Sentence:  Since the launch early last year of ... two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations. University <WSD>brands</WSD> built in some cases over centuries have been forced to contemplate the possibility that information technology will rapidly make their existing business model obsolete. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  The symbolic identity, represented by a name and/or a logo, which indicates a certain product or service to the public.