The Executive Committee of Loyola College in Maryland’s Board of Trustees announced today that it has affirmed and ratified the preliminary decision of the full Board to change Loyola’s designation from “College” to “University,” effective Aug. 15, 2009. They also voted unanimously to change the name of the College of Arts and Sciences to Loyola College, also effective Aug. 15, 2009.
Loyola University Maryland
The Board of Trustees, after months of conversation with Loyola constituents and the review of extensive research on the topic, has determined that the “university” designation describes the depth, breadth and excellence of its programs more completely than does “college.” The decision to rename the College of Arts and Sciences symbolizes Loyola's enduring tradition of Jesuit liberal arts education. The decision to retain the “Maryland” portion of the university’s name stems from a desire to reaffirm Loyola’s connection to its home state and to underscore the distinctions between Maryland’s Loyola and those in Louisiana, Illinois and California.
In April, after months of discussion involving many members of the Loyola Community and a review of an initial round of research, Loyola’s full Board of Trustees authorized its Executive Committee to move forward with the designation change upon completion of the research analysis. The Executive Committee, in consultation with College President Brian Linnane, S.J., met recently and agreed to enact the change.
Extensive market research reinforced the conviction the Executive Committee and the full Board of Trustees developed after many months of conversation and discussion about the most appropriate designation for Loyola. Over the course of the past few months, higher education consulting firm SimpsonScarborough has been engaged in an in-depth examination of the perceptions of Loyola held by current and prospective students, current parents, alumni, faculty, staff, and business and secondary education leaders. As part of this larger project, the firm also posed questions relating to the “college” and “university” designations to several of these groups. Survey details: Faculty: More than 140 faculty completed an online survey Staff: More than 210 staff members completed an online survey Current undergraduates: More than 1,050 current undergraduates completed an online survey Current graduate students: Approximately 400 graduate students completed an online survey Alumni—more than 3,500 graduate and undergraduate alumni completed an online survey Prospective students: 400 completed a phone survey Parents of current students: 524 completed an online survey
Survey findings revealed that:
- Prospective students were more than five times as likely to name a “university” among lists of excellent colleges and universities than they were a “college.”
- Nearly two-thirds of prospective students said it was more prestigious to attend a “university” than a “college.”
- Two-thirds of prospective students said it looks better on a resume to have attended a “university” as opposed to a “college”—20 to 40 percent of all other audiences agreed, with no more than 10 percent of any audience preferring “college.”
When asked whether Loyola was best described as a “college” or a “university,” between 45 percent and 73 percent of each audience identified Loyola as a “college.” The research supports our belief that while with two distinct schools and a third planned; a graduate student population comprising more than 40 percent of the overall student body; and 20 graduate degree programs including two nationally known doctoral programs, Loyola is a university and has been for many years, Loyola’s historic name may have limited the perceptions of its educational offerings and the excellence of those programs. Admission materials will begin to transition to “Loyola University Maryland” during the period when students who intend to enter Loyola in the Fall of 2009 begin to make their commitments to the university. All materials designed for prospective students who intend to enroll in Fall 2010 and later will reference Loyola University Maryland. University-specific items will be available at the time the designation change takes effect. Until then, Loyola College apparel will be available, although items that prove less popular may not be re-ordered. During this period, a greater selection of items emphasizing the name “Loyola” by itself may be available. This decision must be endorsed by the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC), and Loyola officials will submit an official letter requesting endorsement in the coming days. This question will be explored as Loyola continues its ongoing integrated marketing research. Obviously, the current references to “College” will need to be changed, but the possibility of more extensive changes will be addressed in the coming months. It is important to remember that this change is not about a logo, seal or merchandise; the designation change allows Loyola to showcase verbally and symbolically its educational offerings and excellence. No. Loyola is fortunate to own www.loyola.edu, a URL appropriate for its new designation.
New diplomas will not be available. Diplomas are historical documents, marking an achievement attained at a specific moment in time. For current alumni and members of the Class of 2009, that achievement took place at “Loyola College in Maryland,” and their diplomas should reflect that.
Alumni can make this decision themselves, but we would recommend “Loyola College in Maryland (now known as Loyola University Maryland.)” The Board and Loyola’s leaders have carefully considered the costs associated with this decision. Many of the costs perceived to stem from this designation change—new admission materials, videos, letterhead, etc.—would ordinarily need to be redesigned, reproduced and replenished on this time frame for a number of reasons, and will be paid for using the departmental or divisional budget lines normally responsible for these items. Other costs related to the designation change—signage, for instance—are expected to account for a relatively small portion of Loyola’s overall budget in the next two years.
These resources are expected to be drawn from funds allocated for marketing expenses and departmental budgets already in place that would pay for the replenishment of materials.
Absolutely not. Members of the Loyola Community should make sure they have an adequate supply of stationery to carry through until Aug. 15, 2009. It may be appropriate to order smaller than usual quantities to ensure that “Loyola College” supplies are largely exhausted by August 2009. Individual departments will be responsible for ordering and paying for new materials; this is no different than the traditional orders that would be placed during the year to replenish collateral materials and letterhead. Information on how to do so will be made available later this academic year.
Findings from the rest of SimpsonScarborough’s research—which involves asking the opinions and impressions of current students, faculty, administrators, parents and alumni, as well as prospective students, members of the secondary education community and regional business leaders, and will form the basis for the development of an integrated marketing plan, should be available this fall. Open fora on this project will also be scheduled.
For additional information on any of these topics or on questions not raised, please contact Courtney Jolley, Director of Public Relations, at 410-617-5025.
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