Dynamic Distribution Groups for College Communications


To streamline and enhance internal communications across campus, IT has introduced dynamic distribution groups for college-wide email messaging. These groups are powered by real-time membership algorithms and automatically update as individuals join or leave the institution. This ensures your messages always reach the correct audience without the need for manual updates.



📋 Current Distribution Groups


Group Name Description
DIST-ALLEMPLOYEES All faculty and staff employees
DIST-ALLFACULTY All full-time and part-time faculty
DIST-ALLSTAFF All full-time and part-time staff
DIST-ALLSTUDENTS All students (CU and CE combined)
DIST-CESTUDENTS Continuing Education students
DIST-CUSTUDENTS Curriculum students
DIST-FTFACULTY Full-time faculty members
DIST-FTSTAFF Full-time staff members
DIST-PTFACULTY Part-time faculty members
DIST-PTSTAFF Part-time staff members


🧩 Understanding the Acronyms

  • FT = Full Time

  • PT = Part Time

  • CU = Curriculum (traditional academic programs)

  • CE = Continuing Education (short-term or non-credit programs)


✅ When to Use These Groups


Use these distribution groups when you need to:

  • Communicate with specific employee categories

  • Target student groups based on program type

  • Ensure messages reach the correct audience without accidental misses


For example:

  • Need to notify all employees of an urgent update? Use DIST-ALLEMPLOYEES.

  • Want to invite only part-time faculty to a training? Use DIST-PTFACULTY.

  • Hosting an event for Continuing Education students? Use DIST-CESTUDENTS.



🔒 Access is Limited


To maintain security and reduce the risk of phishing, spam, or accidental mass messages, access to send messages to these groups is restricted. If your role requires the ability to send to any of these distribution groups, please submit a work order by visiting:

📬 https://support.robeson.edu

Once approved, IT will assign appropriate permissions based on the scope of your responsibilities.


✉️ Best Practice: Use BCC


When sending messages to large groups, it is strongly recommended that you place the group email address in the BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) field rather than the To or CC field. This protects the privacy of recipients and helps avoid accidental reply-all storms.


How to Use BCC in Outlook or O365:

  1. When composing a new message, click Options in the ribbon.

  2. Click BCC to make the BCC field visible.

  3. Enter the distribution group in the BCC field.

  4. In the To field, you can leave it blank or add your own email address.

By using BCC, recipients will not see who else received the email, and any replies will come only to the sender.



📎 Need Help?


If you're unsure which group to use or encounter delivery issues, please contact the IT Help Desk.