The Nova Scotia Technical College was frequently being confused by the public with the Nova Scotia Institute of Technology (NSIT) - now part of the Nova Scotia Community College system - and the NSTC abbreviation was often confused by the public with the Nova Scotia Teachers College; there was also identification issues resulting from the institution's name as a "college" when it was offering university-level instruction. On 3 June 1980, following 40 years of lobbying, the Government of Nova Scotia changed the name of the institution to the Technical University of Nova Scotia (TUNS). The mission of TUNS was described as "contribute to the development of Nova Scotia by providing high quality education, research and community and industry collaboration in architecture, computer science and engineering."