BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Thousands of Texas A&M students are in the middle of their first week of classes for the Fall semester, and for some they are going back to a college, formerly referred to as a “school.”
As part of the Path Forward from President Kathy Banks, eight academic units were switched from being known as colleges to being known as schools two years ago.
In a reversal earlier this year, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board allowed the university to return to calling the units “colleges.”
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Texas A&M Provost Dr. Alan Sams spoke about those changes on First News at Four on Wednesday.
“The names were all changed in an effort to maybe bring some distinction to the difference between some of the larger, broader subject matter-wise, broader colleges, and the ones that were more tied to specific industries or functions,” Dr. Sams explained.
On returning to the old branding, Dr. Sams said it provided a sense of familiarity for all parties.
“It also helped people that maybe were the stakeholders out in the community and prospective students really be more familiar with what the unit had been called previously,” said Dr. Sams.
President Mark Welsh, according to Dr. Sams, was very involved in listening to students, faculty, and staff when it came to gathering information and considering the change.
Dr. Sams also spoke to the excitement of a new school year, “I was just walking through the [Memorial Student Center] this morning and was having a conversation with somebody about seeing just the energy of the students that are there… It really reminds me why we’re in this business.”
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