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I had a choice when I went back to school, to build on my AD in Electronics and my medical experience by going into the Biomedical Engineering, or going into Nursing. Both are in demand. I went into Nursing (despite how competitive it was to get in, and how demanding the program is) because there simply wasn't many (any?) positions in Ohio for Biomed. I would have to move far away. Is changing the name of a major university going to change that? Will that generate tech jobs in the Midwest? Will it spawn innovation in the Rust Belt? I chose Akron's program despite being accepted into several other programs because it was part of a major university. And I paid a high price for that name on my degree, compared to other programs. And I graduated from the College of Nursing just in time as the program was "merged" into a bunch of others into the "College of Health Professions". Now, the University is rebranding itself as "polytechnic". You have to understand how nurses are viewed by where they went to school. Especially in the interview. As I said this is a field with great demand. Local demand. Most of us were working within a week of licensure. I doubled my income on that day. Not to brag, but to illustrate the University is filling a great local need with professionals that are not in the tech field. And a lot of prospective students will choose to go elsewhere. There's a lot to be said for going to a College of Nursing at a major university. And a ot to be said by going to "health professionals" college at a technical school. While spending multiples of what you would pay at XYZ Community College or Bryant and Stratton. It shows employers and co-workers that you do not have the critical thinking and cultural background you get at a university. Or that you couldn't get into a university's program. Ironically, Akron Institute renamed itself Herzig University. The University of Akron is going in the other direction.

Spin. I have family members who went through the Nursing School at the U of A, and they feel the same way as you right now. You could become a nurse by going online, or to many of these job training technical schools. They chose Akron because they wanted a major university on that degree. I don't want the U of A to approach being perceived as anything close to that kind of "technical" or "career training" school. That's my biggest concern.

I think some people are underestimating how pathetic it will look if our university kills its own name. Seriously. If the idea is to enhance the school's image this will indeed have the opposite effect. I can just picture it now, with the media running pictures of tombstones that say "U OF AKRON.....DIED 2015" and the like.

What's a "fully branded" university? That's a new concept for me. I find it hard to believe that someone would claim that Can't State, OU, Toledo and BGSU are "in jeopardy." Can't State and OU enrollments, applications and student profiles are at or near record highs. Fundraising as well. OU just opened a $100 million-plus medical campus in Columbus. The school is as old as the state itself (1804). Not fully branded?

Mark, That's well said. I keep saying this, and I will repeat it. Maybe (as Dave suggests) being a "polytechnic" university, by definition and in reality, doesn't take away from the diverse level of education that Akron has provided...and will provide...for years to come. I can't answer that question. But, my bigger concern is that the LABEL itself may change the perception of the University and those "non-technical" degree programs. All it takes is for future students to get the impression that "Akron is not the place to go for an English/psych/history degree", even if it's a misconception in the terminology, and you could possibly see the level of value in those programs start to plummet. I have to be honest. Until these definition and explanations started to pop up, and I read them carefully, I saw the word "TECH" to mean exactly what most people think it would mean. And that would not be a good thing.

I've changed my mind. If we can transform this lousy old university into a polytechnic, we should. Immediately. Since I read Dave's last post I can't help but fantasize about the day that the institution formerly known as The University of Akron might be mentioned in the same breath as the prestigious UW-Stout!

The University of Akron Ohio's Polytechnic University Retardaliciously redundant For the first time ever, I'm starting to think I should have got my degrees from Can't [edit] If you're going to be redundant, go big or go home. Why not "The University of the Universe. The Universe's Polytechnic University. Universally Versital". Jokes aside, if they adopt that, it MUST be temporary for the transition to eventually dropping The University of Akron and just becoming Ohio Polytechnic University. There's no other reason for a Title like that