Metropolitan State College (Metro) trustees voted yesterday in favor of a new name: Metropolitan State University of Denver, after DU and Metro reached an agreement on the name.

In a 6-3 vote, Metro trustees voted to approve the name change late yesterday morning. The vote comes after DU and Metro entered into a name change “coexistence” agreement, which was worked out over the past few weeks.

Metro has pursued the name change for the last three years, according to Cathy Lucas, associate vice president of Metro’s Communication Advancement Department.

“That was the name, based on discussion with DU and working with other senators and representatives, that was agreed on,” said Lucas.

Legislators involved in the name-change process included Senators Mike Johnston, Rollie Heath and Lucia Guzman, and Colo. House Rep. Crisanta Dduuran.

DU entered into the “coexistence” agreement with Metro to “protect DU and Metro from future issues around confusion,” according to vice chancellor of University Communications Kevin Carroll.

Carroll said DU is pleased with the agreement.

“I think we’re happy for them today,” said Carroll. “They’ve wanted to pursue the name-change for a while, so it’s allowed them to fulfill their desires.”

According to Carroll, the agreement gave Metro the ability to choose the name and allow both DU and Metro to market themselves in such a way that they won’t be confused with each other.

“What we agreed on in principle is that DU would continue to have its brand and its image,” said Carroll. “It allows both of us to move forward and market and brand ourselves as we have been. They’ll have their name and their branding and we will have ours.”

Lucas said she is glad DU and Metro reached an agreement.

“I’m just pleased we found a resolution and we want to move forward on this,” she said.

Carroll also said it’s a good day for DU because it keeps the two universities’ images distinct.

“What we’ve been after is to defend the brand for DU,” said Carroll. “What we’re wanting is to avoid brand confusion among the institutions of higher education in Denver and the Front Range.”

Both DU and Metro conducted online surveys to research the name change. Metro polled a random sampling of students, staff, faculty and alumni last spring to find out what was the most popular of three potential names: Denver Metropolitan State University, Metropolitan Denver State University and Denver State University. The original survey revealed that Denver State University was the most desirable.

DU officials objected after Metro’s Board of Trustees voted to change the name last spring in accordance with the original survey.

According to Lucas, Metro conducted a follow-up survey that added the additional name: Metropolitan State University of Denver. Last December, the survey revealed that to be the most popular name.

DU also executed a 1,500-person online national survey last summer to “understand the dynamics of brand education,” said Carroll.

The survey asked respondents a series of questions to show when confusion exists and what might occur if Metro had chosen any of the other names considered.

“It helped reinforce the information that people outside the Front Range are already confused between the two institutions,” said Carroll. “If Metro chose a name that had ‘Denver’ in the first or second position it would confuse people outside the Front Range.”

The study also revealed the new name will reduce the confusion between Metro and DU.

“With the name they’ve chosen, we know there’ll be no confusion, either,” said Carroll.

The name still has to be approved by Colorado legislature.

According to Lucas, the name-change legislation will be submitted to the Colorado Senate within the next week.

If the Senate approves it, it will then go to the House of Representatives and finally Governor John Hickenlooper will have to sign it.

“The bill has to be presented to the legislature – and now it will be,” said Carroll. “

Lucas said Metro hopes to have the name-change adopted by August 2012.

“The most important element was to have our degree recognized as the high-quality degree it is,” said Lucas. “Getting ‘university’ to replace ‘college’ has always been one of our main goals.”

Carroll said at this point DU will not try to stop the name-change.

“We were just trying to protect the DU brand and make sure that there’s no harm to the university’s brand in the process,” he said.

“We have a name that maintains our heritage, but it also allows our students and alumni to have ‘university’ on their degree,” said Lucas.