They probably don't consider themselves (and, as a University, could probably make a strong case) that it's not Unsolicited Commercial Email (UCE), which is the only thing that CAN-SPAM applies to.

And I have to disagree with the OP, though, because the only people who obey CAN-SPAM are the people who are generally not actually real spammers.

CAN-SPAM really only helps you get unsubscribed from marketing emails, not actually spam at all. As with all laws, outlaws will ignore them while law-abiding citizens get caught by them. Real spammers don't care and casually flout laws until, finally, they get caught by technological means.

As usual, the regulations are too little, too late, and apply to a completely different group of people than is even named in the title.