What's in a name? Students find Nevada State's new moniker brings credibility

When 18-year-old Evelynn Menendez was deciding where to continue her education after high school, she knew Nevada State University was the place for her.  

The smaller class sizes and undergraduate nursing program made it a perfect choice for the Las Vegas local, who had grown up hearing about the institution, she said. 

But when Menendez made her decision, many people thought she was opting for a community college instead of the four-year institution, which was still known as Nevada State College at the time.  

That all changed on July 1st when Nevada State College was officially renamed Nevada State University following the passage of Senate Bill 273, and Menendez couldn’t be happier.  

“When I was telling people the school that I was going to be going to they were confusing it for like (College of Southern Nevada), for example, because of the similarity,” Menendez said. “Right away (after the name change), I started bragging to my sister – who goes to CSN – that I go to a university now, so it's a very big bragging point between me and my sisters.” 

For students like Menendez, NSU President DeRionne Pollard and members of Nevada’s government, the name change means more than just a rebrand. 

 

‘Names matter’

It’s an effort that has been in the makings long before Pollard arrived at the school in 2021. 

Nevada State College debuted Sept. 3, 2002, as Nevada’s first state college. That first year featured 177 students taking courses in an old vitamin factory that was repurposed into classrooms.

There were nearly 3,400 students by 2012 and 7,215 students in 2022. And the main campus is now on 509 acres in south Henderson.

The idea originated with Pollard’s predecessor Bart Patterson, who partnered with a marketing company to survey students, alumni, and officials about the benefits of a name change. A total of 82% of respondents supported the change, because “a degree from a ‘university’ is more valuable than a ‘college’ degree.”

Pollard built on Patterson’s work from 2019, then brought it in front of the Board of Regents last fall. She pushed that changing the institution from a “college” to “university” would yield a higher rate of attendance, proved in a study done by an economics professor at Miami University in Ohio.  

NSU officials believe enrollment of first-time students will increase by 5.2% in the initial five years following the name change.  

“Names matter, whether it be your personal name or the name of an institution, you want names to reflect who you are, what you do, and our name change is a reflection of that,” Pollard said.  

A final decision was pushed back in September and again in December over concerns that the renamed school would have to adjust their admission, tuition and faculty salary standards to those of UNLV and UNR — the state’s top-tier universities.  

Pollard then proposed a permanent distinction of Nevada’s higher institutions into a three-tier system, much like the neighboring California has with their community colleges, California State Universities and Universities of California.  

The distinction places Carnegie research institutions – like UNR and UNLV – in the top tier, state universities like NSU in the second and community colleges in the third tier. Institutions are separated into the tiers based on certain criteria, from admissions standards to qualifications for promotion or tenure of professors.  

NSU did not need to change their mission or tuition in light of this decision, Pollard said.  

On March 10, the Nevada System of Higher Education’s Board of Regents approved a request from the Henderson institution for the change in a 9-4 vote. Board of Regents Chair Byron Brooks, Vice President Joseph Arrascada, and Regents Susan Brager and Stephanie Goodman voted against the change.

It was then passed to the state legislature as Senate Bill 273, introduced March 14 and sponsored or cosponsored by over 30 senators and members of the assembly. 

It was given 100% support by both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, said Rep. Susie Lee, then signed into law by Gov. Joe Lombardo on June 10. 

“This name change is just so important to allow (NSU) to have that foothold so it can expand even more and fulfill the needs we have right here in Southern Nevada,” Lee, who was one of the first supporters of the bill, said. “I just think (the bipartisan support) goes to show you how important it is a resource to our community.”

Some students are excited for what they believe will be an expansion of opportunities for them, and a better distinction between NSU and CSN.  

Alvin Cruz, a sophomore pre-secondary education major at NSU, was an ardent supporter of the name change, he said. During each Board of Regents meeting and legislative session, he wrote in support of the name change, citing that it would make his chances of scoring a teaching job outside of Southern Nevada easier. 

“In some places, they might say that your degree is not valid because they’re gonna think that is an associate’s degree rather than a bachelor’s degree,” Cruz said.  

As someone who immigrated to Las Vegas from El Salvador with his family in 2016, Cruz said he initially thought that NSU was an extension of CSN until one of NSU’s recruiters explained the difference to him.  

That problem should lessen now with the more distinct name, and he hopes the university will continue to grow because of it.  

“From the university name, (NSU) gets a bit more prestige and also a bit more validation to your degree,” Cruz said. “It will help me going into a (school) district having my bachelor’s degree, and it saying ‘Nevada State University’ will also help me to get a little bit more validation from any education county around Nevada.” 

Cruz believes that, since NSU has been offering master’s programs for the past few years, which community colleges do not, “it’s already way far away from (a) community college” and should have a name to match. 

 

University celebrates change

Members of the community came together to celebrate what many referred to as a historic moment in the institution’s history on Aug. 30 – three days after the start of classes for the newly transitioned NSU.  

Food trucks and various games were scattered around the area in front of the institution’s Rogers Student Center, with people – from young children to older alumni and elected officials – taking part in the festivities despite the triple-digit heat.  

Menendez was playing with life-sized Jenga blocks with fellow first-year and first-generation student Bernardo Sanchez Bravo, a 17-year-old business major with a concentration in leadership and administration.  

Sanchez Bravo, another resident of Las Vegas who grew up hearing about NSU, believes the name change will only spur NSU’s growth as a university.  

“Not only did it change from college to university, but it's kind of become (a) more privileged school in that (it) is going to have more importance, not only because of the name, but because again, students are going to be more coming towards the school and (it) can become much more bigger,” Sanchez Bravo said.  

The process of transitioning from NSC to NSU will be a continuous one. The institution has already been accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities – the organization that accredits higher education institutions in states such as Nevada, Oregon and Utah.  

It will be a while before the campus completely leaves behind traces of the “college” name, though, Pollard said. 

They’ve already raised the money to change many of their flags, and are set to debut the website next month, Pollard explained.  

But she wants the university and all of its people to celebrate this new era as long as they can.  

“For me, it's been a long and arduous journey, but it is in this moment that we’re most proud,” Pollard said. “I think our future is so bright, and people should put sunglasses on to make sure they keep up with us.”