Thomas Edison State University

[heinleineken]

That's why I said it implies that the institution is more comprehensive, but there is no hard rule that colleges follow when naming themselves in unregulated areas. People have the impression that universities are larger and have more offerings regardless of whether or not it's true. For states like New Jersey, the assumption is true. A lot of for-profit colleges, though, go straight to calling themselves universities even though they have limited offerings because it makes them sound more important. Historically, a university is an institution that is composed of colleges such as the College of Education, College of Business, College of Arts and Sciences, etc.

Pure speculation on my part regarding Boston College, but the primary reason they haven't changed their name to Boston University is that the institution of higher learning to the east on Commonwealth Ave. is already using that moniker.