I can’t find the source right now, but in NY at least there is a legal definition of a college vs. a university. A local “college” is trying to rebrand itself as a “university” and they are unable to do so because they do not meet the state definition, which if my memory serves me is an institution that offers post graduate degrees with significant research emphasis in 3 or more disciplines.
After reading the newspaper article I started thinking about it though and some schools don’t fit the bill-like Colgate and St. Lawrence for example, so I wonder if it was a grandfathering situation?