Student Mailbox Service Policy
Unit: Shared Administrative Services
Contact: Alexandria Taylor
Title: Assistant Director for Process Review & Financial Compliance
Effective Date: 09/21/2022
Revision Date: 07/05/2023
Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to address the terms of use for student mailbox service at The University of Alabama ("University").Policy
Students who are residing in one of the Residential Communities in University-leased housing are eligible to receive, at no charge, letter mail at the Campus Mail Service Center and trackable inbound UPS, FedEx, DHL, Amazon and USPS items at the Campus Mail Service Center or through parcel lockers. Off-Campus students are also eligible to receive letter mail and trackable inbound UPS, FedEx, DHL, Amazon and USPS items. Off-Campus students will not be charged a fee to receive letter mail but will be assessed a $2.50 fee for each package received either through the Campus Mail Service Center or parcel lockers. The per-package fee will be capped at $25 per semester. Services being provided may not be used for any purpose prohibited by United States Postal Service ("USPS") regulations or for any other illegal or illegitimate purpose. Students must use this service in accordance with University rules, the Code of Student Conduct, and all local, state, and federal statutes and regulations including, without limitation, all USPS regulations. Failure to do so may result in the suspension of service without notice, and may also result in discipline and/or criminal prosecution. Additionally, students are not eligible to receive personal mail through departmental mailstops.Incoming Mail and Packages
- The University reserves the right to examine all incoming mail and packages for potential threats.
- No hazardous, infectious, illegal, or dangerous materials may be ordered or solicited by a student for delivery to the Campus Mail Service Center.
- Services may only be used for the receiving of personal mail items. Students may not use their University addresses as business or commercial addresses or for any other commercial activities.
- Students may receive first-class letter mail. A link is provided in the references below for specifications of first-class letter mail.
- Only trackable packages received through USPS, UPS, FedEx, Amazon and DHL will be accepted by the Campus Mail Service Center. Deliveries made by truck/freight lines, business couriers, office runners, flower shops, local delivery companies (such as InstaCart, Shipt or Spark), etc. will not be accepted.
- According to federal law, prescription medications may only be mailed by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s registered distributors, pharmacies, and medical providers. Such mailed packages are labeled as medication and treated with the highest priority when received by Campus Mail Services. If a student needs prescription medication, they may have their doctor or pharmacy mail their prescription to their campus address. Also, the University Student Health Center and Pharmacy on campus can conveniently fill prescriptions from students’ doctors, or prescriptions can be transferred to one of the many local pharmacies in Tuscaloosa.
- Medications requiring refrigeration will be held no longer than 5 business days. If the item is not picked up by the 5th business day, it will be returned to the sender (if possible) or discarded.
- Campus Mail Service will not be responsible for any packages containing perishable items. Items will not be refrigerated. Any packages that contain perishable items that are not picked up within 3 business days will be returned to the sender (if possible) or discarded.
- Campus Mail Service is not responsible for mail or packages delivered damaged.
- Campus Mail Service is not responsible for packages not delivered in a timely manner. Please be aware of the hours of operation as posted on the Campus Mail Service website. Overnight and priority shipping does not guarantee that packages will be available for pickup at the times provided by the carrier.
Correct Address Format
Students shall use this address structure exactly:STUDENT’S FULL NAME
MSC-XXXXXX, DISTRICT XXX
1831 UNIVERSITY STATION
TUSCALOOSA, AL 35487
MSC-XXXXXX, DISTRICT XXX
1831 UNIVERSITY STATION
TUSCALOOSA, AL 35487
Any deviation from this address structure could cause a delay in delivery or cause the item to be returned to the sender as undeliverable-as-addressed. Students should avoid using nicknames. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure all correspondents use the correct address format.