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Formed in 1972, the North Harris Montgomery County College District was created by citizens served by the Aldine, Humble and Spring Independent School Districts to be a junior college district. Later, eight other school districts joined over the next 28 years. Unfortunately, the original name was no longer viable. The individual campuses were individually known as:
- Cy-Fair College
- Kingwood College
- Montgomery College
- North Harris College
- Tomball College
Several considerations regarding the new name were set forth by the "Name Review Committee." These criteria were as follows:- Must be shorter than the current name.
- Must be distinctive and unique.
- Must connect all colleges, communities, member school districts.
- Must support the mission, purpose of the institution.
- Must reflect a “system” of colleges, not a geographic “district.”
- Must have an appropriate, easy-to-say acronym.
- Must reflect the institution’s image as a successful, quality, inclusive, diverse, comprehensive college.
- May include a key descriptor of the region’s geography, history or location.
- Should be inspiring and forward-thinking, but not faddish.
- Must not be the name of an individual.
Stakeholders were invited to participate in the process and the Board of Trustees approved the Lone Star College System name on November 1, 2007. The name became official on January 1, 2008. On January 16, a new logo and a unified color scheme was unveiled to the public.
The New Name Information Site
Lone Star College System Rises as the New Name for NHMCCD
Lone Star College Unveils New Logo for New Name
I love the new logo and the name really makes sense. This was an excellent rebranding scenario and it appears to have gone very smoothly.
According to President F. Dominic Dottavio, Heidelberg College in Tiffin, Ohio is "considering changing the school’s name back to “Heidelberg University” — not to be confused with the University of Heidelberg in Heidelberg, Germany — because the scope of its programs is changing, and it offers a wider variety of professional programs."
While the president is considering a retrobranding tactic, The History of Heidelberg College by Williard (1879) indicates that the school was known as Heidelberg College since its 1850 inception. The school was chartered under this name in 1851 and was founded by the Reformed Church in the U.S. The school is currently under the auspices of the Reformed Church's successor denomination: the United Church of Christ.
Time will tell whether the school will make the leap of faith to university status.
'Berg defies "big-box' approach
As part of its strategic plan through 2020 announced in fall 2007, Fort Hays State University had considered changing its name to the University of Western Kansas. Part of the justification of the change was that it was unclear where the school was located, it was the only state institution in the western portion of Kansas, and Fort Hays (the namesake of the institution) had not been operational since 1889 and only had a historical connection to Hays, KS. Prior to the 1977 name change to Fort Hays State University, the school had Kansas as part of its previous names:
- 1902 - Western Branch of the Kansas Normal School
- 1914 - Fort Hays Kansas State Normal School
- 1923 - Kansas State Teachers College of Hays
- 1931 - Fort Hays Kansas State College
- 1977 - Fort Hays State University
The name change initiative was unpopular with a majority of students and some perspective donors. A Facebook group protesting the name change garnered support from over 1,000 individuals while a similar group promoting the new name only had three proponents.
On December 12, 2007, President Edward H. Hammond announced that the Fort Hays State name would remain.
Dare to Dream document that promoted the name change.
Name Change Causing a Stir
Dissension over FHSU Slogan: "Affordable Success"
Cost Outweighs Benefits, Name Doesn't ChangeFHSU Staying That Way
This from today's Tuscaloosa News:
"Postsecondary Education Chancellor Bradley Byrne wants to change the name of the two-year college system from The Alabama College System to the Alabama Community College System.""Martha Simmons, the system's communications director, said the name change will better reflect the role the system plays and will describe a more definitive role when marketed."
That is the extent of what's in the news. It sounds as though it is the right move as it does provide a name that matches their mission. Film at 11.
For several years, Anoka-Ramsey Community College in Minnesota has been considering a change of name that would accomplish three things. One: drop the "community college" designation to favor just "college." Two: rebrand itself with a new identity. Three: reduce any confusion between the college and two other educational entities with similar names.
The original name choice was Ardent College; however, this has been scrapped in favor of Bridgeway College. While intensive research has been conducted by the school, no concrete decision has been made on whether to continue with the present name or become Bridgeway College. The school provides their research procedures and rationale on their website. Although having known of this possible change, I did not include this school in my research as the name change was not definite.
See Anoka-Ramsey CommunityCollege Name Change Processand Questions and Answers.
Utah Valley State College gears up for its 6th name change to Utah Valley University on July 1, 2008. Over the years, the school has transitioned from a site offering vocational classes, to a technical college, to a community college, to a state college, and will become a university. In 2007, the Utah state legislature and governor approved the offering of a Master's in Education and the move to university status.
The plan to move to university status appears to be well coordinated and better documented than any institution I've seen in recent time. The website dealing with this change is "chock full" of useful information that would benefit any school considering the "college-to-university" metamorphosis. I wish that I had known about this change while in the research phase of my dissertation. Needless to say, I am impressed with the attention to detail to which this institution has committed itself and the administration's willingness to provide this info to stakeholders. In a word, "Impressive."
See the following:
Top Ten FAQ's About UVU.
University Status Commentary.
Documentation.
Governance and Administration of Higher Education in Utah.
Students' FAQs
Communities of Engaged Learners Initiative.
Marketing and Promotion.
The school appears to be using a "Translucent Warning" brand implementation strategy (Kaikati & Kaikati, 2003) in the process of changing its name. By keeping the primary identifier of "Utah Valley," but the dropping of "State," this is an example of what I termed as a minor-complex name change. See Chapter Three: Realizing the "College-to-University" Change from my dissertation. This chapter outlines the various brand implementation strategies and types of name changes instituted when colleges transitioned to a universities.
See USVC edges toward university debut by Brittani Lusk of the Daily Herald
