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 at: https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-2555)
- After enabling the Mailing List tool in your course, click the "Mailing List" link in the left-hand navigation menu of your course
- Click 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 are trying to create a bCourses Mailing List if one has already been created for the same course. The error will look something like this: "A Mailing List cannot be created for the site [NAME OF COURSE]. List name [MAILING LIST NAME] is already in use by another Mailing List." This often happens when there are multiple sites for the same class where a mailing list has already been created.
To fix this, please rename your course site. Instructions for renaming a course site are in this Canvas Guide: How do I change a course name and course code? After renaming your site, please try creating the mailing list again.
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