Overview
The Email Whitelisting service allows trusted email senders, domains, or applications to be reviewed and approved to help ensure legitimate messages are delivered successfully to APSU recipients.
Whitelisting may be appropriate when university-related communications are being blocked, quarantined, or incorrectly identified as spam by APSU's email security systems.
Note: Whitelisting is intended for legitimate university business, academic, research, and approved organizational communications. Approval is subject to security review.
When to Use This Service
Submit an Email Whitelisting Request if:
- A trusted vendor's emails are not reaching APSU recipients.
- An approved third-party application needs to send an email to faculty, staff, or students.
- Survey, registration, event management, or communication platforms are experiencing delivery issues.
- Recipients report that legitimate messages are being quarantined or marked as spam.
- An approved external partner's communications are being blocked.
Common Examples
- Event registration platforms
- Survey tools
- Scholarship or application systems
- Vendor notification services
- University-approved newsletters
- Automated reporting systems
Information Required
To help expedite processing, please provide as much of the following information as possible:
- Sender email address(es)
- Sending domain name (example: vendor name.com)
- Vendor or organization name
- Purpose of the communication
- Sample email header, bounce-back message, or error message (if available)
- Approximate number of recipients
- Whether the request is temporary or ongoing
Incomplete requests may require additional follow-up before review can begin.
How IT Security Reviews Requests
To protect the university from phishing, spam, and other malicious activity, all requests undergo a security review.
The review may include:
- Sender reputation validation
- Domain verification
- Security risk assessment
- Business justification review
- Email authentication verification
Submission of a request does not guarantee approval.
What Happens After Submission?
- IT Security reviews the request.
- Additional information may be requested if needed.
- Approved senders or domains are added to the appropriate allow list.
- The requester receives notification when processing is complete.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will whitelisting guarantee email delivery?
No. Email security controls remain in place to protect the university. Whitelisting helps reduce the likelihood that legitimate messages will be blocked; however, delivery cannot be guaranteed in all circumstances.
Can I request whitelisting for a personal email account?
No. Requests must support a legitimate need of the university, business, academic, research, or student organization.
Can an entire domain be whitelisted?
Possibly. IT security will determine whether to approve a specific email address, subdomain, or entire domain based on security requirements and business needs.
What if I only have one blocked message?
Include as much information as possible, including the sender address, message subject, date received, and any error or quarantine notifications.
Need Additional Assistance?
If you believe legitimate email communications are being blocked or quarantined, submit an Email Whitelisting Request through the IT Service Catalog and provide all available details to assist with the review.