美國高校為吸引留學生 將“學院”改名為“大學”

近年來，美國多所高等學府更名，把學校名稱從“學院”(College)改為“大學”(University)，以招攬外國學生，特別是來自中國的學生，因為校方認為，相較于大學，學院這個詞在一些國家只被當成高中或大專。而將學院改為大學，有助于對外提升學校形象，避免誤解。

What's in a name? A lot, if you had asked Johnson State College and Lyndon State College in the US state of Vermont.

如果有人問美國佛蒙特州的約翰遜州立學院和林登州立學院，名字重要嗎?它們會告訴你，非常重要。

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

如今這兩所相距89公里的學院至少名字上已經(jīng)成為一所大學——北佛蒙特大學。

The name change was designed to attract foreign students willing to pay higher tuition. "University" just sounds better than "college".

取這個名字是為了吸引愿意支付更多學費的留學生。“大學”也只是比“學院”更好聽。

NVU will welcome its first freshman class in the fall of 2018.

北佛蒙特大學2018年秋季將迎來第一批大一新生。

Across the United States schools have been trying to step up to the surge in foreign students, especially Chinese students. Last year, 328,547 Chinese studied in the US, accounting for 32 percent of all foreign students, according to the Institute of International Education.

美國各地的學校都試圖采取措施吸引更多留學生，特別是中國學生。據(jù)國際教育研究所稱，去年美國有328547名中國學生，占全美留學生總數(shù)的32%。

But Vermont ranks low - 48th among the country's 50 states. Last year, a paltry 1,712 foreign students studied in Vermont, 39 percent of them Chinese.

但在招收留學生方面，佛蒙特州的排名墊底，在全美50個州中位列第48。該州去年僅有1712名留學生，中國學生占39%。

Currently, Lyndon has eight international students, including five from China; Johnson State has two international students, one from the United Kingdom and one from Bermuda.

目前，林登州立學院有8名國際學生，其中5名來自中國;約翰遜州立學院有兩名國際學生，其中一人來自英國，另一人來自百慕大群島。

Last year, the board of trustees of the state college system voted unanimously to unify Johnson and Lyndon State - but keeping each school's campus separate - to save money and increase revenue.

去年，為了節(jié)省開支增加收入，州立學院系統(tǒng)董事會一致投票決定將兩所學院合并，但分別保留每所學校的校園。

Foreign students brought just $75 million to the state last year, up from $34 million six years ago, according to the education institute.

據(jù)該教育機構(gòu)稱，6年前該州留學生帶來的收入為3400萬美元，去年僅增至7500萬美元。

In explaining the name change, Patricia Coates, director of communications for the Vermont State Colleges System, told China Daily that "college" may have a different perception outside the US. In China, "college" may be seen as equivalent to "high school" or "junior college".

佛蒙特州學院系統(tǒng)交流委員會主席帕特麗夏•科茨對改名問題做出了解釋，她告訴《中國日報》，在美國以外的地方人們對“學院”可能有不同的理解。在中國，“學院”似乎等同于“中學”或“大專”。

"Frankly, let's be honest, 'university' provides a marketing advantage, and that is a big part of what we hope to leverage from this unification," Coates told news website vtdigger.org last year.

去年，科茨對新聞網(wǎng)站vtdigger.org表示：“坦白講，‘大學’這個詞有營銷優(yōu)勢，這也是我們希望這次合并能帶來的主要好處。”

Vermont's state college tuition is among the highest in any state, according to the website. The state's smaller public colleges have seen enrollments decline and are more dependent on tuition because of low government funding. Tuition and fees make up 58 percent of their revenue; room and board 17 percent; and state money 16 percent.

據(jù)該網(wǎng)站報道，佛蒙特的州立學院學費是全美最貴的。該州規(guī)模較小的公立學院招生已經(jīng)出現(xiàn)下滑，此外，由于州政府的財政支持很低，學校更加依賴學費收入。學費和雜費占其財政收入的58%;食宿費用占收入的17%;而政府的補貼占16%。

At Lyndon in 2015, according to the school's website, there were 1,200 students. In-state tuition was $10,700 and out-of-state tuition was $21,764. International students qualify for the Open Frontiers Scholarship when enrolled in any degree program at Lyndon, and can receive $5,500 a year.

據(jù)林登州立學院官網(wǎng)顯示，2015年，該校學生有1200名。州內(nèi)學生學費為10700美元，而州外學生學費為21764美元。符合邊境開放獎學金資格的國際學生就讀該校任意專業(yè)時，每年都可以獲得5500美元。

For the academic year 2016-17, Johnson's website lists in-state tuition as $10,244 and out-of-state as $22,680. The tuition for the newly combined NVU hasn't been disclosed yet.

2016-17學年，約翰遜州立學院官網(wǎng)列出的州內(nèi)學生學費為10244美元，而州外學生為22680美元。新合并的北佛蒙特大學還沒有公布學費情況。

It's not the first time that an institute of higher education in Vermont has changed its name. In July 2015, Castleton State College changed to Castleton University after a unanimous vote from the school's board of trustees.

這不是佛蒙特州的高校第一次改名。2015年7月，卡斯爾頓州立學院董事會一致決定將學院改名為卡斯爾頓大學。

University President Dave Wolk explained that the reasons for the name change included growth in the number of graduate programs and the student body, as well as Castleton's international recruitment efforts.

該校校長德弗•沃爾克解釋稱，改名是為了增加研究生課程和學生數(shù)量，并促進國際招生。

The school's website says that in 2015, 40 countries (including China) were represented among its student body of 2,246. Tuition for the academic year 2017-18 is $22,490 for in-state and $38,042 for out-of-state.

2015年，該校官網(wǎng)稱，學校2246名學生共來自40個國家，其中包括中國。學校2017-18學年的州內(nèi)學生學費為22490美元，州外學生學費為38042美元。

Patrick Liu, director of international student enrollments at Castleton, said people in countries outside the US have a different notion of what "college" means.

卡斯爾頓大學留學生招生處負責人帕特里克•劉稱，外國人對“學院”這個詞的意思有不同理解。

"Sometimes, people might think the education quality of a university would be higher than a college," said Liu. "So the change of the school's name could avoid misunderstanding and make it easier to explain to students overseas. It's good for the school's promotion and development, especially overseas."

“有時候，人們可能認為大學的教學質(zhì)量可能比學院的更好。所以更改學校的名字可以避免誤解，也更容易向海外學生解釋。這有利于學校的宣傳與發(fā)展，特別是在海外。”

Last year, Lyndon welcomed its first students from Xi'an into its undergraduate degree program. The school has an electronic journalism arts program that collaborates with China's Xi'an University. Each January, students from Xi'an, Shaanxi province, spend a few weeks on campus for hands-on experience in electronic journalism.

去年，林登州立學院的本科學位課程迎來了第一位來自陜西西安的學生。該校與西安大學在電視新聞藝術(shù)專業(yè)開展了合作。每年1月，來自西安的學生會在林登學院學習幾周，體驗電視新聞報道實踐。