At least 300 students showed up to protest a proposed diploma change at Purdue University Northwest in Hammond on Monday, organizers said.

At issue is a single word change — adding “Northwest” to the top of the diplomas starting in May.

While one word may seem minor, students said they wanted to keep the “Purdue University” designation up top, rather than prominently showing they graduated from a satellite campus.

Junior Kate Franklin, 20, a communications major, said current students should be grandfathered. Nearly 15,000 students agreed and have signed a Change.org petition to date.

In response to the backlash, Chancellor Thomas Keon will hold community meetings in Hammond and Westville.

Hammond’s meeting will be from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the Student Union Library Room 150D. Westville’s meeting will be from 9 to 11 a.m. Friday in the Dworkin Student Services and Activities Complex.

Last week, several Purdue University Northwest students balked on social media after the campus announced it would add “Northwest” to the top of diplomas next year.

Current degrees do state where it was earned — at the bottom — a spokesman said.

After Franklin shared the post on her Facebook feed, it attracted nearly 100 comments and more than 170 shares by 5 p.m. Friday.

“I felt it was promised to us,” she said previously. “They promised this as, ‘You’ll get a Purdue degree.’ Now, they just sent an email. It is totally changed.”

Purdue also has campuses in Lafayette, Fort Wayne and offers online courses through Purdue Global, formerly Kaplan Online.

Trustees that approved the change felt it was “increasingly valuable” to separate each campus’ identity, Keon said in a statement last week. “This is an exciting step forward for Purdue Northwest,” he said. “Everything we do as a comprehensive university to ensure the success of our graduates — from high-quality teaching and scholarship, to a robust campus community, to a growing alumni network — is now further reflected in our diploma.”

Keon noted the practice of distinguishing between campuses is already in place in Wisconsin, Missouri, Nebraska, New York and California.

mcolias@post-trib.com