Purpose
The procedure defines the approved methods for sending emails as uconn.edu from a third-party application.
If unapproved methods are used, emails may not be delivered due to enhanced email security.
Definitions
Mass Mail: An ITS provided service allowing faculty and staff to send emails to many recipients at once.
Sender Policy Framework (SPF): A DNS entry used to indicate authorized senders for a particular domain, in this case, uconn.edu and its subdomains.
DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM): A DNS entry allowing domain owners to automatically apply a digital signature to emails sent from their domain. This allows a receiving email server to verify the source.
Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance (DMARC): A DNS entry specifying the action a receiving email server should take if an email fails SPF and/or DKIM.
Sending as UConn Top Level Domain
Third-Party applications or services shall only send as the top-level UConn domain (uconn.edu) if they are capable of using UConn’s Mass Mail service.
Third-party applications incapable of using UConn’s Mass Mail service shall not send as the top-level UConn domain (uconn.edu).
Applications or services capable of configuring a reply-to address can use a uconn.edu email to receive responses and bounce-backs.
All Mass Mail accounts shall have a faculty and/or staff owner and shall be subject to review. The application owner shall notify ITS if the account is no longer needed, including due to termination of vendor relationship. The application/account owner is responsible for ensuring the secure storage of Mass Mail credentials. Users shall immediately report the suspected compromise of Mass Mail credentials to the Information Security Office. ITS shall maintain a record of Mass Mail accounts and their owners.
The use of Microsoft 365 for bulk mail sending is prohibited.
Sending as Vendor or Services UConn Domain
Third-party applications or services which are incapable of using UConn’s Mass Mail service shall be configured to send using one of the following approved subdomains, by configuring the appropriate SPF, DMARC, DKIM records provided by the vendor/service provider.
Applications or services capable of configuring a reply-to address can use a uconn.edu email to receive responses and bounce-backs.
ITS can assist application owners in the setup of these records. All SPF entries shall have a faculty and/or staff owner and shall be subject to review. The application owner shall notify ITS if the records need to be updated or removed, including due to termination of vendor relationship. ITS shall maintain a record of these entries and their owners.
Approved Subdomains
services.uconn.edu
vendor.uconn.edu
Exceptions
University employees with a business and/or technical need to use an alternative method to send as a UConn domain from their third-party application must contact the ITS Technology Support Center to determine the best solution.
Please open a support ticket with ITS at https://kb.uconn.edu/portal/1.