美国多所高校更名以招揽外国学生

What's in a name?

名字意味着什么？

A lot, if you had asked Johnson State College and Lyndon State College in the US state of Vermont.

如果你去问美国佛蒙特州的约翰逊州立学院和林登州立学院，答案是：意义重大。

The schools are now one, at least in name - Northern Vermont University - with two campuses 89 km apart.

这两所学院现在合并了，至少在名义上是如此。它们现在名为北佛蒙特大学，尽管两所学院相距89公里。

The name change was designed to attract foreign students willing to pay higher tuition.

改名的目的是为了吸引愿意支付更高学费的外国学生。

"University" just sounds better than "college".

“大学”听起来就是比“学院”好。

Patricia Coates, director of communications for the Vermont State Colleges System, said that "college" may have a different perception outside the US.

佛蒙特州立大学系统联络部主任帕特里夏·科茨表示，“学院”一词在美国以外的地方可能有不同的含义。

In China, "college" may be seen as equivalent to "high school" or "junior college".

在中国，“学院”可能被视作“高中”或“专科院校”。

"Frankly, let's be honest, 'university' provides a marketing advantage," Coates said.

科茨表示：“老实说，“大学”一词具有营销优势。”

Last year, 328,547 Chinese studied in the US, accounting for 32% of all foreign students, according to the Institute of International Education.

国际教育协会称，去年共有328547名中国学生在美求学，占留学生总数的32%。