University Status: Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the status of the institution's university name?
A. On July 1, 2004 , the official corporate name for Mary Washington College became "University of Mary Washington." In the spring of 2004, the General Assembly of Virginia and Governor Mark Warner approved the legislation making the change in the institution's corporate name official.
Q: What effect has the new university name had on the institution?
A: The new university name required the institution to develop a new logo and graphic design for use in its numerous publications, website and other forms of communication. A University Name Implementation Committee was appointed in early 2004 by the President to work on the implementation of the graphic identity for the new university.
Q: What is the wording of the new university diplomas?
A: The Board of Visitors approved the wording of the new University of Mary Washington diplomas on September 17, 2004. Students who receive a B.A., B.S., BLS, M.S. or MALS degree will have a diploma that reads:
University of Mary Washington
Know all ye by these presents that
(Graduate's Name)
having completed the necessary courses of study in the
College of Arts and Sciences, Mary Washington College,
and satisfied all other requirements for this degree is hereby declared
a
(Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Liberal Studies
or Master of Science or Master of Liberal Studies)
In Testimony Whereof, under the seal of the University,
the signatures of its duly authorized officers are hereunto affixed
Given at Fredericksburg, Virginia, this the the seventh day of May,
A.D. 2005
under the Commonwealth the two hundred and twenty-ninth.
Students who receive a BPS, MBA or M.Ed. degree will have a diploma that reads:
University of Mary Washington
Know all ye by these presents that
(Graduate's Name)
having completed the necessary courses of study in the
College of Graduate and Professional Studies,
and satisfied all other requirements for this degree is hereby declared
a
(Bachelor of Professional Studies or Master of Business Administration
or Master of Education)
In Testimony Whereof, under the seal of the University,
the signatures of its duly authorized officers are hereunto affixed
Given at Fredericksburg, Virginia, this the seventh day of May, A.D.
2005
under the Commonwealth the two hundred and twenty-ninth.
Q: When will the bookstore begin selling University of Mary Washington merchandise?
A: A few items were made available during the summer of 2004, although most will not be available until the fall and winter of 2004.
Q: Will the institution's e-mail address and URL change?
A: Yes. Starting on July 1, the university's web site will be accessible at both mwc.edu and umw.edu. The licensing agency that regulates who can have an .edu web extension, has said that the overlap between the two sites can last no longer than a year, after which the mwc.edu site will be phased out. Starting in the spring of 2005, the university web site will only be found at umw.edu. The process is similar with e-mail addresses. Alumni will receive instructions about changes in their e-mail program.
Click here to read instructions from the Department of Information Technologies.
Q: I am an alumnus of Mary Washington College. Which name should I put on my resume?
A: MWC graduates who received a degree from the institution when it was part of the University of Virginia faced a similar choice. Protocol allows graduates to use either the institution's former name (at the time of graduation) or the institution's current name on a resume.
Q: What is "university status" and why did the institution seek it?
A: University status provides a structure for administering the programs on the institution's two campuses. The institution can function as a single university, sharing administrative resources while allowing each campus to flourish as each faculty works to fulfill its unique mission.
Q: I know the change to university status was based on extensive research. Where can I read about these studies?
A: Click here to review all of the research done over the past seven years about university status and university name.
Q: What is the College of Graduate and Professional Studies?
A: The College of Graduate and Professional Studies (CGPS), formerly known as the James Monroe Center for Graduate and Professional Studies, campus opened in nearby Stafford County in 1999 to meet the growing demand for programs for Fredericksburg-area working professionals. The decision to build the campus originated with a request from the Commonwealth of Virginia in the early 1990s asking its public colleges and universities to prepare a report explaining how each institution would accommodate the expected increase in future enrollments. As other colleges and universities drew up plans to expand and braced themselves for this inundation of thousands of undergraduate and graduate students, Mary Washington worked on a solution that would allow it to both meet a growing demand for higher education and preserve its charm as a small, selective liberal arts college. Eventually, the university decided to open a separate campus in nearby Stafford County that would meet the increasing needs of local nontraditional students, particularly in the area of graduate study, while protecting and preserving the quality of the residential liberal arts college campus in Fredericksburg.
Each year since opening, the College of Graduate and Professional Studies (CGPS) has seen dramatic enrollment increases and now it operates at capacity. Currently, nearly 1,000 degree-seeking students are enrolled in CGPS programs, with nearly 150 Mary Washington College diplomas awarded in May 2004. With the construction starting soon on a second academic building, CGPS will be well established in its own right.
Q: Will moving to "university status" affect the size of the campus in Fredericksburg and its programs?
A: No. The move to "university status" will actually preserve the campus' identity as a small liberal arts college as the College of Graduate and Professional Studies in Stafford County continues to expand. While there are no set limits on future growth at CGPS, the Fredericksburg campus will keep its cap of 4,000 students, ensuring that the classroom experience at this location will remain what it always has been. Students will continue to attend small classes and receive personal attention from their professors, without the use of teaching assistants.
Q: Will the transition to university status hurt the institution's national rankings?
A: No. With the addition of the College of Graduate and Professional Studies' MBA and M.Ed. programs, the institution was reclassified in 2003 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a "Master's Colleges and Universities II" institution. In August of 2004, U.S. News and World Report ranked the institution eighth in the "Best Universities - Master's" category among Southern colleges and universities in the 2005 issue of America 's Best Colleges.
Q: How can I find updates on the implementation of the University of Mary Washington name?
A: New information will be posted on the institution's web site at http://www.umw.edu/university.
Q: Whom should I contact if I have other questions about university status?
A: Contact the Office of University Relations at (540) 654-1055 or send an e-mail to university@umw.edu.