Google Groups for VCE and CALS
Virginia Tech uses Google Groups for group emailing. In the past, they used LISTSERV™, and people often refer to the Google Groups as "listservs."
Statewide Groups
| Google Group | Audience |
| cals-system-g@vt.edu | All CALS employees (Does not include VCE employees outside CALS) |
| cals-faculty-g@vt.edu | All CALS faculty (Does not include VCE employees outside CALS) |
| cals-staff-g@vt.edu | All CALS staff (Does not include VCE employees outside CALS) |
| vce-4h-g@vt.edu | All 4-H employees |
| vce-4hcenters-g@vt.edu | 4-H Center employees |
| vce-allstaff-g@vt.edu | All VCE faculty and staff |
| vce-anr-g@vt.edu | All ANR employees |
| vce-fac-g@vt.edu | All VCE faculty |
| vce-fcs-g@vt.edu | All FCS employees |
| vce-fieldsec-g@vt.edu | Most support staff in the districts |
| vce-fnp-g@vt.edu | FNP employees across the state |
| vce-specialists-g@vt.edu | VCE Specialists |
Center Groups
| Google Group | Audience |
| vce-airfield-g@vt.edu | Agents and UAAs in units that camp at the Airfield 4-H Center |
| vce-holiday-g@vt.edu | Agents and UAAs in units that camp at the Holiday Lake 4-H Center |
| vce-jamestown-g@vt.edu | Agents and UAAs in units that camp at the Jamestown 4-H Center |
| vce-northern-g@vt.edu | Agents and UAAs in units that camp at the Northern 4-H Center |
| vce-southwest-g@vt.edu | Agents and UAAs in units that camp at the Southwest 4-H Center |
| vce-weskelton-g@vt.edu | Agents and UAAs in units that camp at the W.E. Skelton 4-H Center |
Central District Groups
| Google Group | Audience |
| vce-cdist-g@vt.edu | All Central district employees |
| vce-fnp-cdist-g@vt.edu | FNP employees in the Central district |
| cdist-4h-g@vt.edu | 4-H agents in the Central district |
| cdist-anr-g@vt.edu | ANR agents in the Central district |
| cdist-fcs-g@vt.edu | FCS agents in the Central district |
| cdist-uc-g@vt.edu | Unit Coordinators in the Central district |
| cdist-uaa-g@vt.edu | Unit Admin Assistants in the Central district |
Northern District Groups
| Google Group | Audience |
| vce-ndist-g@vt.edu | All Northern district employees |
| vce-fnp-ndist-g@vt.edu | FNP employees in the Northern district |
| vce-ndist-4h-g@vt.edu | 4-H agents in the Northern district |
| vce-ndist-anr-g@vt.edu | ANR agents in the Northern district |
| vce-ndist-fcs-g@vt.edu | FCS agents in the Northern district |
| vce-ndist-uc-g@vt.edu | Unit Coordinators in the Northern district |
| vce-ndist-fieldsec-g@vt.edu | UAAs/field secretaries in the Northern district |
Southeast District Groups
| Google Group | Audience |
| vce-sedist-g@vt.edu | All Southeast district employees |
| vce-fnp-sedist-a-g@vt.edu | FNP employees in the southern portion of the Southeast district |
| vce-fnp-sedist-j-g@vt.edu | FNP employees in the northern portion of the Southeast district |
| vce-sedist-4h-g@vt.edu | 4-H agents in the Southeast district |
| vce-sedist-anr-g@vt.edu | ANR agents in the Southeast district |
| vce-sedist-fcs-g@vt.edu | FCS agents in the Southeast district |
| vce-sedist-uc-g@vt.edu | Unit Coordinators in the Southeast district |
| vce-sedist-fieldsec-g@vt.edu | UAAs in the Southeast district |
Southwest District Groups
| Google Group | Audience |
| vce-swdist-g@vt.edu | All Southwest district employees |
| vce-fnp-swdist-g@vt.edu | FNP employees in the Southwest district |
| vce-sw-4h-g@vt.edu | 4-H agents in the Southwest district |
| vce-sw-anr-g@vt.edu | ANR agents in the Southwest district |
| vce-sw-fcs-g@vt.edu | FCS agents in the Southwest district |
| vce-sw-uc-g@vt.edu | Unit Coordinators in the Southwest district |
| vce-sw-staff-g@vt.edu | Non-agent positions (UAAs, support staff, part time) in the Southwest district |
Errors when sending
If you get a notice that some recipients did not get your message, this only applies to the specific addresses in the error message. Others in the group should have gotten your message. If you get an error that you are not authorized to send to the group, you can try emailing group name+owner@vt.edu to ask why and if you can be authorized. (E.g., vce- specialists-g+owner@vt.edu) This will send your email to the owner of the group. Other error messages do not even apply to your message at all. (It is not clear why Google sends these.) You do not need to notify anyone of these errors.
Joining VCE and CALS Groups
| Group Name | How to Join | |
cals-system-g |
Maintained by CALS IT based on Banner settings; need permission of administration to join if not automatically added. (Does not include VCE employees outside CALS) | |
| cals-faculty-g | Maintained by CALS IT based on Banner settings; need permission of administration to join if not automatically added. (Does not include VCE employees outside CALS) | |
| cals-staff-g | Maintained by CALS IT based on Banner settings; need permission of administration to join if not automatically added. (Does not include VCE employees outside CALS) | |
| vce-4h-g | If you're subscribing a vt.edu address, send an email to vce-4h-g+subscribe@vt.edu and follow the instructions in the email you receive. If you want to subscribe a non-VT address, contact your AIT (or Kathy Sealander, if you're not in a district). | |
| vce-4hcenters-g | Contact Sam Fisher. | |
| vce-allstaff-g | Maintained by CALS IT based on Banner settings; need permission of administration to join if not automatically added. | |
| vce-anr-g | If you're subscribing a vt.edu address, send an email to vce-anr-g+subscribe@vt.eduand follow the instructions in the email you receive. If you want to subscribe a non-VT address, contact your AIT (or Dan Goerlich, if you're not in a district). | |
| vce-cdist-g | If you're subscribing a vt.edu address, send an email to vce-cdist-g+subscribe@vt.edu and follow the instructions in the email you receive. If you want to subscribe a non-VT address, contact Cheryl Austin. | |
| vce-fac-g | Maintained by CALS IT based on Banner settings; need permission of administration to join if not automatically added | |
| vce-fcs-g | If you're subscribing a vt.edu address, send an email to vce-fcs-g+subscribe@vt.edu and follow the instructions in the email you receive. If you want to subscribe a non-VT address, contact your AIT. | |
| vce-fieldsec-g | If you're subscribing a vt.edu address, send an email to vce-fieldsec-g+subscribe@vt.edu and follow the instructions in the email you receive. If you want to subscribe a non-VT address, contact your AIT. | |
| vce-fnp-agents-g | Contact Geraldine Cubbage | |
| vce-fnp-cdist-g | Contact Deborah Walden (Listserv was called vce-cdist-efnepscnep.) | |
| vce-fnp-g | Contact Melanie Wenrich (Listserv was called vce-efnepscnep.) | |
| vce-fnp-ndist-g | Contact Geraldine Cubbage. (Listserv was called vce-ndist-efnepscnep.) | |
| vce-fnp-sedist-g | Contact Janice Foulk (Listserv was called vce-sedist-efnepscnep.) | |
| vce-fnp-sedist-a-g | Contact Dena McCall(Listserv was called vce-sedist-efnepscnep.) | |
| vce-fnp-swdist-j-g | Contact Sandy Yarber. (Listserv was called vce-swdist-efnepscnep.) | |
| vce-ndist-g | Contact the Northern District Office, Kevin Cubbage or Andrew Guyer. | |
| vce-sedist-g | If you're subscribing a vt.edu address, send an email to vce-sedist-g+subscribe@vt.edu and follow the instructions in the email you receive. If you want to subscribe a non-VT address, contact Carlos Ulloaor Sharon Whitehead. | |
| vce-specialists-g | Subscription is limited to VCE Specialists and Administrators. If you want to subscribe, contact Karen Barnhart. | |
| vce-swdist-g | If you're subscribing a vt.edu address, send an email to vce-swdist-g+subscribe@vt.edu and follow the instructions in the email you receive. If you want to subscribe a non-VT address, contact Ted Burke. | |
District contacts for Google Groups
| District | Who to Contact |
| Central | Cheryl Austin, Area Information Technologist |
| Northern | Kevin Cubbage, Area Information Technologist Andrew Guyer, Area Information Technologist |
| Southeast | Carlos Ulloa, Area Information Technologist, Sharon Whitehead, Area Information Technologist |
| Southwest | Ted Burke, Area Information Technologist |
Other Situations
Send an email to <name-of>-g+owner@vt.edu (e.g. vce-allstaff-g+owner@vt.edu) and ask to be added to the group.
Managing Groups
Information about using and managing Google Groups can be found on the 4Help ServiceNow page. If you are simply managing an existing group (rather than setting one up), it is unlikely that you will need all the instructions given there. At the top of that page of instructions, there is a linked list of contents. The few that you will probably need are listed below with some extra pointers.
Logging on to and Viewing your Google Groups
If you already use Google to check your VT email, you can simply start by logging in to email and proceeding to step 2. If you prefer, you can go directly to groups.google.com, log in, and proceed to step 4. If you do not remember your Google password, you can reset it at MyVT under Personal Information/Manage Your Accounts. Once you have logged in and chosen My Groups, be sure that the label just below the Create Group button says "My groups in vt.edu." If it does not, you will not find your group in the list! Click 'vt.edu' that appears right after 'Switch organization view to:' (also basically below the Create Group button).
Inviting or Adding Members or Subscribers
You will typically Direct Add members--skip to step 4. In step 5, skip to the second bullet. If you want to include the person's name, put it in quotes followed by the email in angle brackets. e.g. "Some Person" <some.person@example.com>
Removing or Banning Members
You will need to remove people as they leave their positions.
Allow Viewing of Messages on the Web
If you wish to allow people to view messages by logging in to Google Groups, rather than just getting them in email, you will need to turn on archiving. Choose the group to manage. The archive setting is under Information/Content control. You should adjust settings for who can view the topics in Google Groups. Likely, you want Members of the group. The View Topics setting is under Permissions/Basic permissions. Be sure to deselect undesired options.