Degree from UMUC: is it appropriate not to mention that it's from UC?

My thoughts exactly! The UC System IS different, and it is understandable for people not familiar with it or who grew up in California between the '30s and the '50s (when all the other campuses were just growing) to hold this misconception.

The name "UC" does NOT equal UC Berkeley, and anyone planning to ride on Berkeley's prestige won't be able to do it by claiming to be a "UC graduate," since the term only means that one is a product of the country's best state university system, nothing more.

The idea of wanting to be mistaken as a Berkeley alum is ridiculous to start with: Why, for instance, would a graduate of UCLA -- an outstanding institution that has attracted the most number of applicants of any university in the United States for the past decade (making it the most popular university in the country, and one whose sports achievements and extensive marketing of shirts and other memorabilia around the world make it the most recognizable American university brand outside of Harvard) -- want to be mistaken as a graduate of the respected but "lesser known" UC Berkeley? Berkeley uses the "Berkeley" name so much, in fact, that it's so easy to forget that it is a UC campus that's part of the UC System (even the viewbook sent to prospective applicants has only the word "Berkeley" emblazoned on the cover, along with a photo of its famous gate, without any "UC" mention at all!)

 

It appears that this assertion is flatly contradicted by Maryland state law. According to Wikipedia:

This point is reiterated in the style guide issued by the University of Maryland (at College Park):

Apart from the College Park campus, the only other programs allowed to used the plain-vanilla "University of Maryland" title are certain professional degree programs at the Baltimore campus. These programs were historically tied to the College Park campus, and are not duplicated there.

It seems that the Maryland legislature has already done exactly that, at least with respect to the plain-vanilla "University of Maryland" name.

So it appears that referring to a UMUC degree as a "University of Maryland" degree conflicts with Maryland state law. The state -- not the institution -- is the ultimate source of degree-granting authority, and is the final arbiter on degree names and titles.

You can say that a UMUC degree was issued by "the University System of Maryland", but not by the "University of Maryland".

 

Now we're getting into ridiculous semantics; what it seems to come down to is that the University System of Maryland is making a fortune with UMUC, in large part to the term "University of Maryland", but they want to make a distinction when it suits them. They literally want to have their cake and eat it too.

 

If I were a resident of the state of Maryland, I'd demand that the entire state legislature be hung high as Haman for pissing away valuable time with stuff like masturbating over who is entitled to use the plain vanilla "University of Maryland" name. If you don't want a school using the plain vanilla "University of Maryland" name, simply don't include the words "University of Maryland" in the school's name in the first place. End of story. If you really want or need to know which campus someone graduated from, just ask.

 

No, we've been into ridiculous semantics since the first post in this overly long thread. Now we are getting into state law, which is perhaps more definitive.

In 1996, the Board of Regents proposed a number of changes to the nomenclature of the schools that they administered. These included the switch from "the University of Maryland System" to "the University System of Maryland"; the switch from "Towson State University" to "Towson University"; and the restriction of the plain "University of Maryland" name to the College Park and Baltimore programs. The state legislature simply acted on the Regents' recommendations.

 

The University of Maryland, College Park explicitly denies that UMUC is a "University of Maryland" institution.

So UMUC represents the "University System of Maryland", but not the "University of Maryland". I grant that this policy seems weird, given the UM in UMUC, but it seems to have backing of the Regents, the General Assembly, and the flagship state university. So UMUC degree holders are stuck with it.

 

Thanks, Cal Dog. So, omitting the "UC" from "UMUC" is not only a lie from a practical perspective--purposely omitting material information in order to leave a false impression--it is also a lie according to the law. Duh.

 

ROFL!!!!!

 

This is their take on the "Name Game"

I think this makes it pretty clear, no? From the website..

What About All Those Other "University of Maryland" Institutions?
The University System of Maryland (the new name established by the 1997 legislation) includes 13 public institutions across the state. Only the institution in Baltimore that houses the professional schools is also authorized to refer to itself as the University of Maryland. This acknowledges the historical link between the Baltimore and College Park institutions. Confusion is minimal because the University of Maryland, Baltimore, primarily offers professional programs—medicine, law, dentistry, nursing, social work and pharmacy. These are not available at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Note: The University of Maryland University College (UMUC) is a separate institution located next to the University of Maryland campus. UMUC is not affiliated with UM. It is part of the University System of Maryland.

 

In this case (as with so many others), state law is ridiculous semantics.

The PTB in Maryland could end this tomorrow by renaming UMUC, but they don't want the revenue drop-off that would inevitably result by losing the term UM. IMO, that's the most unethical thing of all.......$$$$$$ always wins.

 

Then hang the Regents, too!

 

Question: Would a graduate of the University of Maryland Baltimore County or the University of Maryland Eastern Shore be considered a liar for claiming to be a University of Maryland graduate?

 

You are all going to hate me for this but....

What of the Ellis College of NYIT grads? The degree is conferred by, and the degree states in big letters "New York Institute Of Technology".

The college advertises that fact, and the Enrollment Advisers push it hard when selling the college to potentials? " the degree is from NYIT, so what do you think about that" blah blah blah..

They certainly don't make it a secret, and NYIT proper does not seem to mind whatsoever so is this a parallel?

WHEN!! I graduate from ELLIS I will not have a problem saying what school I when to, would you.....

 

The name of the system is the "University System of Maryland" (USM). UMBC, UMES, and UMUC are parts of USM, and so graduates of these schools can legitimately claim to hold USM degrees. For that matter, so can graduates of Coppin State University, the University of Baltimore, or Towson University, which are also part of USM.

The "University of Maryland" is not the name of the system. The plain-vanilla name "University of Maryland" refers specifically to the College Park and Baltimore campuses of USM. So no, grads of UMBC, UMES, and UMUC cannot claim to hold "University of Maryland" degrees -- despite the fact that the phrase "University of Maryland" happens to feature in their names. Neither can graduates of Coppin State U, U Baltimore, or Towson U, which are equally part of USM, and which do not happen to feature the phrase "University of Maryland" in their names.

Other states may have different rules. The term "University of California", for example, legally does refer to the whole system. So a graduate of UC Merced or UC Riverside could legitimately claim to hold a "University of California" degree. However, a claim of this sort would typically be considered incomplete and ambiguous by other Californians, who are well aware that the UC system includes multiple schools. So in practice, it's rarely (if ever) done.

 

This thread makes me feel like I'm counting angels on the head of a pin. But I'm an old philosophy major, so I remain resolute and undeterred...

From page 5 of Caldog's pdf...

On page 10...

And on page 11...

Maryland's only muddied some already murky waters.

In 1970, UMUC was a campus of the University of Maryland. In 1988, it was a campus of the University of Maryland System, which now included the state colleges and universities that don't have 'UM' in their names. And finally, the name of the statewide system was changed to 'University System of Maryland', apparently so as to differentiate the system from any individual campus and to be more inclusive of schools with names like Towson and Frostburg.

That doesn't exactly tell us that College Park and the Baltimore medical school are the only true 'University of Maryland' campuses, that the other three 'UMs' have been disassociated from this lofty pair, or that Baltimore County has now been turned into some peculiar 'Not Really University of Maryland at Baltimore County'.

If this ridiculous stuff has had any effect, it's been to make the words "University of Maryland" essentially meaningless. Some Maryland state schools are called 'University of Maryland' and some aren't, but the names don't really tell us anything. We have to look at each school's particular characteristics and reputation.

 

This is a key point. In most states, the name of a public school tells you something about the system it belongs to. In California, for example, a "University of California" campus represents a different system from a "California State University" campus.

Not so in Maryland. The "University System of Maryland" has no consistent naming conventions whatsoever. It includes:

- Five schools with "University of Maryland" in their names (e.g. "University of Maryland, Baltimore County" or "University of Maryland University College")

- Four schools with "State University" in their names (e.g. "Coppin State University" or "Bowie State University")

- Two schools with neither term in their names ("Towson University" and "University of Baltimore").

And it gets worse. What about "Morgan State University"? Well, that's also a public university in Maryland -- yet it is not part of the University System of Maryland. In other words, Bowie State University and University of Maryland, Baltimore County do represent the same system (despite their different names) -- but Bowie State University and Morgan State University do not (despite their similar names).

I haven't seen the actual 1997 legislation; the PDF that I linked to is only the 1996 Regents' recommendations, not the text of the law. But it's clear that the flagship public university in Maryland believes that the term "University of Maryland" means the College Park and Baltimore campuses exclusively, that this term does not apply to UMUC, and is publicly promoting these interpretations. They may or may not have good cause to do so, but there is obviously a potential for confusion and misunderstanding if UMUC grads choose a completely conflicting interpretation.

 

WOW. I have never loved the State of Connecticut, its flagship public university or its state universities more than I do now having read this thread.

UConn is UConn, no matter where you went (Storrs, Stamford, Avery Point, etc.) and the State U's are all aptly named (Western, Southern, Central and Eastern). No confusion.

Perhaps Maryland's Board of Regents should take note.

 

I think the intent is to deceive when not putting in the entire name, to make it seem like a better insdtitution than it is - so - it is not appropriate.

 

As someone who attended both UMD and UMUC Brick and Mortar, I can say with authority that they are totally different schools located next door to one another and anyone trying to say their degree from one is from the other is guilty of lying on their resume.

I recruited for government contractor positions where I read hundreds of resumes and I saw many people who listed UMUC on their resumes and I saw many people who listed UMES, UMBC and related University of Maryland System schools. If anyone said they were a UMD graduate who went to UMES, I'd simply not hire them. But since, in a broad sense, all the other schools UMUC, UMBC and others are at the same general level and my alma mater, UMD is in many ways not an amazing school, no school choice in the entire state would be used as a discriminator to interview or not.

In entry level situations we had more concern about people who had undergrad degrees from Strayer, Southeastern, Catholic, American, NOVA, etc. Even if I saw Marymount or GMU or JMU I'd ask people about the schools. Besides the regional powerhouses (GWU, Georgetown, Hopkins, UVA) the quality drop-off is a little steep so what would matter to an interviewer is not the school name, but the work done.

However, I always asked people one or two questions about their schools if they came across as someone who didn't learn how to act in an interview after completing school.

 

People may be confused here! Maryland colleges and universities are old and were created separately as separate institutions that were managed separately. They are not comparable to UConn remotely, nor are they comparable to SUNY or UC. I'm sure many states, particularly southern states, have similar situations.

Coppin State University is a traditionally black university that was created in like 1900 as a City of Baltimore teachers college for African-American teachers during the era of segregation! 80 years later the school, struggling, ceases to be privately managed and becomes part of the MD system. Anyone suggesting that a historic teachers college like that needs to have its name changed to University of Maryland Coppin State has no business making such a comment! You simply have no idea what once private or city universities the MD system encompasses!