A college's online presence isn't as simple as the classic .edu. The college also has to worry about .com, .net, and .org, to protect its good name. And as of this week, there's another domain type to worry about: .college.
On Tuesday colleges with registered trademarks were given first dibs at .college domains. Trademark holders are eligible to register and obtain domains that exactly match their trademarks — at no charge — until April 17. Another registration phase begins on April 20.
When new domain types were first discussed, there was "some discussion, some excitement, and some hand wringing" about what they might mean for colleges, said Gregory A. Jackson, who was formerly vice president for policy at Educause, an academic-technology organization, and chief information officer at the University of Chicago.
Some people in higher ed took the "who cares" approach, either because they didn’t think anyone looked at web addresses or because it would be impossible to keep up with all of them, Mr. Jackson said.
Others considered claiming as many domains as they could. There are a number of reasons that acquiring additional domains might be useful.
Read more at The Chronicle of Higher Education: http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/new-college-domain-is-opportunity-for-some-colleges-worry-for-others/56145