The use of location in University names is shrinking. This is surprising as most people are accustomed to thinking of an institution as being ‘somewhere’. Be it Cambridge or Wrexham, you used to know where they were by the name. Interestingly, people go ‘up’ to Oxford but they just go to Manchester.
The location of a University aligned with nearby industry and culture gained more prominence with the development of Polytechnics, later to become the ‘Post ‘92’ institutions. Staffordshire University, grounded in the ceramics industry of the region is one such example.
Some of those post ’92s have also had to rebrand to clear up any geographical confusion. It seems that nobody knew where the University of Central England was. Birmingham Newman University also added Birmingham just so you knew where their location. The University of Central Lancashire is now the University of Lancashire, much to the distaste of Lancaster University.
The trend away from including the location is partly down to the OFS wanting new providers to come in and the increased emphasis on online delivery. ‘Challenger’ institutions like NMITE seem to lead the way with their name reflecting approach rather than location. It still seems likely that the first question people will ask is where the institution is located. For that reason, another ‘challenger’ institution, the London Interdisciplinary School (LIS) may be better off.
Added to that, lots of Universities are throwing their hats into online in a bid to go international. If an institution really is ‘digital-first’, the location is much less important and perhaps needs no reference at all. For existing institutions though, the location will still be a selling factor. All other factors aside, to an international online learner, LSE (located in London) has a more immediate attraction than, say, Wolverhampton which is more of a civic University.
It’s a confusing picture where location doesn’t seem to need to be in the name now. Alternatives seem to deliver mixed results for brand recognition however. After all, if you have to explain it, it’s not a very good name.
