Mailing List Management

Access and administration of group email lists for Columbia's users.

Google Groups has replaced simple mailing lists.
When requesting a new simple mailing list, please request a Google Group instead. These groups continue to be managed through Grouper.

Previously created simple mailing lists will continue to operate.
If you would like to convert an existing simple mailing list to a Google Group, please open a ServiceNow ticket.

🕒 Propagation Time for Changes
Any newly created Google Group, as well as any edits to these groups, require approximately two hours to fully propagate. Changes will not take effect immediately, so please plan accordingly to ensure updates are properly implemented.

CUIT offers mailing lists to the Columbia community to facilitate email communications, to be used either as a distribution list to communicate with a larger group, or as a contact address that directs mail to the individuals responsible for handling inquiries for a larger entity. Depending on your needs and affiliation, three types of lists are available: LionMail Mailing Lists (Google Groups), and Listserv Lists.

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After you determine the best fit, CUIT will create your mailing list with the name of your choosing (if available), allowing you to populate and administer the list yourself.

👥 Student Requests
Columbia University students must have faculty or staff sponsorship to request and administer a mailing list. Once created, both the student and sponsor will be designated as admins to prevent orphaned lists when students graduate.

⚠️ Important for CUIMC Users
If you plan to use a mailing list for CUIMC recipients, please be aware:

  • Emails sent to mailing lists that include CUIMC email addresses may fail to deliver, especially to domains with strict DMARC reject policies (e.g., .gov addresses).
  • To ensure reliable delivery, you must contact the CUIMC IT Support Desk to request a CUIMC-compatible mailing list.
  • If you move forward with a CUIT @columbia.edu mailing list for CUIMC recipients, CUIT cannot guarantee mail delivery and will not be able to troubleshoot issues.

🔗 For more information, visit the URL Collaborative Email Solutions - CUIMC IT

🚫 Avoid Account Suspension
If you send emails to a large number of recipients without using a proper mailing list (such as a Listserv), Google and Microsoft may flag your activity as spam and suspend your account. Always use an approved mailing list to avoid service disruptions.

Mailing list options

LionMail Mailing Lists are Columbia's implementation of Google Groups. Administrators manage membership using the Grouper web application instead of the Google Groups web application. Administrators can control who is a manager or a member of the LionMail Mailing List by assigning privileges in the Grouper app. All other mailing list settings (posting permissions, moderation, etc.) are still controlled by the LionMail Groups web application.

LionMail Mailing Lists are good for groups up to 100 members. Users without Gmail or a columbia.edu email address may be added as members to LionMail Mailing List, but LionMail Mailing Lists are best suited for groups of LionMail users so that the Google Drive and the collaborative inbox features can be leveraged.

LionMail Mailing Lists can also be used as a collaborative inbox to distribute and track responsibility for topics among the group's members. These features are especially useful for technical support or customer service teams. For example, you can create a group with the address [email protected], add your support staff as members, and allow people outside your organization to send messages to the group. Your support staff will receive your customers' messages, and they can do any of the following from the group's Topics view:

  • Assign responsibility for a topic to a member of the group
  • Mark a topic as resolved
  • Edit the tags associated with a topic
  • Filter topics according to tag, resolution status, or assignee
  • You can add an out-of-office auto-reply

For more information on using a LionMail Mailing List as a collaborative inbox, visit learn.googleapps.com/groups.

It is ideal for groups with a large number of recipients (typically 100+). They offer more robust features than Grouper lists, including subscription management (subscribe/unsubscribe), message archiving, and sender moderation. These lists are powered by the Listserv software and are managed through a web-based interface. Managed listserv lists should not be used for day-to-day or casual email communication.

For routine exchanges, Google Groups is better suited and provides a more flexible environment for ongoing discussions and collaboration.

 

Request a mailing list

To have a mailing list created, please use the appropriate Request Fulfillment link below:

Please have your faculty or staff sponsor create the request if you are a student.

After your mailing list has been created, the list administrator (you or whoever is set as an administrator by the list requester) will need to add the group's members to the list and continue to manage that list going forward.

If you have any additional questions, please submit a ticket to the CUIT Service Desk and include the following information:

  • Type of list you need (LionMail/Google Group, or Listserv)
  • The approximate number of list recipients
  • Group name (e.g., Columbia Checkers Club) and email address (e.g., [email protected]); must be at least four characters long
  • Purpose of the mailing list
  • UNI(s) of the administrators of the mailing list

FAQ

  1. In Grouper, an administrator must designate the group members that should be allowed to send mail as administrators.This will update their LionMail Group role to manager.
  2. In LionMail Mailing Lists (Google Groups), a manager must open the relevant group's settings.
  3. Navigate to Permissions in the left-hand navigation menu, and select Posting Permissions.
  4. Update the Post and Reply To Author sections to Managers of the group.
  5. Click Save at the top of the page.