.edu

Last updated

.edu
.edu domain logo.svg
IntroducedJanuary 1, 1985;39 years ago (1985-01-01)
TLD type Sponsored top-level domain [1]
StatusActive
Registry Educause (operated by VeriSign)
Intended useUS Educational institutions
StructureRegistrations at second level permitted
Documents RFC 920; RFC 1591
DNSSEC yes
Registry website net.educause.edu

The domain name .edu is a sponsored top-level domain (sTLD) in the Domain Name System of the Internet. The domain was implemented in 1985 to create a domain name hierarchy for organizations with a focus on education. At the time, it was open for registration for entities from any region. Since 2001, new registrants for second-level domain names have been required to be United States–affiliated institutions of higher education.

Contents

History

The domain edu was implemented in April 1985 as a generic top-level domain. [2] [3] Six universities were the initial registrants that month. [2] UCLA was among this group of the first schools to have their URLs registered. And while the first ARPAnet message was sent from UCLA to Stanford, Stanford did not have their URL registered until half a year after these first schools, becoming the 18th .edu site.

Until 2001, Network Solutions served as registrar for edu under an arrangement with the U.S. Department of Commerce. Domain registration was done at no cost to educational institutions. [4] In 2001, the Commerce Department entered into a five-year agreement with Educause making that organization the registrar for the .edu domain. [5] The agreement with Educause was extended for an additional five-year period in 2006; at that time Educause was authorized to begin charging a yearly administrative fee to registrants. [6]

The domain edu was originally intended for educational institutions anywhere in the world. However, most of the institutions that obtained edu registrations were in the United States, while non-U.S. educational institutions typically used country-level domains. [7] In 1993, a decision attributed to Jon Postel limited new registrations in the edu domain to four-year postsecondary educational institutions. [4] [8] This prevented new edu registrations by community colleges and other institutions offering less than four years of postsecondary schooling. [4]

Enforcement of the restrictions in the 1990s was not entirely effective. The webmaster for the Exploratorium, a San Francisco science museum, recalled in 2006 that the museum obtained its edu domain name at a time in the early 1990s "when there were about 600 websites and only one for a museum." [9] The museum's Internet registrar allowed it to sidestep the then-extant domain-naming rules by using edu despite not being an academic institution and by using a name with more than 12 characters. [9] Some community colleges were reported to have registered edu second-level names after 1993. [4] In 1999 an article in Mother Earth News quoted an authority on distance education as saying, "Anyone who has the necessary $70 can register an edu domain name and use it to archive any type of enterprise on the Internet." [10]

In 2001, the domain was restricted to U.S.-accredited postsecondary educational institutions. [3] Subsequent changes expanded its use beyond four-year institutions, allowing registrations by accredited community colleges as well as by university systems, community college districts, and similar entities. [5]

Between 2004 and 2019, the number of registered names in domain edu remained relatively persistent, with more than 7,000 but fewer than 8,000 names registered at any given time. [11] [12]

Eligibility

Since October 29, 2001, only postsecondary institutions and organizations that are institutionally accredited by an agency on the U.S. Department of Education's list of nationally recognized accrediting agencies are eligible to apply for an edu domain. [13] To be eligible, an institution must be located in the U.S., legally organized in the U.S., or recognized by a U.S. state, territorial, or federal agency. [13] University system offices, community college district offices, and other entities within the United States that are organized to manage and govern multiple accredited postsecondary institutions may also register .edu domain names. [13] Each eligible institution is limited to registering one .edu domain name, but institutions may also use names in other top-level domains. [14]

Grandfathered uses

Domains that were already registered in edu as of October 29, 2001, were grandfathered into the system. Holders of such domain names can retain their edu domain names without regard to the current eligibility criteria. [13] [15]

In 2003, Educause undertook an initiative to clear the edu registry of domain names that were not accurately registered by removing names whose registrants did not respond to requests that they log into the registry and review their whois entries. [16] [17] Through this effort, Educause expected to eliminate a number of domains that did not appear to qualify for registration in the edu domain, such as oracle.edu, geraldine.edu, and jedi.edu. [16] Since 2006, Educause has been authorized to implement measures to prevent edu domain name owners from transferring their domain names to other entities. These measures, together with the imposition of registration fees, were intended to reduce the number of inactive or ineligible edu domain names. [6]

The U.S. Department of Education notes that some "suspect" or "illegitimate" educational institutions continue to use edu addresses that were registered before the stringent eligibility criteria were adopted in 2001. [18]

Many countries operate edu or .ac namespaces within their country code top-level domains that serve the same purpose as the edu top-level domain. In the United States, community colleges and technical and vocational schools also have the option of registering fourth-level domains under the .cc.state .us and .tec.state.us affinity namespaces, while elementary and secondary schools and school districts may register under the .k12.state.us namespace.

In September 2015, the .college top-level domain emerged as an option for organizations that do not meet edu's more stringent criteria, such as non-accredited institutions and institutions based outside the United States.

See also

Related Research Articles

The domain com is a top-level domain (TLD) in the Domain Name System (DNS) of the Internet. Created in the first group of Internet domains at the beginning of 1985, its name is derived from the word commercial, indicating its original intended purpose for subdomains registered by commercial organizations. Later, the domain opened for general purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.org</span> Generic top-level domain

The domain name .org is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) of the Domain Name System (DNS) used on the Internet. The name is truncated from 'organization'. It was one of the original domains established in 1985, and has been operated by the Public Interest Registry since 2003. The domain was originally "intended as the miscellaneous TLD for organizations that didn't fit anywhere else." It is commonly used by non-profit organizations, open-source projects, and communities, but is an open domain that can be used by anyone. The number of registered domains in .org has increased from fewer than one million in the 1990s, to ten million in 2012, and held steady between ten and eleven million since then.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.gov</span> Sponsored top-level Internet domain used by United States federal and state governments

The domain name gov is a sponsored top-level domain (sTLD) in the Domain Name System of the Internet. The name is derived from the word government, indicating its restricted use by government entities. The TLD is administered by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), a component of the United States Department of Homeland Security.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.us</span> Internet country code top-level domain for the United States

.us is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the United States. It was established in early 1985. Registrants of .us domains must be U.S. citizens, residents, or organizations – or foreign entities with a presence in the United States or any territory of the United States. Most registrants in the U.S. have registered for .com, .net, .org and other gTLDs, instead of .us, which has primarily been used by state and local governments, even though private entities may also register .us domains. The domain is managed by Registry Services, LLC, a domain name registry, on behalf of the United States Department of Commerce.

.ca is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Canada. The domain name registry that operates it is the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.uk</span> Internet country code top-level domain for the United Kingdom

.uk is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the United Kingdom. It was first registered in July 1985, seven months after the original generic top-level domains such as .com and the first country code after .us.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.ee</span> Internet country code top-level domain for Estonia

.ee is the internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) of Estonia, operated by the Estonian Internet Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.au</span> Internet country-code top level domain for Australia

.au is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Australia. It was created on 5 March 1986. Domain name policy is managed by .au Domain Administration (auDA). As of July 2018, the registry is operated by Afilias.

Generic top-level domains (gTLDs) are one of the categories of top-level domains (TLDs) maintained by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) for use in the Domain Name System of the Internet. A top-level domain is the last level of every fully qualified domain name. They are called generic for historical reasons; initially, they were contrasted with country-specific TLDs in RFC 920.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.sg</span> Internet country-code top level domain for Singapore

.sg is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Singapore. It was first registered in September 1988. It is administered by the Singapore Network Information Centre. Registrations are processed via accredited registrars.

.za is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for South Africa. The .za namespace is managed and regulated by the .za Domain Name Authority (ZADNA). Most domains are registered under the second-level domain .co.za.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.co</span> Internet country-code top level domain for Colombia

.co is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) assigned to Colombia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.tw</span> Internet country-code top-level domain for Taiwan

.tw is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Taiwan. The domain name is based on the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code TW. The registry is maintained by the Taiwan Network Information Center (TWNIC), a Taiwanese non-profit organization appointed by the National Communications Commission (NCC) and the Ministry of Transportation and Communication. Since 1 March 2001, TWNIC has stopped allowing itself to sign up new domain names directly, instead allowing new registration through its contracted reseller registrars. As of May 2023, there are 17 registrars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.pro</span>

The domain name pro is a generic top-level domain in the Domain Name System of the Internet. Its name is derived from professional, indicating its intended use by certified professionals.

.zm is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Zambia. Registrants of .zm domains must "have a presence in Zambia".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.ky</span> Internet country code top-level domain for the Cayman Islands

.ky is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the Cayman Islands. The code was chosen as other possible options had already been allocated. Registration was limited to residents and registered companies in the Cayman Islands with a local address, but this restriction was removed in September 2015. The Cayman Islands also has the international three-letter code CYM and has won a bid to be awarded the .cym domain in a future expansion of the top-level domain space.

DotCooperation LLC is the Registry of the Top-Level Domain (TLD) .coop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.au Domain Administration</span> Manager of the .au domain

.au Domain Administration (auDA) is the policy authority and industry self-regulatory body for the .au domain, which is the country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Australia. It was formed in 1999 to manage the .au ccTLD with the endorsement of the Australian Government and the authority of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). It is a not-for-profit membership organisation that promotes and protects the .au domain space.

.college is a generic-top-level domain (gTLD) used in the domain name system of the Internet. It was delegated to the Root Zone of the DNS on 10 April 2014, completing the successful application for the string. The .college back-end registry operations are provided by CentralNic. Unlike .edu, .college is open for registration to the general public.

References

  1. ↑ "Delegation Record for .EDU". Root Zone Database. Internet Assigned Numbers Authority . Retrieved November 23, 2011.
  2. 1 2 Rooksby, Jacob H. (2015). "Defining Domain: Higher Education's Battles for Cyberspace". Brooklyn Law Review . 80 (3): 857–942. Retrieved October 27, 2015. at p. 869
  3. 1 2 ".edu General FAQ". EduCause.edu. Archived from the original on June 4, 2012. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Cooper, Kenneth J. (November 28, 2000). "Community colleges want use of dot-edu Web names". Amarillo Globe News . The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
  5. 1 2 "EDUCAUSE Announces Expansion of Eligibility for .edu Internet Names to Nationally Accredited Institutions". Educause.edu. February 11, 2003. Archived from the original on December 4, 2011. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  6. 1 2 ".edu Internet Domain to Continue Under EDUCAUSE Management". Educause.edu. March 28, 2006. Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
  7. ↑ Cooper, A. & Postel, J. (June 1993). The US domain; Request for comments: 1480. Marina del Rey, CA: Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California. doi: 10.17487/RFC1480 . RFC 1480.
  8. ↑ Postel, J. (March 1994). Domain Name System Structure and Delegation; Request for Comments: 1591. Marina del Rey, CA: Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California. doi: 10.17487/RFC1591 . RFC 1591.
  9. 1 2 Gnatek, Tim (March 29, 2006). "Taking the Rough-and-Tumble Approach to Science". The New York Times . Retrieved November 25, 2011.
  10. ↑ Lamb, Marguerite (April–May 1999). "A Long-Distance Diploma". Mother Earth News. p. 3. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Average Counts of .EDU Domains by Status and Month". Educause.edu. Archived from the original on September 14, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  12. ↑ "Domain Count Statistics for TLDs - DomainTools". November 14, 2019. Archived from the original on November 14, 2019. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "FAQs on Eligibility for the .edu Domain". EduCause.edu. Archived from the original on March 19, 2008. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
  14. ↑ "FAQs on Current Holders of Names in the .edu Domain". EduCause.edu. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
  15. ↑ ".edu Policy Information". .edu. Archived from the original on April 7, 2013. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
  16. 1 2 Mehus, Doug (October 9, 2003). "EDUCAUSE Prepares Mass Purge of .EDU Domains". CircleID. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
  17. ↑ "Accuracy of Whois Data for .edu". Educause.edu. Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  18. ↑ "Diploma Mills and Accreditation – Diploma Mills". U.S. Department of Education. December 23, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
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