Purdue students unhappy with CoT name change

Purdue University students who petitioned against the College of Technology’s name change can weigh in this semester on its recent transformation.

Gary Bertoline, dean of the new Purdue Polytechnic Institute, will host discussions this week on the rebranding after more than 200 students and alumni signed a petition over the summer to change the name back.

Senior Austin Haberly, who started the petition on change.org, proposed in June what he said was a fair compromise: allowing students enrolled at the time of the rebranding to graduate with College of Technology degrees.

“I do believe that’s important, based on the feedback of my peers,” Haberly said in a phone interview. “Everybody is desiring that title that we’ve been expecting for the last three years. This was really just dropped in our laps, and we didn’t really have a choice in the matter.”

The transformation has been in the works for the past two years through the Purdue Moves initiative, Bertoline said. Focus groups consisting of students, faculty and industry were interviewed before the name change was proposed. Reaction from focus groups and alumni events in several cities has been positive, he said.

“I’m pretty confident that when I get in front of the students that they will understand what it is we’re doing and that they actually will want to be affiliated with this name,” he said.

The Board of Trustees approved the rebranding in May to reflect a changing mission: serving the 21st century workforce. Several new majors, a competency-based degree and an emphasis on liberal arts integration and project-based learning are all part of the rebranding, Bertoline said.

“One of the motives behind the change of the name is we want to express to people how transformational this effort is,” he said, “and to stay with same name I think would not do justice.”

Feedback on the petition and from several interviews, however, suggests students and alumni are concerned the name change could be confusing, implying they graduated from a regional campus or trade school connected to Purdue.

“As an employer, if I were to see Purdue Polytechnic Institute on a resume, I would assume it was a satellite school or something with a completely different applications process than the main university,” said Will Nash, a senior studying electrical and computer engineering technology.

The word “polytech” was also a major point of contention among students.

“The word 'polytech' has a negative connotation that people associate with a lower quality performance and output compared to a university,” said Ryan Rumble, a senior studying computer information technology.

But Bertoline noted Virginia Tech — which is actually called Virginia Polytechnic and State University — and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute — the nation’s first engineering school — are well-known as prestigious institutions.

“If you look more deep into this, I think that you’ll find that the word ‘polytechnic’ actually has pretty high regard,” he said.

Still, Haberly said it will take time for employers and industry leaders to catch on to the change.

“During that transition, it’s going to be harder for students to get recognized from companies because the companies aren’t going to be familiar with the new school,” he said. “Companies already have a great idea of what the College of Technology is and they have for years.”

Bertoline noted, however, that the college’s enrollment has declined in the past decade. With the transformation’s focus on innovative education, he said the institute’s graduates will be sought after more than ever.

“When our graduates go out and they become highly successful and recognized because they have this different kind of skill set, people will look at the ‘polytechnic’ in a light that is going to be much greater than I think anyone can even imagine,” he said. “So the product is actually what’s going to define the name.”

If you go

What: A conversation with Dean Gary Bertoline about the new Purdue Polytechnic Institute

When: 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday

Where: Knoy Hall room B019