Risks of using "free" public blogs and/or wikis for class activities

[Clifford Collins <Collinsc () FRANKLIN EDU>]

A faculty member on our campus recently approached our IT group to have a blog and/or wiki set up to support her 
classes next month. This request was out of the blue and didn't go through normal channels (department head, planning 
committees, etc).
 
IT's response was that some thought, planning and a server were necessary to do it right and therefore more time would 
be needed to provide a supportable solution. Now the faculty member is saying she will just use one of the many "free" 
ones on the Internet.
 
I'm interested in people's view of any risks or other down-sides to such an approach. Pointers to papers, analysis and 
whatnot would be appreciated as well. Your thoughts?
 
 
Clifford A. Collins
Network Security Administrator
Franklin University
201 South Grant Avenue
Columbus, Ohio 43215
"Security is a process, not a product"