How to Get a .edu Website
Since 2001, the U.S. Department of Commerce has allocated responsibility to managing .edu domains to EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit association which promotes intelligent use of information technology to advance higher education. Under the authority of these organizations -- with the exception of currently ineligible organizations who obtained .edu domains prior to 2001 -- only certain post-secondary educational institutions are eligible for acquiring these special domains.
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Instructions
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Check that your institution meets all of EDUCAUSE's eligibility requirements for obtaining an .edu domain. The institution must be within the United States; licensed, chartered or incorporated within the United States; or otherwise formally recognized by a state or federal government agency within the United States. Additionally, the institution must be institutionally accredited by one of the state, regional or national agencies listed by the U.S. Department of Education as one of its Nationally Recognized Accrediting Agencies. Institutional accreditation must be final, and not pending, for your institution to be eligible.
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Determine a domain name that is not generic and which appropriately represents your institution. Choose carefully, as only one .edu domain is allowed per institution.
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Visit the EDUCAUSE website, and click on its "Request a New Domain" page. Scroll down to ".edu Availability Lookup," enter the domain name you're considering, and click "Check Domain." If your inquiry results in the notice that the domain is already in use, click "Check Another Domain," and enter an alternative. Once your inquiry results in the notice that a desired domain name is available to request, click "Request This Domain."
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Enter your institution's name, city and state -- or the name of your accrediting agency -- in the appropriate fields to validate your eligibility on the "Is Your Institution Eligible" screen, and click "Search."
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Select the name of your institution from the list provided on the "Accreditation Check Results" screen.
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Enter and confirm a password in the fields on the "Create Domain Password" screen, and click "Next." The password will be for accessing and managing your domain. It must be at least that 8 characters long and include both letters and numbers.
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Enter your institution's legal name and address into the fields on the "Organization Address Information" screen, and click "Next."
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Enter the name and contact information -- title, business address, email addresses, phone and fax numbers -- of the administrative contact for your institution's domain on the "Administrative Contact Information" screen, and click "Next."
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Enter the name and contact information of the technical contact for the domain on the "Technical Contact Information" screen, and click "Next."
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Enter the name and contact information of the billing contact for your domain on the "Billing Contact Information" screen, and click "Next."
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Enter the host names that will serve as your Primary, Secondary and any additional domain name servers on the "Name Server Information" screen, and click "Next." You may need to check with your Internet Service Provider for this information. Make sure the servers have public IP addresses set up to respond to queries for the domain you are registering.
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Click "Submit" to send your completed request.
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Submit the annual payment -- $40.00 as of June, 2011 -- by check, Visa, MasterCard or American Express upon approval.
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References
Resources
- EDUCAUSE .edu Administration: Steps to Requesting a New .edu Domain
- EDUCAUSE .edu Administration: .edu General FAQ
- EDUCAUSE .edu Administration: .edu Frequently Asked Questions
- U.S. Department of Education: Financial Aid for Postsecondary Students - Accreditation in the United States
- "Search Engine Journal"; Truth About .Edu Domains: Registration, Links and Google Juice; Julie McCormick; December 2007
- Photo Credit Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images
