.college
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| Status: | Contract Signed |
| Registry Provider: | XYZ.COM & CentralNic |
| Type: | Generic |
| Category: | Education |
| Priority #: | 789 - 1621 - XYZ.COM LLC |
More information: 
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.College is a proposed TLD to the New gTLD Program of ICANN. Although there were originally two applicants, the only current applicant is XYZ.COM LLC; the contention set was settled via a private auction facilitated by Innovative Auctions. XYZ.COM's goal is for .College to be an all-inclusive, open gTLD, providing recourse to organizations previously denied access to educational or communal identification within the online space.
Registry Details[edit | edit source]
XYZ.COM LLC, which is the sole applicant for .College, is the company is owned by domain name investor Daniel Negari who also applied for the strings .now and .xyz. CentralNic will provide back-end registry solutions. [1] XYZ.COM began offering preregistration for .College on June 27, 2013.[2]
History[edit | edit source]
There were originally two applicants for .College, XYZ.COM LLC and Donuts, but XYZ.COM won the contention set in a private gTLD auction for an undisclosed amount. It was auctioned off in the first round of such auctions held by Innovative Auctions in June 2013.[3]
Uses and Goals[edit | edit source]
.College aims to be the serve not only accredited educational institutions, but also any individuals or organization that may benefit from a reputable and recognizable extension that is linked to the educational sphere. Intended registrants include colleges, students, professors, college preparation companies, employee training companies, online tutorials, and many others. According to XYZ.COM's application, the gTLD will "will provide communal organizations and educational organizations with a wide range of domain names they can use to communicate, self-identify, offer products and services, and build community. "[4]
Application Details[edit | edit source]
The following is excerpted from the applicant's response to question #18:
"Contrary to the stringent restrictions of the .edu registry, the TLD respects all constructions and usages of the term “college,” and is committed to providing descriptive domain names to all organizations that seek such identification, from credible, reputable educational organizations previously barred from educational recognition in the online space to religious groups, who are not seeking academic accreditation, but desire to form religious instruction institutions, such as a seminary or yeshiva."
"In an era where the availability of high-value industry-relevant names are increasingly diminishing and financially unattainable by the majority of domain registrants, multitudes of respectable communal and educational organizations are relegated to the realm of irrelevant domain names cluttering the online landscape."
"The TLD will provide increased consumer choice opening up a wide array of new industry-ranging domain names, a reduction in the price spent on obtaining domain names (circumventing the exorbitant fees charged for valuable domains in the traditional TLD space), and improved user experience, allowing consumers access to a greater array of business resources and services within each industry."
"The .college TLD will be open to all individuals and groups related to educational organizations, such as parents, students, teachers, professors, schools, universities, as well as to communities of individuals joined by a common cause or dedicated to unconventional educational endeavors, such as religious organizations seeking to form instructional groups. Each of these entities deserves the opportunity for identification and recognition in the online space. The TLD .college will constitute an all-inclusive, open TLD where sharing of information is free and uninhibited." [5]
Contract Signed[edit | edit source]
On 16 January 2014 XYZ.COM LLC received a Registry Agreement signed by ICANN for .college after passing all the required processes needed to become a Registry Operator for the string.[6]