About the HSI mini grant series
Each year, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion awards a variety of high-impact mini grants to campus projects that support Latino students through targeted initiatives. Last year, the office distributed $35,000 across 17 projects. This story is one of 11 Mustang News features highlighting where and how those grants made an impact.
Cal Poly’s Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) recently started a transfer-specific UNIV 100 course to help EOP transfer students acclimate to Cal Poly. The course was made using the 2024-2025 grant Cal Poly created to support initiatives to aid Cal Poly to become an HSI.
“The course, which supports the successful student transition to Cal Poly and helps establish links between student needs and campus resources is the first of its kind, for EOP, to be offered to transfer students,” said University Spokesperson Keegan Koberl.
The EOP helps historically financially and educationally disadvantaged students acclimate to Cal Poly. They provide EOP financial grants to students, counseling services, workshops, and have their own Residential Learning Community.
The UNIV 100 course had its first meeting on Sept. 22. Incoming transfer students who are a part of the EOP are eligible for the course.
The one unit course was created to replicate the UNIV 100 course Cal Poly Scholars take; that course is only available for freshmen.
EOP worked with Student Affairs’s “The HEARD” group that ran a focus group on how to help ease the transition to college for Cal Poly transfers. They found the freshmen’s UNIV 100 course may also be beneficial for EOP transfers both academically and socially.
However, UNIV 100 for Cal Poly Scholars and EOP transfers are not identical.
“Transfer students have had success at a community college,” Koberl said. “So, safe assumptions can be made about general academic skills.”
Transfer-specific UNIV 100 focuses on post-graduation with an emphasis on career development while Cal Poly Scholar’s UNIV 100 course focuses more on adjusting to college academics and new student organization tips.
Keegan notes beyond academics the goal of transfer-specific UNIV 100 is to find community within each other and start making a place for themselves at Cal Poly.
Bryan Castillo, a business administration junior transfer student, is enrolled in the course this year.
“I thought it was going to be an extra workload,” Castillo said. “But, it hasn’t been too bad so far.”
Castillo notes that the course provides resources for transfer students like a panel on doing research and helping them plan out their grad school plans.
“The professor helps us polish up our resume,” Castillo said. “I honestly feel like I am gaining a lot out of it.”