UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 20, Page 10
February 20, 1992
Students receive access to electronic mail, bulletins

     Matriculated students at the University can now take advantage
of computer electronic mail service, enabling them to communicate
electronically with faculty and each other and to read on-line
information bulletin boards, Susan Allmendinger has announced.
     Each student now has an electronic mailbox and enough computer
time per semester to make extensive use of electronic mail and
information bulletin boards, she said.
     Students wishing to use the new service should take their
valid University I.D. cards to 002A Smith Hall, between the hours
of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Mondays through Fridays. There, they will
find an I.D. card reader and computer, which will validate their
access and open their mailboxes with their personal passwords,
Allmendinger explained. A mailbox is assigned for as long as a
student remains continuously enrolled at the University.
     Faculty and staff who do not already have an electronic
mailbox also may activate personal electronic mail service in this
way, she said.
     In mid-1990, the University administration charged a Student
Computing Initiative Committee with recommending ways to increase
student access to information and computing resources. "Universal"
electronic mail was one of the committee's recommendations.
     During the fall of 1990, Harry L. Shipman, professor of
physics and astronomy and director of the Center for Teaching
Effectiveness, conducted a study using electronic mail as the
primary out-of-class means of communication with a class of 400
students. Shipman said that more than half the students exceeded
the minimum required assignment of three electronic mail massages
to him.
     One of the many advantages to this means of communication is
that messages, which do not require all parties to be present to
use or understand them, can be sent when thought of and answered
when thought out, Shipman reported.
     The potential to improve the face-to-face time that faculty
and students spend together in class, during office hours, by
special appointment, or in chance meetings is greatly enhanced, he
said.
     For more information about the electronic mail service, call
CNS User Services at 831-1205.
     To learn more about using this service to enhance teaching,
call the Center for Teaching Effectiveness at 831-2027.