美國多所高校更名以招攬外國學生

What's in a name?

名字意味着什麼？

A lot, if you had asked Johnson State College and Lyndon State College in the US state of Vermont.

如果你去問美國佛蒙特州的約翰遜州立學院和林登州立學院，答案是：意義重大。

The schools are now one, at least in name - Northern Vermont University - with two campuses 89 km apart.

這兩所學院現在合併了，至少在名義上是如此。它們現在名爲北佛蒙特大學，儘管兩所學院相距89公里。

The name change was designed to attract foreign students willing to pay higher tuition.

改名的目的是爲了吸引願意支付更高學費的外國學生。

"University" just sounds better than "college".

“大學”聽起來就是比“學院”好。

Patricia Coates, director of communications for the Vermont State Colleges System, said that "college" may have a different perception outside the US.

佛蒙特州立大學系統聯絡部主任帕特里夏·科茨表示，“學院”一詞在美國以外的地方可能有不同的含義。

In China, "college" may be seen as equivalent to "high school" or "junior college".

在中國，“學院”可能被視作“高中”或“專科院校”。

"Frankly, let's be honest, 'university' provides a marketing advantage," Coates said.

科茨表示：“老實說，“大學”一詞具有營銷優勢。”

Last year, 328,547 Chinese studied in the US, accounting for 32% of all foreign students, according to the Institute of International Education.

國際教育協會稱，去年共有328547名中國學生在美求學，佔留學生總數的32%。