近年来，美国多所高等学府更名，把学校名称从“学院”(College)改为“大学”(University)，以招揽外国学生，特别是来自中国的学生，因为校方认为，相较于大学，学院这个词在一些国家只被当成高中或大专。而将学院改为大学，有助于对外提升学校形象，避免误解。

What's in a name? A lot, if you had asked Johnson State College and Lyndon State College in the US state of Vermont.

如果有人问美国佛蒙特州的约翰逊州立学院和林登州立学院，名字重要吗?它们会告诉你，非常重要。

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

如今这两所相距89公里的学院至少名字上已经成为一所大学——北佛蒙特大学。

The name change was designed to attract foreign students willing to pay higher tuition. "University" just sounds better than "college".

取这个名字是为了吸引愿意支付更多学费的留学生。“大学”也只是比“学院”更好听。

NVU will welcome its first freshman class in the fall of 2018.

北佛蒙特大学2018年秋季将迎来第一批大一新生。

Across the United States schools have been trying to step up to the surge in foreign students, especially Chinese students. Last year, 328,547 Chinese studied in the US, accounting for 32 percent of all foreign students, according to the Institute of International Education.

美国各地的学校都试图采取措施吸引更多留学生，特别是中国学生。据国际教育研究所称，去年美国有328547名中国学生，占全美留学生总数的32%。

But Vermont ranks low - 48th among the country's 50 states. Last year, a paltry 1,712 foreign students studied in Vermont, 39 percent of them Chinese.

但在招收留学生方面，佛蒙特州的排名垫底，在全美50个州中位列第48。该州去年仅有1712名留学生，中国学生占39%。

Currently, Lyndon has eight international students, including five from China; Johnson State has two international students, one from the United Kingdom and one from Bermuda.

目前，林登州立学院有8名国际学生，其中5名来自中国;约翰逊州立学院有两名国际学生，其中一人来自英国，另一人来自百慕大群岛。

Last year, the board of trustees of the state college system voted unanimously to unify Johnson and Lyndon State - but keeping each school's campus separate - to save money and increase revenue.

去年，为了节省开支增加收入，州立学院系统董事会一致投票决定将两所学院合并，但分别保留每所学校的校园。

Foreign students brought just $75 million to the state last year, up from $34 million six years ago, according to the education institute.

据该教育机构称，6年前该州留学生带来的收入为3400万美元，去年仅增至7500万美元。

In explaining the name change, Patricia Coates, director of communications for the Vermont State Colleges System, told China Daily that "college" may have a different perception outside the US. In China, "college" may be seen as equivalent to "high school" or "junior college".

佛蒙特州学院系统交流委员会主席帕特丽夏•科茨对改名问题做出了解释，她告诉《中国日报》，在美国以外的地方人们对“学院”可能有不同的理解。在中国，“学院”似乎等同于“中学”或“大专”。

"Frankly, let's be honest, 'university' provides a marketing advantage, and that is a big part of what we hope to leverage from this unification," Coates told news website vtdigger.org last year.

去年，科茨对新闻网站vtdigger.org表示：“坦白讲，‘大学’这个词有营销优势，这也是我们希望这次合并能带来的主要好处。”

Vermont's state college tuition is among the highest in any state, according to the website. The state's smaller public colleges have seen enrollments decline and are more dependent on tuition because of low government funding. Tuition and fees make up 58 percent of their revenue; room and board 17 percent; and state money 16 percent.

据该网站报道，佛蒙特的州立学院学费是全美最贵的。该州规模较小的公立学院招生已经出现下滑，此外，由于州政府的财政支持很低，学校更加依赖学费收入。学费和杂费占其财政收入的58%;食宿费用占收入的17%;而政府的补贴占16%。

At Lyndon in 2015, according to the school's website, there were 1,200 students. In-state tuition was $10,700 and out-of-state tuition was $21,764. International students qualify for the Open Frontiers Scholarship when enrolled in any degree program at Lyndon, and can receive $5,500 a year.

据林登州立学院官网显示，2015年，该校学生有1200名。州内学生学费为10700美元，而州外学生学费为21764美元。符合边境开放奖学金资格的国际学生就读该校任意专业时，每年都可以获得5500美元。

For the academic year 2016-17, Johnson's website lists in-state tuition as $10,244 and out-of-state as $22,680. The tuition for the newly combined NVU hasn't been disclosed yet.

2016-17学年，约翰逊州立学院官网列出的州内学生学费为10244美元，而州外学生为22680美元。新合并的北佛蒙特大学还没有公布学费情况。

It's not the first time that an institute of higher education in Vermont has changed its name. In July 2015, Castleton State College changed to Castleton University after a unanimous vote from the school's board of trustees.

这不是佛蒙特州的高校第一次改名。2015年7月，卡斯尔顿州立学院董事会一致决定将学院改名为卡斯尔顿大学。

University President Dave Wolk explained that the reasons for the name change included growth in the number of graduate programs and the student body, as well as Castleton's international recruitment efforts.

该校校长德弗•沃尔克解释称，改名是为了增加研究生课程和学生数量，并促进国际招生。

The school's website says that in 2015, 40 countries (including China) were represented among its student body of 2,246. Tuition for the academic year 2017-18 is $22,490 for in-state and $38,042 for out-of-state.

2015年，该校官网称，学校2246名学生共来自40个国家，其中包括中国。学校2017-18学年的州内学生学费为22490美元，州外学生学费为38042美元。

Patrick Liu, director of international student enrollments at Castleton, said people in countries outside the US have a different notion of what "college" means.

卡斯尔顿大学留学生招生处负责人帕特里克•刘称，外国人对“学院”这个词的意思有不同理解。

"Sometimes, people might think the education quality of a university would be higher than a college," said Liu. "So the change of the school's name could avoid misunderstanding and make it easier to explain to students overseas. It's good for the school's promotion and development, especially overseas."

“有时候，人们可能认为大学的教学质量可能比学院的更好。所以更改学校的名字可以避免误解，也更容易向海外学生解释。这有利于学校的宣传与发展，特别是在海外。”

Last year, Lyndon welcomed its first students from Xi'an into its undergraduate degree program. The school has an electronic journalism arts program that collaborates with China's Xi'an University. Each January, students from Xi'an, Shaanxi province, spend a few weeks on campus for hands-on experience in electronic journalism.

去年，林登州立学院的本科学位课程迎来了第一位来自陕西西安的学生。该校与西安大学在电视新闻艺术专业开展了合作。每年1月，来自西安的学生会在林登学院学习几周，体验电视新闻报道实践。