LEWISTON, Idaho — Despite unanimous support by the Idaho Senate, Lewis-Clark State College’s name change bill, Senate Bill 1234, did not receive a hearing in the Idaho House and will not be able to move forward this session, school administrators announced Monday.
The name change proposal received overwhelming campus support and unanimous State Board of Education support, was given a unanimous Do Pass Recommendation in the Senate Education Committee on Feb. 4, and was approved by the Senate on a unanimous vote of 34-0-1 on Feb. 9. It also received written support from all sister institutions along with numerous letters of support from healthcare, community, and K-12 education leaders.
“We are incredibly grateful for the strong support our name change proposal and bill received,” LC State President Cynthia Pemberton said in her weekly message to campus Monday. “Despite our best efforts, the bill remained in the House Education Committee ‘drawer.’ While this outcome is disappointing, our advocacy journey gave us the opportunity to connect with legislators, stakeholders, and community members locally, regionally, and across the state — sharing LC State's value proposition and the purpose and vision behind the proposal. One thing was clear in every conversation: there is a strong foundation of support for LC State and the important role we play in serving students, our communities, and Idaho's workforce. I also believe the dialogue this session helped build greater awareness and understanding that this proposal is rooted in preserving and strengthening our mission — not changing it.”
A major advantage of the name change, according to school administrators, is that it will decisively dispel the persistent misunderstanding that LC State is a community college. This confusion persists due to the naming conventions across the state. Idaho’s public two-year schools are called colleges, while its four-year schools are called universities — except for Lewis-Clark State College. The result is that Idaho high school and transfer students often overlook LC State’s taxpayer-funded baccalaureate and graduate programs, including in key workforce areas like nursing and teacher education. Such students, instead, often go online or out-of-state for these degrees, and consequently, out of Idaho’s workforce.
As explained on its informational webpage, www.lcsc.edu/university, precedent for the name change includes LC State’s three previous name changes, including the shift from “normal school” to “college” in 1971; changes from college to university among its sisters Boise State University and Idaho State University; and clear trends in naming conventions nationally. Between 2001-16, 122 four-year colleges changed their name from “college” to “university” (Action, Economic of Education Review, 2022). Less than 2% of public schools within LC State’s Carnegie Basic Classification use “college” (6 out of 308). None of LC State’s 13 Board-approved peers use “college” and nine of the peers are smaller than LC State.
LC State administrators have been clear, as is the bill language, that the change does not include a request for new funding and will not result in any new ongoing costs or a shift in mission, focus, or designation, all things that are controlled by the Idaho State Board of Education.
Pemberton said the bill will be brought back next year.
“So, where do we go from here? We stay focused on our mission, delivering for our students in support of their educational goals,” Pemberton said. “We continue our all-in, all-out recruitment and retention efforts, celebrating the growing success we are having. And we take a breath. We extend a sincere thanks to the legislators and community members who engaged with this conversation and supported the proposal ... Then we Warrior-Up, knowing that a pause in this important process is just that: a pause. We remain committed, are encouraged by the progress made, and will prepare for next steps.”