Rebranding a National University

Brad VanAuken on the "Branding Strategy Insider: the Branding Blog" describes the process of rebranding Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute without changing its name. He provides the story behind the Rensselaer tag line: "Why not change the world?"^TM

See his blog entry at Branding Strategy Insider.

Facebook petition sinks revamped logo

Here's one I found by accident last night and wish that it had been included in my dissertation. At Vermont's Middlebury College, students protested the change in institutional logos and did so via Facebook. While student activism has not been as successful in branding issues as have alumni efforts, here's one example of the power of the Internet and concerned students who forced the college's administration to cave on their original intent to rebrand the institution's seal.

See the article in the student weekly newspaper. Unfortunately, the Facebook group "Just Say No to the Middlebury Logo" is no longer available. A companion article explains that a variation of the new logo will be used ׀ it just will not replace the original institutional seal.

While most administrators appear not to involve students in such decisions, there are times when these stakeholders may need to be consulted. In my research, student dissatisfaction was successful when coupled with alumni and other groups. This occurred at University of Mary Washington, Case-Western Reserve University, and California State University of Pennsylvania. With the exception of the Mary Washington rebranding, the student protests alone may not have been as successful. In other examples, the students were apathetic about what the institution was doing in regard to branding issues.

It is an interesting story and I find in noteworthy that students preferred a traditional logo than a streamlined, rectilinear, and contemporary style logo. Regarding other issues, the students appear to be very active and contemporary in thought rather than traditional in nature. To me this appears to be a dichotomy; however, not knowing this school (noted as "one of the nation's top liberal art colleges") nor the student body, I have no answer to this apparent conundrum. Some comments pro and con are found below the main article.

The Beginning

Greetings. It's Christmas morn and the presents are all unwrapped - I got mine, an Irish bouzouki, several weeks early as a combination present for my birthday and Christmas. I've been driving everyone nuts for the past several weeks learning to play the thing. No one here appreciates my eclectic musical tastes. It is not my fault that the family doesn't value the many great musical styles I appreciate, so I have become a denizen of the basement or the bathroom where I may "jam" in peace without fear of reprisal.

With that said, I thought no better time than the present to start this blog. It is based upon the research I conducted for my dissertation on educational branding and rebranding. The document is found in its entirety at http://www.newriver.net/.

One of my mentors asked me what am I going to do with all my free time and my new-found knowledge and I replied "me thinks I'll start me a blog." They tell you when you write a dissertation that you are the expert in the field, so I've been driving those who can't hear my bouzouki playing with information regarding higher educational branding. After all, they tell me I am expert ׀ so, I might as well pontificate. So, this serves as the introductory post to what will probably become an infrequently managed blog as rebrandings, although popular these days, are not very frequent in the scheme of higher education in general. In other words, there shouldn't be a post every day on the topic only as the phenomena dictate (plural intended as there are different sorts of higher ed rebrandings).

In a nutshell, my dissertation, which carries the title of Survival of the Fittest? The Rebranding of West Virginia Higher Education, primarily deals with the topic in relation to West Virginia higher education. With that said, there is research dealing with the rebranding of over 150 institutions outside of West Virginia. I only considered U.S. based rebrandings of regionally accredited institutions (although some lesser status nationally accredited institutions served as illustrations). Most institutions in the study transitioned from college to university status, but all types of rebrandings were noted.

The primary institutional rebrands charted in my mixed method study include the following West Virginia rebrandings in chronological order:

• Morris Harvey College to The University of Charleston in 1979,
• Salem College to Salem Teikyo University (now Salem International University) in 1989,
• Wheeling Jesuit College to Wheeling Jesuit University in 1996,
• West Virginia Institute of Technology to West Virginia University Institute of Technology in 1996,
• The College of West Virginia to Mountain State University in 2001,
• Concord College to Concord University in 2004,
• Fairmont State College to Fairmont State University in 2004,
• Shepherd College to Shepherd University in 2004,
• West Virginia State College to West Virginia State University in 2004,
• Ohio Valley College to Ohio Valley University in 2005, and
• the proposed rebranding of West Liberty State College to West Liberty University in the near future.

Additionally, there is a case study on the numerous institutions that have used the "Allegheny" educational brand.

Here it begins, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

The Parental Overinvolvement Quiz

ItҀs only natural for parents to be part of their childҀs college selection and application process: YouҀre paying for it, after all, and this is a climactic moment in your offspringҀs life. ItҀs also one of the visible results of primary and secondary education. With few rituals left to mark the passage from childhood to adulthood, the process enables your child to relish this significant moment in the safety of home and school, with guidance from you, teachers, and counselors. In important ways, itҀs also a test run for college and life itself.

But this American walkabout often suffers from too much parental involvement. At a time when a child should be taking the reins and learning to direct his or her own life, parents can unwittingly short circuit the process. They see this moment as theirs instead of their childrenҀs, or in the name of ӀhelpingԀ or Ӏpreventing mistakesԀ they take over, situations that can cause a great deal of conflict and ill will as a child heads into the future. Anyone who has been through it knows the signs: increased mumbling and eye rolling, dark looks, eruptions at the dinner table, and a refusal even to say the word ӀcollegeԀ or fill out applications.

But there are ways to tell if youҀre doing too much and need to back off. Below is a short quiz to see if youҀre letting go or holding on.

1. Do you say, ӀWeҀre applying to collegeԀ instead of ӀJohnnyҀs applying to collegeԀ?
2. Do you insist that your child apply to your alma mater or other college of your choice regardless of his/her interest in it?
3. Do you look forward to telling friends at cocktail parties where your child is applying?
4. Do you let people know your childҀs GPA, standardized test scores, and other personal information?
5. Are you planning college visits with little or no input from your child?
6. Do you ridicule your childҀs college choices because he/she clearly doesnҀt know whatҀs good for him/her?
7. Do you know more than your childҀs college counselor does, even if you havenҀt applied or been to a college in 20 years?
8. When you have college conversations with your child do you talk more than listen?
9. Do you insist on scouring rankings lists for ӀbestԀ colleges rather than listening to what your child wants?
10. Do you lose sleep worrying that your child will go to a Ӏno nameԀ college?
11. Do you talk about your childҀs talents/gifts/abilities or lack thereof to others with him or her present?
12. Do you (or a surrogate) do all the college research, all the calling, and all the typing of request letters and applications?
13. Do you make admission interview appointments for your child?
14. During college visits, do you ask questions for your child or otherwise take center stage?
15. Do you worry that you havenҀt done enough as a parent to ensure that your child gets into a ӀgoodԀ college?
16. Do you prod your child, even as application deadlines approach, to join more clubs or take up exotic activities like bungee jumping or spelunking?
17. Do you insist that your child begin taking honors or AP courses even if he or she has never taken them in the past, and do you berate school officials if they think thatҀs not a good idea?
18. Do you see college as a reward for your efforts at raising a child?
19. Do you see college as a judgment of those efforts?
20. Do you interpret your childҀs college choices as a comment on you as a parent?
21. Have you read all the college guides, getting-into-college guides, secrets-of-getting-into -college guides, and "how to" books about essays, tests, and everything else?

If you've answered "Yes" to any of these questions, it's time to pull back and take stock because you're taking control of something that should belong to your child. Allowing him or her to take the driver's seat in the college process is like, well, letting him or her take the driver's seat. You can't do it for your child; at some point your offspring has to drive alone. You may panic that he's not taking that corner properly or she's changing lanes too quickly, but true knowledge and independence, not to mention maturity, only come with experience. If your child is resisting college planning, perhaps you're pushing too much' he may want to take his own time and make his own plans.

Naturally, you need to keep an eye on things, but stay in the passenger's seat; don't try to grab the wheel. Make suggestions, keep the nagging to once or twice a week, and remember that, overall, the college process is actually a lot more forgiving than driver's ed: despite the panic over early admission and "regular" deadlines in November and December, many colleges have deadlines that run into February and even March. Now, it may be difficult, but you may want to acquaint your child with the idea of being responsible for her/his actions, if you haven't already done so: Late applications can mean being shut out of a college or being last to be considered for financial aid. But put the responsibility on your child, don't do applications for him or fill out forms for her. Be resolute and insist that your child do the work. In the long run, this will be much better for your child's development and your long-term relationship.

Remember, itҀs your childҀs future at stake here, not yours. Give him or her the power to make decisions, even to make mistakes, with your support and guidance, not your direction or judgment. Take a virtual vacation and ӀreturnԀ only when an application check needs to be signed or youҀre asked for advice. Let your child feel the thrill of controlling his or her own destiny. Above all, parents, enjoy this moment of watching your child begin the process of becoming an independent, well-adjusted adult. YouҀll be glad you did.