top-down communication
• VPs, deans, directors or their delegates can post messages.
• Messages are public and viewable to anyone on campus.
• Good for announcements, events, reminders – does not clog up mailbox space.
• Non-specific audience – you don’t know who’s looking at it
• Not suitable for sensitive or secure communications.
• The Portal is a ‘semi-passive’ method of communication; users see it every time they start up their Internet browser.
Planet.Purchase.edu (Wiki/Blogs): optional multi-direction communication within the Purchase Community
• Http://Planet.Purchase.edu is a Wiki - a web site that anyone from the college community can add, edit, or contribuite to. The Wiki consists of topical spaces such as Classifieds and interest groups, and each space can be moderated, or they can be a free-for all. Each Space also contains a Blog (called News) that can be continually added to.
• Comments posted to pages on the Wiki are threaded (an original posting may have related replies).
DLs are automatically set up for:
All students in each class
All students in a major
All students in each academic division
All faculty in a Board of Study
To set up a DL:
• Call the Helpdesk x6461 and request a DL
• Specify whether you want an Exchange DL, a newsgroup, or a Reddifish list for off campus addresses.
• Identify the group and the individuals you want to include
• Identify the Manager for the group
• Do you want to moderate the group (see messages before they are disseminated)
• Identify who should be authorized to send to the group
To use a DL from off campus or via OWA:
Send to group.name@purchase.edu - no special characters
To use Real Outlook @ Home:
• Microsoft Campus License provides Work at home rights - See the CTS website for instructions on getting your copy for your home computer
• Choose “Exchange Server Support” when Installing Office
• If you have Office 2003 at home, you can use full outlook via RPC over HTTP (See CTS Web site)
OWA Issues
Outlook Web Access (OWA) provides full access to your email, calendar, and public folders from any computer with an Internet connection anywhere in the world. Just go to http://mail.purchase.edu
AOL Issues
• OWA is just a web site, AOL’s browser has problems rendering it. Try Firefox or Internet Explorer
• If you must, connect to AOL, then minimize their browser window and start up IE and go to http://mail.purchase.edu
To Activate YourFaculty / Staff Campus account:
• Call Helpdesk at x6465, Make an appointment to come to CTS to activate the account and receive a quick overview and documentation. Faculty and staff online activation will be available soon (in the meantime, call the CTS helpdesk to make an appointment.)
Students Can Activate Their Accounts Online at studentservices.purchase.edu
Faculty and Staff Can Activate Their Accounts Online at paws.purchase.edu .
Blackboard Course Management System is available for your use.
• Post Syllabus, assignments, readings, links, quizzes, bulletin board discussion group, etc
• Students access Blackboard as a web site using their browser
• Blackboard uses the same UserID-password as your campus account
• Contact ITC at x6267 for more info, or to set up a Blackboard site for your course.
ERes Electronic Reserves System is available as well.
• Post required readings, links, quizzes, etc
• ERes uses the same UserID-password as your campus account
• Contact ITC at x6267 for more information or to set up an ERes site for your course.