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UCLan’s proposed name change to the University of Lancashire has been approved.
The name change plan, which sees the word ‘central’ dropped from the university’s full title, was revealed by Blog Preston in January 2024 with university bosses dubbing ‘central Lancashire’ an ‘outdated geographical construct’.
However, the decision was opposed by Lancaster University, who also use the name University of Lancaster, over potential confusion it may cause to students ‘abroad and in the UK’.
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The Office for Students (OfS) launched a consultation which sought to establish whether the name change would be confusing.
They received 1,830 responses of which 1,635 said that they believed the proposed name was either confusing or had the potential to be confusing, with reasons given including the similarity to Lancaster University.
The OfS, however, took the view that the majority of people would not find the name confusing because it is not unusual for geographical areas to contain multiple universities with ‘a relatively high degree of similarity’.
They therefore concluded that people are accustomed to distinguishing between similar names.
They concluded: “We consider that there is sufficient difference between the provider’s new name and other provider’s names to enable the majority of students and other stakeholders to differentiate
between the two names.
“This is because stakeholders are used to distinguishing similar names of higher education providers including through the use of contextual information.”
They did concede that the name was likely to be confusing for students who may be less likely to distinguish between the similar sounds, people with disabilities that affect the processing of written and spoken language and international students who may be lacking in geographical context.
However, they added ‘most instances of potential confusion were unlikely to lead to any material harm or detriment’.
UCLan has welcomed the decision as it will help raise the university’s brand ‘further afield’ with signage expected to be changed by September 2025 and a new online domain established for the university.
Professor Graham Baldwin, UCLan Vice-Chancellor, said: “Changing our name to the University of Lancashire better reflects our regional economic importance and will aid continuing efforts to raise brand awareness further afield.
“Attracting more people to live and study in the North West is an important strategic objective we share with local government. Changing our name allows us to better cement our brand position and build on our recruitment efforts both nationally and internationally.
“The University is the county’s largest provider of graduate-level qualifications and one of the largest universities in the North West.
“As an established civic pillar across the county and an important member of several pan Lancashire partnerships, we work with both public and private sector organisations on various matters affecting Lancashire.
“Locally the acronym UCLan was widely used but for many outside the region they don’t know it was the title of a university nor where it was located. By changing our name, we will highlight the fact that we are a respected university and operate predominantly across the county of Lancashire.
“Our history can be traced back to 1828 and in four years’ time we’ll be celebrating our 200-year anniversary. Within that time, we’ve successfully changed name six times. We believe in the spirit of opportunity for all, which is the same motto and ethos as when we were created as the Institution for the Diffusion of Knowledge. Our alumni over the many years we have been in operation continue to be very important to us.”
The university will be expected to work on a rolling basis to ensure the name does not cause confusion.
Blog Preston has contacted Lancaster University for a statement.
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