diff --git a/institutions/migrations/0036_institution_show_sp_connection_and_more.py b/institutions/migrations/0036_institution_show_sp_connection_and_more.py
index c49a2a9b..c38f7e92 100644
--- a/institutions/migrations/0036_institution_show_sp_connection_and_more.py
+++ b/institutions/migrations/0036_institution_show_sp_connection_and_more.py
@@ -16,10 +16,13 @@ class Migration(migrations.Migration):
         migrations.AddField(
             model_name='institution',
             name='show_sp_connection',
-            field=models.BooleanField(default=True),
+            field=models.BooleanField(default=True, null=True),
         ),
         migrations.AddConstraint(
             model_name='institution',
-            constraint=models.UniqueConstraint(django.db.models.functions.text.Lower('institution_name'), name='institution_name', violation_error_message='This institution is already on the Hub.'),
+            constraint=models.UniqueConstraint(
+                django.db.models.functions.text.Lower('institution_name'),
+                name='institution_name_unique'
+            ),
         ),
     ]
diff --git a/institutions/migrations/0040_alter_institution_description_and_more.py b/institutions/migrations/0040_alter_institution_description_and_more.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b282e8b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/institutions/migrations/0040_alter_institution_description_and_more.py
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+# Generated by Django 5.0.9 on 2024-10-17 14:57
+
+import django.core.validators
+from django.db import migrations, models
+
+
+class Migration(migrations.Migration):
+
+    dependencies = [
+        ('institutions', '0039_alter_institution_sp_privacy'),
+    ]
+
+    operations = [
+        migrations.AlterField(
+            model_name='institution',
+            name='description',
+            field=models.TextField(null=True, validators=[django.core.validators.MaxLengthValidator(200)]),
+        ),
+        migrations.AlterField(
+            model_name='institution',
+            name='sp_privacy',
+            field=models.CharField(choices=[('public', 'Public/Contributor'), ('all', 'All')], default='all', max_length=20, null=True),
+        ),
+    ]
diff --git a/institutions/models.py b/institutions/models.py
index 9044fde3..d6d8ebcb 100644
--- a/institutions/models.py
+++ b/institutions/models.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 from django.core.validators import MaxLengthValidator
 import uuid
 import os
+from django.core.exceptions import ValidationError
 
 class SubscribedManager(models.Manager):
     def get_queryset(self):
@@ -52,6 +53,10 @@ class Institution(models.Model):
     objects = models.Manager()
     subscribed = SubscribedManager()
 
+    def clean(self):
+        if Institution.objects.filter(institution_name__iexact=self.institution_name).exclude(pk=self.pk).exists():
+            raise ValidationError("This institution is already on the Hub.")
+
     def get_location(self):
         components = [self.city_town, self.state_province_region, self.country]
         location = ', '.join(filter(None, components)) or None
@@ -99,8 +104,7 @@ class Meta:
         constraints = [
             models.UniqueConstraint(
                 Lower('institution_name'),
-                name='institution_name',
-                violation_error_message='This institution is already on the Hub.'
+                name='institution_name_unique'
             ),
         ]