⚠ Verify: Sender addresses for Brightspace and campus offices can vary. Open one real message and confirm the exact From address before finalizing a filter.

Step 1 – Create your core labels

Required

  • VIP – Brightspace
  • VIP – Professors
  • Financial Aid & Billing
  • Registrar & Advising

Nice to have

  • Courses (nested: EGL 101, MTH 129)
  • Calendar Invites
  • Daily Sweep (low-stakes promos/newsletters)

Step 2 – Add filters (copy & paste)

Gmail → Settings → See all settings → Filters and Blocked Addresses → Create a new filter.

Purpose Filter query (paste in Gmail search) Actions
Brightspace notifications from:(notifications@brightspace.* OR brightspace) OR subject:"Brightspace"
⚠ Confirm your campus sender, e.g., no-reply@brightspace.yourschool.edu.		 Apply label VIP – Brightspace; Never send to Spam; Mark as important; optionally Star it.
Professors (all .edu faculty) from:*.edu -from:no-reply -from:listserv
Add individual professor emails for tighter control.		 Apply label VIP – Professors; Mark as important; optionally Star.
Financial Aid & Billing subject:(financial aid OR FAFSA OR scholarship OR billing OR tuition) OR from:(financialaid@* bursar@*) Apply label Financial Aid & Billing; Mark as important.
Registrar & Advising subject:(registration OR "add/drop" OR transcript OR "degree audit" OR advising) OR from:(registrar@* advising@*) Apply label Registrar & Advising; Mark as important.
Course codes to course folders subject:("EGL 101" OR "MTH 129") Apply label Courses/EGL 101 (or relevant course); optionally Skip the Inbox but Mark as important.
Calendar invites has:invite Apply label Calendar Invites; keep in Inbox.
Low-stakes promos/newsletters category:promotions OR unsubscribe Apply label Daily Sweep; Skip the Inbox (Archive).

Step 3 – Stars & mobile notifications

  • Settings → General → Stars: drag two icons to “In use” (e.g., Star = Action Today, Exclamation = Action This Week).
  • On the Gmail app: Notifications → choose High priority only. Gmail learns from your Important marking so VIP mail pings you, not promos.

What this looks like

Gmail filter setup with Brightspace query and label ‘VIP – Brightspace’ selected
Create a Brightspace VIP filter and apply label, star, and important.
Gmail left sidebar showing branded labels (VIP – Brightspace, VIP – Professors, Financial Aid & Billing) and an inbox preview.
Use clear, branded labels so VIP mail is one tap away.
Phone screen showing Gmail Notifications set to ‘High priority only’ with brand colors.
On mobile, set notifications to High priority only so VIP mail gets your attention.

5-Minute Daily Sweep

  1. Open VIP – Brightspace and VIP – Professors. Star items that need a response or work.
  2. Open Financial Aid & Billing and Registrar & Advising. Add dates to your calendar if needed.
  3. Open Daily Sweep and bulk-archive after a quick skim.

Accessibility: Use clear, descriptive label names (e.g., “VIP – Brightspace”). Avoid tiny color chips as the only indicator; keep contrast high.

Need help? Book an advising setup session

Have questions about a specific Brightspace sender address? Bring one example email and we’ll tailor your filters in minutes.