Northwest College has been long discussing a transformation to address its decade-long decline in enrollment. The effort would rebrand the college and its offerings, possibly including a change to the college’s name. 

Last week, NWC held a panel discussion on its plans, including a discussion on the pros and cons of a name change. The panel included experts with backgrounds in corporate and institutional renaming, while members of the college’s board of trustees and Interim President Lisa Watson listened to comments from the public. The board took no action — there are no definite plans for rebranding or renaming the college — and the discussion was entirely informational.

“This is a process that’s been going on for more than a year, to try and find out how to attract more students to Northwest College, and hopefully with more students, more resources,” explained Board President Mark Wurzel. “And with more resources, more offerings, and therefore more students.” 

Wurzel emphasized that renaming the college was only part of the larger work of rebranding, which he said was the “more important work to attract students.” 

Panel discussion 

The panel answered questions from the audience, who were either present at the Yellowstone building or submitted inquiries online. 

Dana Pulis, owner and principal of Kinetic Marketing & Creative in Billings, Montana, answered a question about what rebranding is. 

Pulis said it’s a reimagined corporate identity that can include a message, brand position, unique value position, logo, name and design. The name is not always changed when rebranding is done, she explained, but a name change always follows rebranding. 

“It’s a very solid business strategy,” Pulis said.

On the question of cost, Pulis said it depends on the amount of research and extent of renaming. For a private company, the research runs $20,000 to $50,000, and the renaming is $40,000 to $60,000. If the NWC board voted to pursue a name change, President Watson said a renaming could cost the college $50,000 to $100,000.

Jim Owston, assistant provost for extended learning and professor of mass communication at Alderson Broaddus University in West Virginia, covered how common it is for higher learning institutions to choose another name. 

Owston wrote his dissertation on higher educational rebranding. He said it’s quite common for colleges to go through a renaming process, with some institutions having done so as many as six times in their history. 

Between 1996 and 2005 — the period of Owston’s own research and a particularly active time for college renaming — 532 of 3,036 regionally accredited colleges and universities changed their names at least once, he said; some were renamed twice.

Owston said it’s since become less common for colleges and universities to pick a new name, but it’s still not uncommon. 

“We see it all over the country,” he said. 

There are two reasons why a college would rename itself, Owston said: when the new name will better reflect the current mission or to define the future mission of the institution. 

Owston also warned that renaming isn’t a panacea that will automatically draw in new students. 

“It’s what you do with your name and your brand … It’s not a field of dreams, ‘If you build it, they will come,’” he said. “You have to do something with it and not just build the field.”

Owston gave a number of examples of institutional renaming. In some cases, college boards made the changes suddenly and with no public notice or input. Sometimes the name change resulted in enormous gains in enrollment. Owston didn’t mention any examples that had the opposite effect, but some name changes did go badly. In some cases, students and alumni protested the choice, and others, there were trademark lawsuits. 

However, according to surveys he’d conducted, Owston said institutions that moved forward with renaming were generally happy with the choice. 

Pulis agreed that, in her work consulting with private companies on name changes, there wasn’t really a situation where the renaming harmed the company. She added that, if she thought it wouldn’t do well, she advised companies against a change. 

Pulis also discussed alternatives, such as keeping Northwest College’s current name. Another option is to add a tagline. So, just for an example, the college could use something like, “Northwest College: Where students succeed.”

Public comments

During the comment period, Mallory Riley, local attorney and owner of The Humblebee Shop, said she wasn’t opposed to renaming NWC but thought it would be “premature” at this time. 

“I think rebranding is imperative,” Riley said.

She said NWC needed a better social media presence and to improve its advertising efforts. Riley argued that NWC is an “unsuccessful brand,” and people don’t trust the college or have a positive view of the institution. She requested the college work with the community to improve its image. 

Powell resident Martin Garhart, who taught for 31 years at Kenyon College in Ohio, said he believes NWC needs to stop doing what it’s always been doing. He said “Yellowstone College,” which has been floated as one possible new name for NWC, was a good idea. With that name, the Mickelson Field Station would be a valuable resource, Garhart said. 

Garhart disagreed with Pulis that the college’s renaming needed to come after rebranding plans. He suggested the college could choose a new name and then try to become what the name embodies.

Dalton Banks, who works at NWC as an admissions representative, spoke about the inability of the Northwest College name to distinguish itself among colleges with similar names. 

“We’re confused with other places. That’s something we have to think about,” Banks said. 

He also praised the introduction of a four-year degree program at NWC. 

“That shows the good work that all of us working together can do. And I don’t think we should lose that,” Banks said. 

He urged the community to think in terms of cooperation, rather than seeking blame for the college’s problems. Banks argued that unity would make the college stand out. 

Morgan Tyree, who has taught at NWC for 31 years, said that while it isn’t a “silver bullet,” the college needs a name change. 

“Northwest college is an outdated moniker,” Tyree said. 

Besides Yellowstone College, he threw out names such as Heart Mountain College and Buffalo Bill College.

The entire panel discussion and public comment period, which lasted more than two-and-a-half hours in total, can be viewed at nwc.edu/panel21comments.