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Mailroom Services
Oakwood University operates a campus mail facility and NOT a U.S. Post Office. It is designed to serve the needs of the campus and offers limited services. Full postal services are available at the nearest U.S. Post office. (645 WYNN DR NW)

General Information to parents & Guardians
To ensure that all mails sent reach their destination, please follow the following instructions:

When mailing letters to your sons & daughters, please follow the following format:

Your Son/Daughter’s name
Dorm name & room number
Oakwood University
7000 Adventist Blvd
Huntsville, Al 35896

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Do not use nicknames or other names that the Registrar’s Office does not have on file.

When shipping food: do not ship/mail perishable foodstuff. Often cooked food, fruits, etc are received spoiled. Do not waste your time & money on mailing such items.

When sending money: send cashiers checks, money orders, or bank wire. Please do not send cash in the mail.

On next day delivery: do not send express or one day deliveries on Fridays. The post office is closed at 12:00 PM on Friday. All deliveries will be done on Mondays. Therefore send all rush deliveries before Friday.

When using your credit card: students buying merchandise using parents credit card often result in packages being shipped to Oakwood University with the parents name. The post office would not be able to locate such a student. So make sure the shipper uses the Oakwood resident’s name.

We do not sell cash money orders
We do not insure personal packages, only for the departments
We do not provide C.O.D. services
We do not provide U.P.S. OUTGOING SERVICES.

Guidelines

In order to offer the most efficient service, the facility operates under the following guidelines:

  1. Counter Service – The window is open for service from 8a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Monday- Thursday, and Friday 8a.m. to 12p.m. For accountable mail pick up, check campus security. Office closed during lunch Mon-Thurs: 12pm – 1pm.
  2. Incoming Mail – Mail from the U.S Post Office comes between 8:30- 9:00a.m. and is not ready for pick up before 11:30a.m. daily. Phone inquiries interrupt mail preparation.
  3. Outgoing Mail – Mail leaves O.U. campus at 3:30pm Monday-Thursday and 11:30am on Friday. All outgoing mail must include the name of the person or department that is sending the mail. It must have a completed address of destination, including the proper zip code. The Post Office requires a zip code for each item mailed. The zip code 35896 is exclusively for Oakwood University. Mail should be at the campus facility no later than 3p.m., Monday- Thursday, and 11:15a.m. on Friday to be metered for the days mailing. Please Note: Mail received after 11:25a.m. on Friday will not leave the campus until Monday afternoon. This could cause a five-day delay of delivery of your mail.
  4. Specification – each piece should specify how it is to be sent and should be labeled before leaving the department.a. First Class
    b. Media Mail (Films, tapes, school catalogs, etc)
    c. Priority or Express
    d. Library Rate (Films, tapes, school catalogs, etc only used in the Library)When mailing more than one piece in any of the four categories, please bundle, rubberband, and place the specification on the top piece.

    Price Information

    *Packages take 2-9 days for delivery. Rates are available for packages weighing between 1 to 70 lbs. based on distance and weight.

    Items for boxes

    • Letters should be folded
    • Keep in mind the time that you bring them. Mail is usually picked up between 11:30a.m. and 2:30p.m. If it is dropped in between 9a.m. and 12p.m. it will be put into boxes between 12 and 2p.m.
    • If the mail is dropped off at the post office after 5p.m. please drop it into the campus mail slot. It will be put in the boxes at 8a.m. the following day.
    • If you bring VERY IMPORTANT MEMOS to the campus mail facility, address one copy to your self to check for the delivery time of your memo.
    • Campus mail for students
    • Dormitory mail must have name of the dorm where the student resides. If pertinent information is lacking looking up this information will delay the delivery time of your mail.
  5. International Mail – Spell out the country of destination. Abbreviations are unacceptable by the U.S. Postal regulations.  W.I. for the West Indies could be mistaken for Wisconsin, causing a delay in routing the mail. This mail is ½ oz = $1.05
  6. Accountable Mail – (Express, certified, requested, and insured letters and packages) An authorized person from the department must sign in this mail when we deliver. (We deliver to departments). Other persons must show proper identification to sign for mail when they pick it up from the Postal Service Department. All accountable mail left after 12p.m. on Friday is sent to the dorms only if the Deans will accept it. Otherwise, it remains at the postal services over the weekend. Executive officers accountable mail will be delivered.
  7. Weekend Delivery – (After 12p.m. on Friday and all day Sabbath, and Sunday) the Express Mail Courier deliveries will not be available for customer pickup until the next business day. Monday at 8a.m. it is brought to the mail facility. Phone calls are made to the individuals and notices are also sent on the 3rd day. After five days the post office recommends that it be returned to sender.
  8. Dormitory Services – Mail for dorms are sorted by the dormitories address and is placed in containers and delivered to dorms. Undesignated mail is checked for proper location by each dorm roster and the off- campus roster as well. After all efforts fail, mail is returned to sender.
  9. Campus Delivery – if you have mail for an office located in your building, please take it to that office. It causes a delay in the delivery time when mail is sent to the Post Office. Should you need VIP memos delivered, please call ext. 7330. We will pick up the memos and deliver them to the offices but keep in mind the time. Offices have different schedules. Remember that the purpose is to put this memo in their hands as soon as possible.
  10. Community Services – Boxes, if available are rented on a yearly basis to students and community members at $40.00 per year.
  11. Complaint Form – these forms are available for your use.