Seven community colleges in Montana, including the MSU Great Falls College of Technology, will soon have new names, in an attempt to promote higher education in Montana. The following is an abridged version of a press release from the Board of Regents:

HELENA - During the upcoming Board of Regents of the Montana University System (MUS) meeting, the Regents will consider the final recommended names of seven two-year colleges in Montana. This step is part of a larger strategy of the College!NOW Initiative being conducted by the MUS to expand the two-year comprehensive mission to Montana's Colleges of Technology and two-year college programs.

Montana currently ranks last in the West and 45th in the nation in the percentage of its population 25 years of age and older who are engaged in higher education, and only 40% of Montanans have an associate degree or higher. The primary goal of this initiative is to increase high-quality degree and certificate attainment for all Montanans. A key goal of rebranding and renaming each of the colleges of technology and two-year programs in Bozeman and Hamilton is to create brands that better signify to prospective students the attributes of a two-year college mission; such as, affordable tuition, night classes, on-site childcare opportunities, adult-focused education, transfer courses, and strong workforce training partnerships.

On March 2nd, 2012, the Board of Regents unanimously approved a new name framework for Montana's Colleges of Technology. This new name framework will display the Place identifier first, followed by the Mission as represented by the word "college", and followed by Affiliation identifying the college's parent university.

In total, input has been received from over 2,000 individuals regarding this Board action.

As a result of this process, the recommended names to be considered by the Board of Regents are:

NAME LOCATION
Bitterroot College UM Hamilton
City College at MSUB Billings
Gallatin College MSU Bozeman
Great Falls College MSU Great Falls
Helena College UM Helena
Highlands College of Montana Tech Butte
Missoula College UM Missoula

If approved by the Board of Regents, the new names of the five Montana Colleges of Technology and two-year programs in Bozeman and Hamilton will undergo a rebranding process over the next 12 months with the goal to have the new names officially implemented by the summer of 2013. Each campus will take a leadership role with this rebranding effort through the creation of a taskforce involving students, faculty, staff, and community members. During the course of the next year, new logos, brand characteristics and guidelines will be created for each institution.

The funds for the College!NOW initiative are being provided through a competitive grant from the private/nonprofit Lumina Foundation for Education, through their College Productivity Initiative. No tuition and tax dollars are being used for the College!Now initiative. Please learn more about College!NOW at www.montanacollegenow.com

 The MSU Great Falls College of Technology does offer a number of online classes. For more information, click HERE.

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