A New Era of Legal Innovation

The Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law has changed its name to The Colleges of Law and unveils a new logo. 

For more than 50 years, The Colleges of Law has been an innovator in the legal education space. Many significant milestones have been reached in that time, including the first commencement in 1973, the Ventura and Santa Barbara campuses coming together in the late ‘70s, State Bar accreditation, TCS Education System affiliation, WSCUC accreditation, and the development of new programs like the Hybrid J.D. 

This year a new, exciting milestone was reached—the launch of a new brand identity and logo. The Colleges of Law is streamlining its many naming conventions (Ventura College of Law, Santa Barbara College of Law, The Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law) into one: The Colleges of Law. This name change will foster continued innovation and allow for broader community reach and impact. 

In support of this new brand identity, a new logo has been developed. The logo design showcases a foundation in law using classic pillars, signifying traditional legal education with forward momentum. It communicates a school committed to innovation and building something new. 

This rebranding serves as a start of a new era for The Colleges of Law. More information can be found in the FAQs below. 

COL Rebrand FAQ 

What is happening with the COL name? 

We are retiring “The Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law” naming convention and brand; instead leading with “The Colleges of Law.” It will be our first major rebranding effort since 2010 when the stacked logo and palm tree (yes, that’s a palm tree) iconography was introduced.  

Why the change? 

We’ve come a long way as a school since our last brand update in 2010. For one we are no longer exclusive the Santa Barbara and Ventura communities, as was the case during our first decades. We now draw students throughout California and beyond thanks to our hybrid J.D. and master’s programs.  

And second, we’ve been using The Colleges of Law and “COL” as an identifier for many years. For instance, we introduced “The Colleges of Law” formally in our institutional seal when it debuted in 2019. The new identity is simply a better reflection of who we are today while providing flexibly for tomorrow.  

How did you engage with the community in the process and decision? 

We’ve involved our key stakeholders throughout this project, staring with holding focus groups on mission and vision as part of our strategic planning process in 2017. Out of that came a renewed emphasis on “access,” “opportunity,” and “academic excellence” in our mission statement and a new vision statement “to be a pioneer in modernizing legal education.”  

From there we presented a proposal to the COL Board of Trustees to review our name and identity and make recommendations for next steps. More focus groups with community members, including alumni, were held in 2021 on our name. We learned from them that our geographic identifiers, Santa Barbara and Ventura, still have relevance and should have a place in our identity. Our brand and creative teams incorporated this feedback into their work.  

What about the names Ventura College of Law and Santa Barbara College of Law? 

Both names are integral to our history. COL was founded as the Ventura College of Law in 1969; whereas, Santa Barbara was founded in 1974 as the California Law Institute and later changed its name. The first use of “Colleges of Law” dates to 1978, the first year a joint academic bulletin was published.  

We acknowledge that hundreds of graduates identify with those names, including having them on their diplomas. Nothing is going to change with that history. Just as UCSB was once known as the Santa Barbara State Normal School, we continue to evolve too.  

Our new identity will formalize what we’ve already been doing in practice, i.e., recognize Ventura and Santa Barbara as campuses versus separately named colleges: 

• The Colleges of Law—Ventura  
• The Colleges of Law—Santa Barbara 

Will signage change on the campuses?  

Yes. We have a plan to update all exterior and interior campus signage this year.  

What name will be on future graduate diplomas? 

“The Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law” has been on our diplomas since COL has been accredited by WSCUC. Starting in 2023, diplomas will read “The Colleges of Law” and will feature the seal that says the same.  

What is the difference between the COL logo and seal? 

One way of framing the distinction between seals and logos is that “one looks backward while one looks forward.” Our seal indeed does look back, reflecting our founding, while emphasizing iconography from our founding (scales of justice) and palm leaves to reflect our heritage as being in California coastal communities. It also leads with the words “access,” “opportunity,” and “excellence” from our mission.  

Our new logo in turn is more forward thinking. The column iconography represents something being built and still taking shape. It’s a modern take on a classic design feature.  

Our logo will be more public facing, whereas, our seal will be more internal looking—including on diplomas and other formal documents.  

Will you publish guidelines for the new logo?  

Yes, we’re updating our brand book, which will feature guidelines for the logo and seal.  

To learn more about the Master of Arts in Law program at The Colleges of Law, fill out the form below.