Survival of the fittest? The re-branding of West Virginia higher education

Abstract

From 1996 to 2005, West Virginia produced the greatest percentage (56.25 percent) of institutional re-brandings in the country. In addition, the state experienced the largest proportion (25 percent) of college-to-university re-brandings than any other state. This study embarked on discovering possible reasons for this phenomenon and the results of such changes. Using a mixed method approach, a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods were utilized to determine the rationale, strategies and implications of these name changes. Eleven West Virginia institutions in total were analyzed. As West Virginia is a nested population within Appalachia, administrators from 51 re-branded universities in the region were also surveyed. Additionally, existing data from 103 institutions across the United States were longitudinally compared before and after a college-to-university re-branding. The study addressed the following areas relating to an institution's re-branding as a university: rationale, implementation, regulatory constraints, stakeholder reactions, effects upon enrollment, resulting prestige, administrative advice, the choice to remain as a college and brand protection. While administrators reported that the goal for re-branding as a university was to accurately reflect the institution's current mission, there was a tacit assumption that these changes would also produce greater prestige and increased enrollment. Certain indicators of prestige and slowed enrollment were noted following the re-branding effort. © 2009 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.