In the Chronicle of Higher Education, Wikipedia Founder Discourages Academic Use of His Creation and suggests Wikipedia may add a disclaimer to the site: Not for Academic Research. I'm not sure a disclaimer is necessary, but you can't blame the man, considering the volume of emails he must receive. English professors are doing their part loudly and vehemently in freshman composition courses around the country by attempting to teach students exactly what constitutes academic research and what does not.

That being said, I wouldn't be so quick to cut the link between universities and Wikipedia. I'm not certain, but I'm willing to bet that a good percentage of Wikipedia articles are written by academics and students. And Widipedia is certainly worth studying in advanced composition courses, especially Writing for the Web.