Northwood Tech News

Early in 2020, WITC (a nationally top-ranked, two-year public technical college) worked with CLARUS Corporation to engage stakeholders including students, alumni, staff and community members through surveys, focus groups and meetings to conduct market research. Nearly 1,600 respondents provided feedback. The research results will help inform WITC’s upcoming strategic plan to strengthen its services to better meet stakeholder needs and improve the College’s brand.

Based on data from the research, WITC will move forward with rebranding efforts. The WITC Board of Trustees has adopted a timeline that will lead to a new name, mascot and branding for the College that will go into effect Fall 2021 term.

“Our College has been consistently ranked a top two-year college in the country. We believe this rebranding effort presents an opportunity to bring clarity to who we are and what we do while also modernizing our image,” said John Will, president of WITC.

The research suggests stakeholders demonstrated confusion over WITC’s name and felt it was “out-of-date.” Results showed that the term "Indianhead" was not widely recognized as a geographic region, especially among younger stakeholders and those in counties contiguous to the District. The current name, "Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College," and its short initials, "WITC," do not clearly articulate the purpose of the College. Some key data points to support this are reflected below:

• 20% of people from outside the WITC District associated the initials “WITC” with a radio station
• 25% of 18 to 34-year-olds in the WITC District associated the college name with a tribal college
• 38% of residents in the WITC District recognized the term “Indianhead” as a geographic region; and it holds even less recognition among younger people and residents just outside of the District
• ½ of the groups surveyed rated the name as being more “out-of-date” than “modern,” with none rating it strongly as “modern” on a five-point scale

WITC invites the community to submit potential new names, mascots, or mascot names by November 6, 2020. To submit a name, learn more about the project and track its progress, go to www.northwoodtech.edu/name-change  or use the direct link here, Submit Branding Options

WITC is grateful to all its community partnerships. Your support of the WITC Foundation is essential to student success. For information on how to contribute, visit witc.edu/donate.  

A nationally top-ranked college and a designated 2020-21 Military Friendly® School, WITC serves the educational and career needs of more than 18,000 residents of Northwestern Wisconsin each year. With multiple campuses, WITC offers career-focused associate degree programs, technical diplomas, short-term certificates, customized business training, and a wide array of courses for personal or career enrichment. WITC is a member of the Wisconsin Technical College System and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (www.hlcommission.org). For more information, call 800.243.WITC or visit witc.edu. WITC is an Equal Opportunity/Access/Affirmative Action/Veterans/Disability Employer and Educator.

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