Office for Students launches consultation on University of Bolton name change application

The Office for Students (OfS) has launched a consultation on a proposal by the University of Bolton to change its name to the University of Greater Manchester.

Professor George Holmes Vice Chancellor of the University of Bolton, who has been head of the university for almost two decades, said: “I am pleased to announce that the Office for Students (OfS) has confirmed that it is formally launching the consultation on the proposal of the University to become University of Greater Manchester.

“The new title will more accurately portray what the University has become in recent years: serving and operating in the whole area of Greater Manchester, not just one borough within it.

“Our commitment to Bolton is unswerving and we are committed to continue to be part of the fabric of the local community.

“The governors of the University unanimously resolved to change the University’s name in order that we can best serve our borough by continuing to grow and succeed with the due prominence that the new title will help to give.”

Professor Holmes stressed that universities have the absolute right to choose the name they use as long as, in accordance with the law, the name is not confusing or misleading.

He said that the consultation by the Higher Education regulator poses a simple question for people to consider: Is the new title University of Greater Manchester misleading or confusing? This is not a matter of whether someone likes the name or not, or whether other universities inevitably object for fear of competition. 

He added: “We can evidence other city regions with similar names shared by competing universities (such as Birmingham) demonstrating beyond doubt that the new name is neither misleading nor confusing.

“Our main campus, along with several other campuses, are spread throughout Greater Manchester and almost 70 per cent of our students reside permanently at a GM address.

“The new name is not confusing – there are already two other institutions in GM with the city of Manchester in their title. In London there are many more which use the capital’s name in their titles. Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham and Newcastle city regions all have multiple universities with the city’s names in their titles without cause for confusion.”

The application is fully supported by the University’s Board of Governors and current and former Students’ Union (SU) presidents.

Bolton SU President Uchenna Moses said: “I wholeheartedly support this landmark change and strongly believe the new title and brand will elevate the University to a new level.”

A Government award of £20m Levelling Up funding for a new Institute of Medical Sciences in Greater Manchester at the hospital site in Farnworth provides further evidence of the University’s unique contribution to regional and national priorities during and after the pandemic and it supplies large numbers of graduates each year to the clinical workforce of the NHS in Greater Manchester.

The University is also developing a proposed Medical School, one of only two in the county.

The consultation begins today and can be accessed here Proposed new name for the University of Bolton - Office for Students

For our FAQs on the name change application, please see here.

To see what the SU President Uchenna Moses has written to all students, see here.