Mailing Lists

A mailing list is a group of names and addresses used to send emails to multiple recipients. Emails sent to a mailing list are forwarded to the members (subscribers) of the list.

Types of Mailing Lists

There are three types of mailing lists at K-State:

Office 365 Contact Groups

Group of email addresses saved in your email client. With a Contact Group, you can send an email to multiple people – a project team, a committee, or students in your course. Contact groups store a list of people or groups you want to send an email to. You can use a group to send the same message to multiple contacts without having to enter each contact separately in the message. The group will be saved in your Contacts folder. Groups that you create in your Contacts folder aren't available to other users. Follow these step-by-step instructions to create Contact Groups.

Outlook for Mac

Outlook web client (Office 365 webmail)

Distribution Lists

Basic mailing list typically used for group communication. A distribution list has a K-State email address and is best used for internal, group communication. It is a no-frills distribution list; messages sent to the distribution list are then sent to members of the list. Lists can be set up so that messages sent to it are forwarded to another email address. This is often used for email addresses that are publicized for marketing or other purposes. Distribution lists were previously known as email aliases. The maximum number of email addresses in a distribution list is 200. If you need more than 200 email addresses, a LISTSERV is a better option. Advantages of a distribution list are:

Only the contact person can add/remove members; members cannot add themselves.
The list can be managed in eProfile using your K-State eID and password.
Can act as an email alias; messages sent to the list can be forwarded to another email address.

Also see Distribution Lists vs. LISTSERV Mailing Lists

LISTSERV Mailing Lists

Advanced mailing list with subscription and privacy options. A LISTSERV mailing list offers subscription, privacy, email limits and other options. Advantages of a LISTSERV mailing list:

Members can be added by the list owner or can self-subscribe.
Convenient web interface for managing list options and subscriptions.

Note: Requests for automatically updated LISTSERV mailing lists must be approved by the Division of Information Technology.

Also see Distribution Lists vs. LISTSERV Mailing Lists

Note: There are multiple options for enrollment-based communications:

Instructors can communicate with their students through various tools in K-State Canvas using the Inbox or Photo Roster to contact students via email or Announcements, Discussions, or Chat to communicate via the course space.
Office365 provides the ability to set up an email group you could manage yourself, as another alternative.
An automatic enrollment-based LISTSERV can be created for cases that these two options are not sufficient.

Contact the IT Service Desk: Search the Knowledge Base, Submit a Ticket, or Start a Live Chat for assistance or questions about these options.

Request a List

Note: Only faculty and staff can submit requests for mailing lists.

Mailing List Help

See Mailing List Help and Support for more information.