.courses

Overview

• .courses is a proposed generic top-level domain (gTLD) submitted under ICANN's New gTLD Program.
• Applicant: Open Universities Australia Pty Ltd (OUA), a not-for-profit owned by seven Australian public universities.
• Registry (as listed in the application template): Verisign.
• Purpose: to provide an authoritative Internet space closely controlled by OUA for promotion and communication of its open online courses and related services.

History

• The string was revealed as part of ICANN's application disclosures (Reveal Day, 13 June 2012).
• Status in the provided material: Proposed gTLD (education category).
• The application received a GAC Early Warning from the Australian government representative and GAC Chair Heather Dryden, citing concerns that exclusive access to a common generic string could have unintended consequences and negatively impact competition.

Usage and Audience

• Primary use: OUA intends to use .courses to promote and communicate its open online courses and education services.
• Target audiences: OUA students (current and prospective), online learners globally, and the broader education community.
• Intended features and examples from the application:
  • OUA anticipates a controlled, restricted namespace focused on OUA offerings.
  • Potential future offering of personalized student domains (e.g., studentname.courses) to support student engagement and digital skills development.
  • OUA views .courses as a way to bring education sector resources together and to strengthen OUA's profile (OUA also applied for .study).
• Projected registrations (per the application): roughly 50 domain names in the first year, increasing to about 1,000 over the following years as services develop.

Registration Rules

• The proposed .courses gTLD is described as having a restricted nature with registrations to be closely controlled by OUA.
• OUA stated it will retain control over the namespace and manage registrations to maintain brand authenticity and consumer trust.
• OUA committed to complying with operational, technical and policy requirements, including obligations under the continued operations instrument (Specification 8 of the Registry Agreement).

SEO and Brand Impact

• OUA positions .courses as an authoritative space that would provide brand authenticity for its online course offerings.
• The applicant argued the gTLD would strengthen OUA's brand and reduce confusion by using .courses specifically for its studying options and education services.
• Conversely, the GAC Early Warning raises competition and public-interest concerns about granting exclusive access to a common generic string, which could affect market competition and public perception.

Notable Cases or Examples

• GAC Early Warning issued by Australia (GAC Chair Heather Dryden) is the most prominent development noted in the application materials, recommending engagement between the applicant and the objecting GAC member.
• The application highlights OUA's organizational background: a national online education provider established in 1993, owned by seven major Australian universities, and offering over 1,400 study topics and 170 qualifications online.

% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object

domain:       COURSES

organisation: Registry Services, LLC
address:      100 S. Mill Ave, Suite 1600
address:      Tempe AZ 85281
address:      United States of America (the)

contact:      administrative
name:         IANA Contact
organisation: GoDaddy Registry
address:      100 S. Mill Ave, Suite 1600
address:      Tempe AZ 85281
address:      United States of America (the)
phone:        +1 480-505-8800
fax-no:       +1 480-624-2546
e-mail:       iana@registry.godaddy

contact:      technical
name:         IANA Contact
organisation: GoDaddy Registry
address:      100 S. Mill Ave, Suite 1600
address:      Tempe AZ 85281
address:      United States of America (the)
phone:        +1 480-505-8800
fax-no:       +1 480-624-2546
e-mail:       iana@registry.godaddy

nserver:      A.NIC.COURSES 2001:dcd:1:0:0:0:0:9 37.209.192.9
nserver:      B.NIC.COURSES 2001:dcd:2:0:0:0:0:9 37.209.194.9
nserver:      C.NIC.COURSES 2001:dcd:3:0:0:0:0:9 37.209.196.9
nserver:      X.NIC.COURSES 156.154.172.82 2610:a1:1074:0:0:0:1:82
nserver:      Y.NIC.COURSES 156.154.173.82 2610:a1:1075:0:0:0:1:82
nserver:      Z.NIC.COURSES 156.154.174.82 2610:a1:1076:0:0:0:1:82
ds-rdata:     15277 8 2 0f2ac6152763313a36b063646929b4b8b35b5e4c0eaf12d54ec3982a78157d2d

whois:        whois.nic.courses

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: https://www.get.courses/

created:      2015-02-19
changed:      2024-04-16
source:       IANA