Which is why Villa Julie College, University of Missouri-Rolla and Miami Dade Community College decided to change theirs.

Change: From Villa Julie College to Stevenson University
“We felt the confusion so profound and growth so significant that we had to explore a name change,” says Kevin Manning, president of the former Villa Julie College.

Villa Julie College became Stevenson University on June 11, 2008. Since Manning became the school’s president in 2000, the population has doubled, the school has changed from a commuter to a residential campus, and a second campus has opened in Owings Mills, Maryland, six miles from the main campus in Stevenson.

“Villa Julie College does not accurately describe who we are today,” said Manning simply in an address to the campus community. “Henry Stevenson was an Irish farmer for whom the town was named. He married the granddaughter of Owings, the founder of Owings Mills, where our other campus is located. We’re located in Stevenson, and we have the Owings Mills connection. It's very appropriate.”

Change: From the University of Missouri-Rolla to Missouri University of Science and Technology
The University of Missouri-Rolla became Missouri University of Science and Technology on January 1, 2008. Andrew Careaga, Missouri S&T’s director of communications, says, “The former name could be a branch campus, could be a feeder school, could be a comprehensive public research university—no one could really tell by the name. But with our new name, there’s little doubt about the focus of this campus.”

This is not the first time that UMR has changed its name. Founded in 1870 as the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy, it became known as the University of Missouri-Rolla in 1964. The desire then was to move away from an appearance as a “school” and become recognized as a full-fledged university. The name change in 1964 was accompanied by an expansion of the University of Missouri into four campuses.

But some were dissatisfied that the change from the School of Mines caused an identity loss.  Now fast forward to 2008. “We are primarily an engineering, science and technology school,” Careaga explains. “Eighty-five percent of our students major in one of the three. We need a name that portrays the true nature of this university, and our former name just didn’t do that.”

So on October 9, 2006 Chancellor John Carney presesented the idea of a name change in his State of the University address. Subsequent market research that included surveys and focus groups followed. While no one name rose above the others, the name Missouri University of Science and Technology seemed to resonate with prospective students, especially those from outside Missouri. The school is interested in recruiting more out-of-state students, and Missouri S&T was declared the winner.

Change: From Miami Dade Community College to Miami Dade College
A name change isn’t always a lengthy process. Miami Dade simply dropped ‘Community’ from its name in 2003 after the state of Florida issued approval for their issuance of baccalaureate degrees. Subsequently, the principal challenge was making sure the Greater Miami community was on the same page.

“At first we had to make sure everyone knew that Miami Dade College was the same institution as Miami Dade Community College,” explains Norma Martin Goonen, provost for academic and student affairs. “But that only lasted for a short time.”

Once any confusion was addressed, the community embraced the change. “When we surveyed the community, they found the college represented and served them well,” says Goonen. 

Like Missouri S&T, Miami Dade College has changed names before. It founded in 1960 as Dade County Junior College, and in 1963 it became Miami-Dade Junior College. Then in 1973 its name was Miami Dade Community College. 

“Even though ‘community’ is not a part of our name,” Goonen continues, “serving the needs of the community is still very much a part of our mission and strategic goals.”