When your school changes names
 

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I think the combo "the former XYZ College [now XYZ University]" because your degree is from the college, but people might not know it as the old name. You've covered all your bases that way.

Paging SWTXBelle.

FWIW, I wouldn't say "the former"; I would simply say "Alma Mater College (now Alma Mater University).”

^^ Better! I knew there was a better way to say it. Yes, SWTXBelle has been through this one...

What does your transcript ? I think it's fine if you put down whatever is on the transcript.

My mom graduated from Michigan State College in 1954. Shortly thereafter, it became Michigan State University. Before it was MSC, it was Michigan Agricultural College. The same thing happened at the university where I teach, in 1983.

The only place you're going to still see the old name is on your diploma. Once a college changes its name, it gets hard to even find any reference to the old name. My guess is that if you ordered a transcript now, your transcript will say the new name.

Use the new name.

HERE!

It's easiest to just get a new diploma and transcripts - so while I HATE IT, I put "Texas State" on all official documents. It has been so long now since the name change that many people aren't even aware of the old name.

Southwest Texas State University > Texas State University

You were the first person that came to mind when I saw this thread pop up :)

I still don't like saying TxSt lol

I think this question was just answered recently over at Ask a Manager. I'd search over there.

True. No one remembers Auburn University's past names - except us Alabama fans who like to gig them just a little: East Alabama Male College then Agriculture and Mechanical College of Alabama and then Alabama Polytechnic Institute and finally Auburn University. Took 'em 4 tries to get Alabama out of their name!

^^^ I'm going to start referring to cheerfulgreek's alma mater as Michigan Agricultural College. For their mascot, they should have a scarecrow, or a guy in overalls with a pitchfork, instead of Sparty.

I'm in!

Did you have to ask them to issue you a new diploma? I could swear they mailed a second one to a friend of mine without any special requests.

It can vary depending on the school, I think. My mom graduated (in 1947) from the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina, which went co-ed and became the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1963 -- 50 years ago. Most people -- at least those from North Carolina and above the age of 30 or so -- still know what school is meant by "W.C.," and I can promise you that most W.C. alumnae never said they were graduates of or had degrees from UNCG. My mother always used the "W.C. (now UNCG)" format if she felt it necessary to use anything other than simply "I went to W.C." We were under very strict instructions that that's how it should be in her obituary (4+ years ago), and that's pretty common for W.C. alumnae.

By contrast, around the same time that W.C. became UNCG, North Carolina State College became North Carolina State University -- NCSU, NC State, or just "State." (Well, after a short stint as UNC at Raleigh. That's also when the University of North Carolina became UNC at Chapel Hill.) Perhaps because the name change for NC State was just "College" to "University," and because it didn't affect the State/NC State nicknames, only old timers and historians remember "State College."

Frankly, if the only thing that has changed for Jen is "College" to "University," I can't imagine how using either name alone would confuse anyone.

My alma mater started as Western Kentucky State Normal School, then added "and Teacher's College", then dropped the Normal School and became Western Kentucky State Teacher's College, then dropped the Teacher's to be Western Kentucky State College (which is was when my father started teaching there) and finally became Western Kentucky University. I attended the lab school for elementary and high school. That went from College High to University High even though its official name was WKU Training School.