No.
Your university account might not cut it. I have a forum too, it’s really easy. Here’s a quick run down of the steps you’d take to get (a phpBB one) setup.
Woah, they got all kinds new stuff there (or maybe these aren’t new and I never noticed).
phpbb.com/support/tutorials/
Anyway:
Check that wherever you plan on hosting it meets the requirements.
Installation of phpBB 2.0.11 requires the following:
* A webserver or web hosting account running on any major Operating System
* A SQL database system, one of:
o MySQL (3.22 or higher)
o PostgreSQL 7.0.3 or higher (preferably 7.1.x or 7.2.x)
o MS SQL Server (7 or 2000) directly or via ODBC
o MS Access (2000 or XP) via ODBC
* PHP (3.0.9 and above or preferably a recent 4.x) with support for the database you intend to use above
If your server or hosting account does not meet the requirements above I am afraid phpBB 2.0 is not for you.
Next, download:
phpbb.com/downloads.php
You’d want the full full zip.
After that, install it:
phpbb.com/support/documents.php?mode=install
Basically you can unzip the file you downloaded and upload the contents of that file into the directory to want phpBB to run in.
Then:
Once all the files have been uploaded to your site you should point your browser at this location with the addition of install/install.php.
You’ll need some info here about the php database you want to use.
Just download it and get your hands dirty. I guarantee you’re going to run into problems installing it no matter how much you read. You don’t have to worry about “breaking” anything so hop to it.
I haven’t officially started selling my hosting/computer services, but if you need a cheap host and/or help getting things setup, let me know . I have fantastico so you can do the whole setup in less than 2 minutes.
I’d also recommend getting an account on phpBB. The people there were very helpful when I ran into problems with installation and other issues.