University status suits Mesa State

It’s exciting to read of Mesa State College moving towards university status!

As an alumnus and former two-term Student Trustee on the Board of Trustees it makes me proud to see the evolution from a state college focused on the eleemosynary education for the youth within the multicounty region to an esteemed institution capitalizing on their competitive advantage of lauded academics, physical stature and geographic location.


I wish my alma mater well as she progresses towards university status. 

In the U.S. a college is merely “a general term for a small university (or degree-giving educational institution)”.[1] Typically a college offers a single curriculum of study, whereas a university will have multiple faculties in various schools or departments. Throughout the rest of the world a college is a secondary education, tantamount to a high school in Colorado.

A degree is worth the weight of the degree-giving educational institution’s prestige and reputation. Alumni will find their degrees worth more as Mesa State calls itself what it is – a university. As a current post-graduate student I don’t want employers confusing my alma mater with that of another in Arizona, especially since both institutions have now become competitors within the same western American region.

It seems safe to say that as Mesa State expands well beyond 10,000 students and has developed several curriculums and faculties, the term ‘college’ is not longer applicable. I fully support the name change.[2]
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[1] Oxford English Dictionary. March 2011 edition.
[2] M Soper, "University status suits Mesa State" LTE (The Daily Sentinel: Grand Junction, CO USA) A4