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。

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"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%。