Expired .COLLEGE Domains

What is the .college domain name?

college TLD is a domain name intended as a way for colleges to connect directly with their audiences--to build stronger relationships and be more relevant by building community.

A .college domain name can help your college communicate its personality to the world, encourage visitors to continue exploring it from other platforms, and deepen the connection between colleges.

Who can register a .college domain name?

.college is available for colleges, universities, and other institutions of higher education to use in building identity online. It is also open for individual students currently attending an institution of higher learning.

While registration policies will be developed by the registry delegated to manage .college registrations (currently CentralNic), colleges should carefully consider how they will implement registration policies in their own registration processes when using .college for their official institution name.

What are the benefits of a .college domain?

The new .college domain allows colleges and universities to more clearly define their online presence, engaging current and potential students, faculty, donors, alumni, and other stakeholders through a unique TLD that makes them the destination of choice when searching for educational information.

Prominent placement in global search results will help institutions increase their online presence and drive traffic to their website.

With .college, colleges can leverage their own identities by registering second-level domains (SLDs) that correspond with specific programs or campuses.

This lets existing audiences find lower-level directories and directories of individual schools, departments, or programs effortlessly.

In order to establish a trusted presence in the .college namespace, institutions must meet specific requirements for domain name ownership and registration policies.

What is the common second-level .college domain name?

The common second-level .college domain names are the names that appear directly after the TLD. These will include school names, program names, lecture series, and leadership opportunities.

Since the .college TLD is intended to represent institutions of higher learning, all common second-level registration policies should be related to an institution of higher education.

Exceptions may be granted in specific circumstances by the registry delegated to manage .college registrations (currently CentralNic).

How should a .college domain name be used?

.college should be seen as an opportunity for institutions to:

· Establish and maintain a unique online presence;

· Direct audiences to specific resources on their website; and,

· Create a recognizable identity within the new namespace.

· Engage current students, alumni, donors, and supporters;

· Reach new audiences through search engines.

It is not intended for use as an identifier that directly references or implies affiliation with a college or university.

What are some high-level registration policies?

Registration policies may include:

· Geographical restrictions--e.g., names can only be registered by institutions with a presence within a specific region or state;

· Domain name length--e.g., names must be between 2 and 10 characters long, can include capital letters but not spaces, and may only use the Latin alphabet (specifics will follow). As with other TLDs, an abbreviation of words is permitted so long as each letter in the abbreviation is at least two letters long;

· Requirements for trademark owners--e.g., a trademark owner may only register domains that match the registered trademark in at least one instance of the domain name and the identity must be easily discovered through association with any second-level or third-level matches;

· Diversity and responsibility--e.g., registration policies consider the impact on higher education, colleges, and universities;

· Registry-level restrictions--e.g., names may not include specific words or phrases that are offensive or otherwise inappropriate to the mission of institutions of higher learning (will be determined by the .college registry).

While these policies are still in development for .college, each of the generic TLDs has a well-established set of registration policies that may be used as a guide.