Boston Globe: University status eyed for colleges

Parent Cafe
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<p>Is a rose is still a rose?</p>

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Some state colleges are pursuing a name change, hoping to attract top students, big-money donors, and more prestige. Like Harvard, Brown and Yale, they want to be "universities."...</p>

<p>Bridgewater State and Salem are leading the charge, and presidents of other state colleges say they would probably follow suit if the two colleges get the necessary approval. A bill filed last month in the Legislature would allow a state college to become a university if it grants doctorate degrees or at least 50 master's degrees a year. Currently, the Legislature considers name changes on a case-by-case basis.</p>

<p>"If the others change their names, so do we in the spirit of equity and being competitive," said Robert V. Antonucci, president of Fitchburg State College...</p>

<p>Over the last decade, Salem State, a largely commuter school, has built an apartment-style dormitory and converted an old light bulb factory into a high-tech business school with wireless classrooms and smart boards and a state-of-the-art recital hall. It has also added master's degrees in such programs as communications, criminal justice, and education administration.</p>

<p>Salem, which had only a few hundred students more than four decades ago, now has 5,500 day students and 10,000 evening students, and has 33 buildings on five campuses, making it the state's third largest public higher education institution, behind the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Boston.</p>

<p>The colleges say they would bring the new name to campuses on a shoestring budget. They would probably replace stationary only as it runs out and their signs when they could afford it...</p>

<p>Alexander C. McCormick, a senior scholar who works on the classifications of colleges and universities at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, said the zeal to sound bigger could backfire. The change could scare away students who prefer the charm of a small college, where most students and professors know each other by name.</p>

<p>"It's just a pity they can't embrace the many attributes of a college," he said.

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<p><a href="http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2007/02/20/university_status_eyed_for_colleges/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2007/02/20/university_status_eyed_for_colleges/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>I agree the plan could backfire. People who want a university would be skeptical of the name change, and people who want a college would be put off.</p>

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<p>I have read quite a bit about colleges revamping their "brand" image through a name change and, no doubt, this is yet another concerted wrinkle in the attempt to attract a stronger, larger, smarter (pick one or all) applicant pool. The switch in status from college to university seems to be something of a trend - Franklin Pierce College made the change over ('the rural university with the college touch" is the motto, I think). </p>

<p>The following comes from an alumni survey conducted by FP - the key points associated with college status are - in order of preference: Class size, personal attention, social comfort, and physical comfort.</p>

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1. University status would strengthen Franklin PierceFranklin Pierce’s national image
2. University status would help undergraduate career success (by appearing as “university” on resume)
3. University status would recruit best and brightest students to Franklin Pierce
4. University status would retain high-quality faculty for Franklin Pierce
5. University status would strengthen Franklin Pierce regional image...</p>

<p>64% of respondents indicated they thought university status would increase the prestige of Franklin Pierce. 10% said the change in status would make no difference. 54% of respondents indicated they thought university status would make Franklin Pierce more attractive to high school students seeking bachelor’s degree. 20% said the change in status would make no difference...</p>

<p>56% said they preferred “Franklin Pierce University” as the name for the institution if university status is approved. 9% respondents preferred “Franklin Pierce” and 9% selected “University of Franklin Pierce.” Other respondents indicated no preference...

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<p><a href="http://209.85.135.104/search?q=cache:IcXhlZDs2qcJ:www.fpc.edu/pages/alumni/pdf/SurveyResults-summary.pdf+college+changes+from+college+to+university+status&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&client=firefox-a%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://209.85.135.104/search?q=cache:IcXhlZDs2qcJ:www.fpc.edu/pages/alumni/pdf/SurveyResults-summary.pdf+college+changes+from+college+to+university+status&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&client=firefox-a&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>^^These guys are barking up the wrong tree. The problem with the name Franklin Pierce College isn't "College." It's "Franklin Pierce." If they are interested in having a high status name, choosing to name their school after a guy who is perhaps the most obscure of all US presidents probably wasn't a smart move.</p>

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<p>I suppose this must be a college marketer's dream -but a complete name change was, it seems, rejected. New Hampshire pride? Anyway, the switch from college to university at Franklin Pierce entails a new graphic identity that builds off its current image in order to create a new identity - that means a new logo, "new signs, letterhead, business cards, fax templates and other collateral material" to be in use by July 2007. The switch from college to university will also bring revamped</p>

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graphic design for use in its numerous publications, website and other forms of communication. We are working with a branding and communications firm to develop the graphic identity and key messages that will convey our new status as a university. As this process advances, meetings, discussion and training will take place with various campus groups to ensure we present an accurate and unified image of the institution.

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<p><a href="http://209.85.135.104/search?q=cache:k9ni-ydCG0EJ:www.fpc.edu/pages/alumni/pdf/faq.pdf+college+changes+from+college+to+university+status&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=13&client=firefox-a%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://209.85.135.104/search?q=cache:k9ni-ydCG0EJ:www.fpc.edu/pages/alumni/pdf/faq.pdf+college+changes+from+college+to+university+status&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=13&client=firefox-a&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Whether they're "college" or "university" is the least of the worries for Massachusetts state schools. Their reputation is, shall we say, none too good, and for the past 15 years or so, they've been underfunded and in effect dismantled piece by piece. This is true of the flagship UMass as well, which is doing its best to remain a bastion of political hackdom (first Bill Bulger as president of UMass Amherst and now Marty Meehan retiring from Congress to take over as president of UMass Lowell).</p>

<p>Perhaps the schools would be better off keeping their names and putting their money where it might actually do some good for the students? Perish the thought!</p>

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<p>NY Times obit pays tribute to Nils Wessell who spearheaded the change from Tufts College to Tufts University: </p>

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On the day he was installed as president, Dec. 9, 1953, he called for Tufts to become a university ?in name as well as in fact.? In 1955, the Massachusetts Board of Corporations changed Tufts?s status.</p>

<p>?It was more than a name change,? Tufts?s current president, Lawrence S. Bacow, said in an interview Wednesday. ?It was a commitment to becoming a true research university. That meant developing graduate programs in the colleges of arts, sciences, engineering.?</p>

<p>During Dr. Wessell?s presidency, biology and chemistry laboratories, an engineering building, new dormitories and the Wessell Library were built, and the Lincoln Filene Center for Public Service and the Experimental College were opened...

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<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/09/us/09wessell.html?_r=1&oref=slogin%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/09/us/09wessell.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>A very small biblical college near us changed its name to "university" a few years ago. It has quite a few international students, and it was explained in a newspaper story that, in the home countries of many of them, "college" means something like "high school" does here. Having "university" on their diplomas would assure more recognition of their education in their home country.</p>

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<p>Luring international students is not a priority for Salem State. And Boston College seems to have done very well by remaining Boston College. </p>

<p>I'm with Chedva. There are far more pressing issues facing MA public colleges and universities than name changes.</p>

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<p>I didn't think that my coment applied to Salem State (I should have written that in my post). I was just speaking generally about reasons a school might do this.</p>

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<p>I know someone who went to Franklin Pierce..actually w/ a small scholarship...i mean she had a disability so she probably chose FP b/c it wasnt that hard to get into but she was smart so im surprised and its not like she couldnt afford it...there payed her older sister to go to fordham then transfer to harvard for ug and go to villanova law..full freight</p>

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<p>Same for Dartmouth. It actually IS a university but still goes by "College."</p>

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<p>In the case of BC and Dartmouth, the status of college is prestigious and works wonders because it rightly puts the emphasis on undergraduate education.</p>

<p>Here is yet another State college, in Utah, undergoing an image- name-change make-over:</p>

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So, UVSC, what are you going to do now that you've got university status and $10 million from philanthropist Ira Fulton?</p>

<p>Well, for one it's definitely not going to Disneyland. Until its status becomes official (July 1, 2008) the little college that could will be hard at work, approving graduate degrees, recycling lots and lots of business cards and updating its Wikipedia entry.</p>

<p>The Legislature unanimously approved the name change on Tuesday to Utah Valley University, and along with that, $8 million to fund the change. After the bill passed the House, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. committed to UVSC administrators that he will sign the bill into law on UVSC's campus at 11:30 a.m. on March 19 , said Cameron Martin, chairman of the University Transition Task Force...</p>

<p>Martin said there's something "really scary" about the switch: "When we change our name to university there will be some who think, well, I can't go to a university. We are still this region's community college. We are completely dedicated to the two-year mission and the open enrollment. We are and we will be."...</p>

<p>In 1993, Valentine spoke to the state board of regents and gave what he called his "dream" speech. "If you build a state college, they will come," he said. And so with Valentine's legislative efforts, Utah Valley Community College became Utah Valley State College in 1997...</p>

<p>T-shirts and sweatshirts are not legal documents, so students can get their UVU hoodies soon. As far as business cards and official documents, that will wait until July 1, 2008.</p>

<p>The earliest a graduate degree will be offered is the fall of 2008, but will most likely be after that.</p>

<p>Tuition will not be significantly raised, neither will it be used to fund the switch to university status.</p>

<p>A university image committee has been established to find design firms to create the school's new logos.

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<p><a href="http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/211885/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/211885/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>