Policy Comment Forum

General Forum Information | Acceptable Use Policy

The EDUCAUSE Policy Comment Forum is where the public can submit suggested policy changes and comment on specific suggestions under review by the Policy Board. All policy-change suggestions and public comments must adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy. Policy change suggestions that the Policy Board considers appropriate for public comment will be listed under the Current Suggestions section on this page with a deadline for submitting comments. Decisions made by the Policy Board about a suggestion for which comments were invited will be posted under the Archived Suggestions section. Suggestions received and decided on without comment will be summarized under the Meeting Minutes on the Policy Board page.

Current Suggestions

There are currently no policy-change suggestions open for public comment. Please see Archived Suggestions for information and comments on past policy-change suggestions and those still under review by the Policy Board or the Department of Commerce.

Archived Suggestions

Eligibility for Pre-Accredited Institutions

Modify the .edu eligibility requirements so that pre-accreditation (or "candidate") status would be accepted for .EDU eligibility for institutions that have been deemed eligible by the U.S. Department of Education for Title IV student loans. Operationally, such institutions would be required to submit documentation to EDUCAUSE showing both their pre-accreditation status and Title IV eligibility. Pre-accreditation status must be institutional (not programmatic) and conferred by one of the accreditation agencies on the same list as used for conventional .EDU eligibility.

Deadline for commenting on this suggested change was April 30, 2007.

Eligibility for System and District Offices (now called “Governing Bodies”)

Modify the .edu eligibility requirements to comprise two categories of organizations. Category 1 would be labeled “Accredited Institutions”; Category 2 would be labeled “Governing Bodies.” Category 1 would contain the current eligibility criteria (postsecondary institutions accredited by one of the agencies on the Department of Education list of National Recognized Accrediting Agencies). Category 2 would contain this text: “Entities which, based on their administrative, statutory, or constitutional responsibilities, have as their principal activity the governance, supervision, or regulation of institutions in Category 1.”

Deadline for commenting on this suggested change was January 15, 2004.

The Board held its first meeting on April 16, 2002, and decided to address the following as its first policy-change suggestion:

Only "regionally accredited" institutions are currently eligible to receive .edu names. It has been proposed that this restriction be revised to include all post-secondary institutions that are institutionally accredited by an accrediting agency appearing on the U.S. Department of Education's list of "Nationally Recognized Accrediting Agencies."

PLEASE NOTE: This topic is limited to consideration of accreditation requirements for U.S. post-secondary institutions. Policy changes regarding international accreditation, K-12 schools, and non-accredited institutions, among others, will be covered in other topics and are off-topic here.

Deadline for commenting on this suggested change was August 15, 2002.

Disposition: Based on a proposal from the .edu Policy Board, the U.S. Department of Commerce has approved a policy change that will allow postsecondary institutions that are institutionally accredited by agencies on the U.S. Department of Education's list of Nationally Recognized Accrediting Agencies to apply for .edu domain names. This list includes both "Regional Institutional Accrediting Agencies" and "National Institutional and Specialized Accrediting Bodies." Note that institutional accreditation is required for .edu eligibility; program accreditation is not sufficient. For accrediting agencies that accredit both institutions and programs, see the "Title IV Note" on the Department of Education Web page. EDUCAUSE expects to open the application process to newly eligible institutions starting on April 15, 2003. Newly eligible institutions may not apply before that date.

Policy-Change Suggestions

The process for submitting policy-change suggestions for review is as follows:

Individuals may submit a suggestion in one of the following ways:
1. Complete the online form.
2. Send an e-mail to edupolicysuggestions@educause.edu.
3. Send a letter to:
EDUCAUSE staff will review all submitted policy suggestions and will create nonduplicative entries under the Current Suggestions heading on this page. These suggestions will be reviewed with the Policy Board before posting, and posted suggestion will have an area for online comments.
Individuals may submit comments on a suggested policy change for a 90-day period after its initial posting.
The Policy Board will consider each suggestion and related comments at its next meeting following the comment deadline. The Board's decision will be posted on this site as part of the listing of the suggestion under the Archived Suggestions heading on this page.

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