PASSHE Institutions Merging

[Bart]

No I agree with you. Someone told me that Act 180 requires the "of Pennsylvania" in their legal names. Most schools got away from it in branding/marketing in the last decade.

What I believe the marketing pros misunderstand is that at least in the short term, potential applicants aren't going to Google "Commonwealth University" they're going to google "Bloomsburg" or "Lock Haven."

According to the release, "Commonwealth University will not serve as a public-facing identifier, but will remain in the background" and all signage on campuses will remain the same. Doesn't sound like the internet searches will change.

[Fightingscot82]

I think "word order optimization" in a vacuum is not that relevant. The word order recognition before it is an actual thing isn't very important. That internet optimization will be derived from what it eventually comes to be.

Plus, I think these schools should get away from the "University of Pennsylvania" concept. I don't want to seem, contrarian, do you disagree with what I am saying? Not that we would have any influence over the naming, of course.

No I agree with you. Someone told me that Act 180 requires the "of Pennsylvania" in their legal names. Most schools got away from it in branding/marketing in the last decade.

What I believe the marketing pros misunderstand is that at least in the short term, potential applicants aren't going to Google "Commonwealth University" they're going to google "Bloomsburg" or "Lock Haven."

[iupgroundhog]

I believe both names were ordered for "internet search optimization". I guess word order matters in that case. That's what I was repeatedly told while participating in the Pennsylvania Western farce.

PASSHE also learned greatly from the Penn Western rollout and clearly explained the caveats, which are essentially the same.

I think "word order optimization" in a vacuum is not that relevant. The word order recognition before it is an actual thing isn't very important. That internet optimization will be derived from what it eventually comes to be.

Plus, I think these schools should get away from the "University of Pennsylvania" concept. I don't want to seem, contrarian, do you disagree with what I am saying? Not that we would have any influence over the naming, of course.

[Fightingscot82]

I like it. FWIW, I think they should have put Pennsylvania first i.e. Pennsylvania Commonwealth University. That would have been a consistent format with Pennsylvania Western University. I am not a member of the BOG, however.

I believe both names were ordered for "internet search optimization". I guess word order matters in that case. That's what I was repeatedly told while participating in the Pennsylvania Western farce.

PASSHE also learned greatly from the Penn Western rollout and clearly explained the caveats, which are essentially the same.

[ironmaniup]

Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania.

https://www.penncapital-star.com/blo...-pennsylvania/

Wonder if they have long range plans of linking up with Geisinger Commonwealth school of Medicine. https://www.geisinger.edu/education

[iupgroundhog]

Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania.

https://www.penncapital-star.com/blo...-pennsylvania/

I like it. FWIW, I think they should have put Pennsylvania first i.e. Pennsylvania Commonwealth University. That would have been a consistent format with Pennsylvania Western University. I am not a member of the BOG, however.

[Bart]

Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania.

https://www.penncapital-star.com/blo...-pennsylvania/

[iupgroundhog]

Sounds like a retirement complex. Like Del Boca Vista.

Well, they do have a lot of people retiring.

[Fightingscot82]

I still like Bloomfield Haven. It gives Bloom top billing.

Sounds like a retirement complex. Like Del Boca Vista.

[iupgroundhog]

PASSHE BOG meeting at 4:30pm today to vote on the proposed name. It will surely leak out sometime this afternoon. Expect a unanimous approval.

I still like Bloomfield Haven. It gives Bloom top billing.

[Fightingscot82]

Just a press release or are they going to cut a ribbon or something?

PASSHE BOG meeting at 4:30pm today to vote on the proposed name. It will surely leak out sometime this afternoon. Expect a unanimous approval.

[iupgroundhog]

Northeast name announced tomorrow

Just a press release or are they going to cut a ribbon or something?

[Fightingscot82]

Northeast name announced tomorrow

[iupgroundhog]

Yes. The original decision was based on geography less than potential collaboration/complimenting programs. They successfully argued that their academic programs don't align with Edinboro and Clarion, which I agree with. SRU has invested heavily in engineering and health professions. Edinboro, Clarion, and Cal overlap much more.

I think geography is a key variable. The NE triad has as a stated purpose providing educational services to the regional economy, which is fairly homogeneous across the footprints of the 3 schools. PWU doesn't do that.

Moreso, I disagree with the idea that the western programs, with SRU included, didn't align.

In any merger, benefits arise from differentiation between the merged entities. With Cal, Boro, and Clarion there is very little differentiation within the academic programs.

If SRU would have been a part of it, they could have leveraged the complementary offerings for a better overall model that created efficiencies. I don't see that with the PWU alliance. The three are virtually the same. That defeats the purpose of integration and streamlining.

In contrast, the NE triad actually realizes those kinds of efficiencies because of specific strengths of each member school that are complementary.

[EastStroud13]

The more this drags on, the more I realize that a compromise just isn't going to work. PASSHE needs to rip the bandaid off, select one or two flagships, and reposition every other school as satellite campuses of those flagships. Having this sort of inconsistent branding between different triads is not going to fix anything to a meaningful degree. We are just putting lipstick on a pig at this point.