A knowledge base article about What is the bCourses Mailing List? provided by the UC Berkeley IT Service Hub - Knowledge Portal
The bCourses Mailing List is a communication option that provides instructors the ability to send messages from their email application, rather than using the Inbox in bCourses. These lists are updated daily, using the enrollments in the People tool.
Important information
- Emails sent to a bCourses Mailing List will not be stored or archived within bCourses; they are saved in the email application that you are using to send messages. For students, the message goes directly to their email.
- Only instructors (those who have the Teacher, TA, Lead TA, or Reader roles in bCourses) will be able to send messages using the mailing list; students will not be able to send to it, but they will be able to reply to the instructor's email address.
- All users in a bCourses site (including Observers) will receive messages sent to a bCourses Mailing List.
- bCourses Mailing List membership is refreshed once daily.Instructors will need to use their "official" email address when sending a message to the list, otherwise, if another email address used, the message is bounced back. To find out what your official email address is, go to the Campus Directory and search for your record.
How do I get a mailing list for my course?
Instructors can create their own bCourses Mailing List using the following steps:
- In the Navigation tab on your course Settings page, enable the Mailing List tool within your class (general instructions on this process are available on the Canvas Guide: How do I manage Course Navigation links?).
- After enabling the Mailing List tool in your course, select the "Mailing List" link in the left-hand navigation menu of your course.
- Review the name/address of your list, then select the blue "Create Mailing List" button. The page will refresh, and the email address for your bCourses Mailing List will be displayed.
Why do I get an error when trying to create a bCourses Mailing List?
An error will occur if you try to create a bCourses Mailing List with the same name as an existing list. To fix this, please change the name of your list/address.
What are my other options for communicating with my students using bCourses?
There are various tools in bCourses to fit different communication needs. This help article provides a summary of these tools to help you decide which to use, and when: Getting Started with bCourses: Communicating