Online College Faces Criticism for Renting Out Space on '.edu' Domain

By JEFFREY R. YOUNG

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Web addresses ending in .edu are usually reserved for accredited colleges and universities, but an online college in Missouri has started renting out blog space on its .edu domain to just about anyone willing to pay $50 a month. And the practice has quickly raised objections from college officials worried that such rentals undermine the .edu designation.

The college, the Pickering Institute, calls its service the "first public EDU blog community," and it touts the marketing value of having an Internet address that appears to be part of a college. "Our blogs allow you to reach an education-minded audience that is difficult to reach with mass-market blogs such as Blogger or Blogspot," says an announcement on the institute's Web site. So far, the blogs with the new .edu addresses include such noneducational offerings as "Handbags in Our Life," "Jewelry in Our Life," and "Get the Scoop." The institute is working with an Internet company called LinkAdage to offer the service.

Renting blog space on an .edu address may not violate the rules of the educational Internet domain, which is overseen by Educause, the higher-education technology group, under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce. Nevertheless, Educause officials say they are investigating the practice after receiving a complaint from a member on Tuesday.

"We are certainly concerned about any practice that devalues the .edu domain," said Steven L. Worona, director of policy and networking programs at Educause. He pointed out that the rules forbid transferring an .edu address to another entity. But the Pickering Institute is selling space on subdomains of its pi.edu address—meaning that the blog about handbags uses the address "handbags.pi.edu."

"Offering services on subdomains is not a violation of .edu rules," said Mr. Worona.

A representative of the Pickering Institute could not be reached for comment. The telephone number that the group listed when registering its Internet address no longer works, and it is not listed in the phone book. That in itself could violate Educause rules. "There is a requirement that contact information be maintained," said Mr. Worona.

Groups found to be violating the rules of the .edu domain are given 45 days to respond or comply before an address is revoked, said Mr. Worona.

The Pickering Institute does have some rules for who may rent one of its .edu blog addresses. No "porn-related blogs," blogs promoting gambling, blogs that contain misleading information, or spam blogs are allowed, according to guidelines on the LinkAdage site describing the service. "Your blog must contain original content that teaches and educates readers," it says.