Mail Services Policy and Procedures.

General Information:

 Mail Services is located at the loading dock area of the Service Building, and is under the supervision of the Coordinator of Printing & Duplicating. Mail Services personnel may be reached at ext. 2339. Mail Services is responsible for the pick-up and delivery of all incoming and outgoing United States Postal Service (USPS) mail including First Class and First Class Presort, Bulk Mail, Library Rate, Business Reply, Express, Certified, Registered, and Air Mail. Mail Services also delivers Inter-campus and Intra-campus mail and all packages. Outgoing USPS mail is processed by a third party mailing service. The USPS guidelines, under which Mail Services is allowed to operate, require that mailing activities be confined strictly to official, bona fide university business. All employees who wish to send personal mail from IUS should take it to the USPS mailbox located beside the bus stop adjacent to the McCullough Plaza. Personal mail, whether stamped or un-stamped, must not be intermingled with university mail. Incoming personal mail and packages are not related to university business and are not permitted. Mail Services is liable only for university-related packages and mail, and will not be liable for any mail or packages of a personal nature.

Mail Pick-Up/Delivery Times:

 Incoming USPS mail is picked up every business day at approximately 8:00 a.m. from the New Albany branch of the USPS. Outgoing USPS mail is picked up each business day at Mail Services by a third party mailing vendor at approximately 4:00 p.m. for delivery to the USPS. Mail Services picks up and delivers to all campus buildings twice daily, and all departments and divisions within each building are covered.

If a customer has mail that must go out after the final pick-up has been made, the mail may be brought directly to Mail Services after the final pick-up has been made, but no later than 3:30 p.m.

Outgoing USPS Mail:

The USPS offers a variety of ways for mail to be processed, including first class, first class presort, bulk, library, business reply, express, certified, registered and air mail. As all university accounts, which send outgoing USPS mail, are charged for their actual usage, adequate planning time will ensure that the least expensive mailing method can be employed. Mailings charges will be billed monthly via the FIS, and charges will appear on the account operating statement. Mail charges are always one month in arrears. IUS customers should be aware that the rates charged by the USPS are subject to change.

The postage meter utilized by Mail Services automatically seals standard size (#6 ½ & #10) envelopes as postage is applied. Customers should place standard size envelopes in stacks with the flaps overlapping. The postage meter does not seal non-standard size envelopes, and therefore, customers should seal non-standard envelopes before giving them to Mail Services for processing. If the customer does not wish to seal non-standard size envelopes, Printing & Duplicating will do so, if requested, for a nominal charge. Customers who send certified, priority, express, registered, air mail, or any mail that requires special handling, should provide written instructions for Mail Services, and rubber band the envelopes to call attention to Mail Services personnel. It is Indiana University policy that mailing envelopes contain the name of the department or division in the return address area. If this policy is not followed, Mail Services personnel will have to open the envelope to identify the sending department or division. If any customer wishes or has need for additional mailing trays or tubs, he/she should request them from Mail Services.

All mail must be addressed in English using Arabic numerals; the USPS automated system reads numbers, not language.

Any mail sent out of the country (except to Canada) that weighs one pound or more, or is in a non-standard-size envelope, must have a Declaration of Contents prepared by the sender. The Declaration of Contents forms may be obtained by contacting Mail Services.

First Class and First Class Presort outgoing USPS mail is picked up from Mail Services each business day at approximately 4:00 p.m., by a third party mailing vendor. The vendor processes all first class mail as first class presort mail unless the customer specifically requests treatment as regular first class. First class presort offers savings of over two cents per mailed piece for every piece under one ounce. Two business days should be allowed by the mailer for processing by the third party mailing vendor as first class presort, versus one day for regular first class mail.

Bulk Mail is the most economical way to send out identical pieces of mail if you have at least two hundred pieces. Each piece must have the same contents with no variations to qualify for bulk mailing rates. Customers have the potential to realize a savings of thirty to fifty percent per piece by using bulk mail versus first class or first class presort. According to the USPS, pieces mailed by bulk mail can take an additional three to five days to arrive at their destination. Advance planning is the most important factor in utilizing bulk mail.

Recently the USPS has made several changes to the requirements effecting bulk mail. The requirement to qualify for the bulk mail rate is that the address list must be a five-digit zip code verified at least once per year. This rule was established due to the large number of undeliverable bulk mail pieces that contain an incorrect or nonexistent address, which are found on many mailing lists. If it is impossible to verify a mailing list, there are two alternatives available. The first is to mail the piece at the first class rate. The second is to have "Address Correction Requested", printed on the envelope. USPS charges fifty cents for each incorrectly addressed piece. According to the USPS, the average amount of returned pieces is approximately twenty percent of a non-verified bulk mailing. Both alternatives are very expensive, and therefore, having the list verified in advance is the best method. Some customers purchase address lists from various mailing services. If this is the case, the customers should always request that a five-digit zip code verification form be provided with the list. Failure to do so could jeopardize the non-profit status that IUS has with the USPS. Mail Services has prepared a very detailed packet of instructions and USPS requirements for customers to process bulk mail, which may be obtained by contacting Mail Services.

If a customer does not have the time and/or resources to process bulk mailings, Printing & Duplicating offers this service for a fee. Printing & Duplicating can stuff envelopes, label, sort, fold, and stamp. Contact Printing & Duplicating (ext. 2329) to request this service or to obtain further information regarding this service.

Click here for information on self-mailers and Booklets.

Library Rates are the most economical for mailing printed booklets, bulletins, and admission information brochures pertaining only to IUS.

Business Reply is utilized when the customer wants the recipient to mail something back at the customer’s expense. Business reply mail is enclosed with an outgoing mailed envelope for the recipient to return. The customer is only charged if the recipient actually mails the business reply envelope back to IUS. Business reply is picked up daily from the USPS by Mail Services.

Express Mail is provided by the USPS for delivery the next morning. Corporate accounts can be established with Mail Services for frequent customers. Infrequent customers can also utilize this service by requesting it from Mail Services.

Certified and Registered Mail requires the recipient’s signature at the time of delivery. USPS charges a fee of $1.40, plus normal postage for this service. Return receipt requested requires the recipient’s signature on a receipt. The signature is returned to the sender for a fee of $2.65, plus normal postage. For a Certified Mail Request Form, click here.

Air Mail should be clearly marked or rubber banded to call attention to Mail Services personnel.

UPS Packages--Customers desiring to ship packages other than vendor items from IUS via UPS should take their packages to the IUS Bookstore. Mail Services personnel do not process packages to be shipped via UPS.

Incoming Mail and Packages:

Mail coming into the campus via the USPS is picked up by Mail Services personnel at approximately 8:00 a.m. each business day at the New Albany Post Office branch. It is returned to Mail Services and sorted for distribution. Except during peak periods, particularly on the first business day of the week and holiday seasons, incoming USPS mail should be received by customers on the first delivery of the day.

Packages are delivered to IUS by various shippers (e.g. trucking companies, UPS, Fed-Ex, local vendor trucks) at various times during the business day. Mail Services receives packages from shippers, processes the packages, and delivers the packages as expediently as possible. Any department ordering materials requiring special handling for delivery should notify Purchasing at the time the order is placed and, additionally, Mail Services well in advance of the arrival of the materials. If Mail Services personnel are not aware of the special conditions, material may sit at the loading dock for several days before arrangements can be made for delivery. Departments ordering material should be very specific in identifying the exact location for delivery as well as the person who is to receive the delivery. All orders for material should be processed well in advance of delivery by utilizing the Automatic Purchase Order process, the TOPS Direct process, or by sending a requisition to Purchasing. If these procedures are bypassed, a vital tracking mechanism for delivering packages is eliminated, and ordered material may sit at the loading dock for several days before delivery.

Packages with tracking numbers delivered by UPS, Fed-Ex, RPS, etc., require a signature at the time of delivery to IUS. Any package requiring a signature by a Mail Service employee will require a signature upon delivery to the addressee. The tracking number and signature is necessary in the event a package cannot be located.

As packages are delivered to you, you should be given the opportunity to verify that you are signing for the correct number of packages. If you have any problems with the packages delivered after you have signed for them, you should contact the appropriate source (e.g.-Printing and Duplicating for printed materials, Purchasing for items order via Purchase Order, etc.) as soon as you possibly can after the package has been delivered. Unfortunately, Mail Services personnel have a strict timetable to adhere to and are not able to wait for their customers to thoroughly examine all of their packages at the time of delivery.

Packages with no purchase order number, addressee, or department on the outside of the package will have to be opened in order to identify the recipient. Shippers should be instructed to print the purchase order number and name of addressee and/or department on the outside label. By doing so, time delays will be greatly reduced and the need to open packages will be eliminated.

Items that are to be returned to a vendor for any reason (damaged item, wrong item received, mis-ordered item, etc.) for credit or replacement from the vendor must be accompanied by a Material Return Slip (available through Central Stores – ext. 2338) and will be picked up by Mail Services. Material Return Slips provide documentation and a paper trail for items being returned and provide for credit/replacement being properly processed. Mail Services cannot pick-up vendor return items unless a Material Return Slip accompanies the items. For further information regarding material returns, please refer to the Purchasing section of this manual.

See Purchasing Policy for more information on returned goods.

Personal Mail and Packages:

All faculty, staff and students are reminded that the IUS Mail Service is to be used only for official University business. The United States Postal guidelines, under which the university is allowed to operate, restrict activities to the official business of the University.

Mail related to Nyhart medical reimbursement, personal insurance claims, TIAA/CREF, Fidelity, Valic, personal greeting cards, etc. are considered to be personal mail and must not be sent with university mail. Personal mail should never be placed in any outgoing mailbox on campus except for the official USPS mailbox located beside the bus stop adjacent to the McCullough Plaza. If mail found in any other box can be clearly identified as personal mail and the sender can be identified, it will be returned to the sender.

Mail and packages that are not related to university business (e.g., deliveries of catalog orders such as LL Bean, Spiegel, Eddie Bauer, etc., utility bills, personal bills, etc.) should not be delivered to IUS. Mail Services is liable only for University-related packages and mail, and will not be liable for personal packages. Under no circumstances should an IUS faculty or staff member direct the USPS to forward personal mail to the campus. If any faculty or staff member plans to be away from home for an extended period, arrangements should be made with the USPS to have personal mail forwarded to a friend, relative, or trusted acquaintance at his or her home.

Click here for the USPS guidelines on mail, and further information.

To obtain additional information or for any questions or comments pertaining to University mailing procedures, contact Mail Services at ext. 2339 or the director of campus services at ext. 2505.