Cal Poly has increased its efforts to recruit out-of-state students after approximately 1,500 California resident student slots were cut in a decision by the California State University (CSU) system. The move is an effort to recoup some of the lost money and fill the empty space where those in-state students would be.
The CSU system as a whole is applying a 9.5 percent reductions to all of its 23 schools.
Cal Poly will be reducing its resident enrollment slots from 17,350 Californian students to 15,702 because of the budget shortages, following the system-wide percentage.
The empty places open the door for more out-of-state students to get into Cal Poly and the CSU system as a whole (eight to nine percent of Cal Poly’s students are out-of-state now, according to Cal Poly Admissions).
Out-of-state students pay approximately 3,000 dollars per quarter more than resident students, making their yearly (three quarters) tuition and fee total approximately 15,000 dollars. An in-state student pays about 6,000 dollars. Resident Californian student tuition is, in effect, subsidized by the state government meaning that the state absorbs the 9,000 dollars per year for each in-state student.
By cutting the state resident enrollment slots, the university prevents itself from losing more funds.
However, a problem occurs because Cal Poly is currently already maintaining (in facilities, faculty and staff) the 17,350 resident students, plus out-of-state students. The results if those slots are left unfilled are empty classrooms, unused equipment and extra faculty.
“Cal Poly is equipped to support the amount of students they have now,” ASI President Kelly Griggs said. “We will now have an excess of stuff they have around campus to support the current 19,000 plus.”
To cover this excess Cal Poly is “putting additional interest in students who show interest in Cal Poly from out-of-state,” Provost Robert Koob said.
Because there are more open slots there are more opportunities for out-of-state students to come to Cal Poly, Koob said. Cal Poly Admissions has recently added to their efforts to bring out-of-state students to Cal Poly.
Admissions accomplishes this goal by what they call the Outreach Recruitment Effort.
James Maraviglia, the assistant vice president of Admissions, Recruitment and Financial Aid said that although Cal Poly hasn’t hired more staff to assist in the search for out-of-state students that they have increased efforts to bring them here.
“It’s a multi-pronged effort to drive diversity and thought as well as maintain an overall size,” Maraviglia said. “We’d like to become more of a national draw.”
Admissions purchases information about students who have taken the PSAT to target those best suited for the university. This gives them an idea of whether the student has the achievement level and interest level to succeed at Cal Poly. This effort was traditionally limited to the West Coast, but because of the budget shortages, they are now making a national push.
Not only is admissions looking to fill budget and student gaps but is trying to attract new and diverse types of students to Cal Poly, Maraviglia said.
“This helps us diversify in areas that may be lacking of instate demand,” he said. “It attracts a different breath of student. How many kids from California come from a logging and fishing town? Not many.”
Griggs said that it is unfortunate that the California government is giving an advantage to out-of-state students and not its residents.
“The state is basically saying they can’t and won’t fund California students,” Griggs said. “When (the government) cut the money from the state they are reducing places for California students.”
They can spin things in any manner they want but the reality is Cal Poly, the CSU and elected state officials are denying California student the opportunity to study at Cal Poly in favor of getting more money from out-of-state students. This means fewer well-educated people in the State which translates into fewer grads that start businesses, create innovative technologies and hire people that pay taxes into the system.
To distill this down, California taxpayers who built Cal Poly and pay the salaries of its faculty and staff are being turned away form the schools they’ve paid for so out-of-staters can attend the University and make up the budget shortfall in funding caused by civil servants at all levels of state government whose compensation packages are out of whack with the private sector.
What all Californians and students need to understand is that California’s powerful employee unions which represent the majority of Cal Poly’s staff are forcing this to happen because they refuse to accept parity with the private sector as it relates to compensation and pensions.
In the private sector, one must pay essentially 100% of one’s pension, must work until 67 to receive a paltry payout from social security, never receive adjustments for inflation and face layoff or termination based on market conditions.
In the public sector which includes State employees at every level, one must work for only 30 years (or to roughly age 53), pay next to nothing for one’s pensions, never face layoffs (until very recently), and enjoy pensions of 65-90% of one’s working salaries for life. Also, these pensions adjust each year for inflation based on a COLA (cost of living adjustment) formula.
Students and taxpayers must realize that the State’s future and prosperity is being held hostage by civil servants at all levels and that based on the existing system, State employees cost 2X to do something versus the private sector. This includes everything from gardeners and plumbers at Cal Poly to members of the faculty.
Thanks State workers! You’re very inspiring!!
One more step towards privatization of education! Increase the overall cost of [semi] public education, get fewer in-state students who cannot longer afford it, and get more money from out-of-state students who have the necessary funding sources to attend.
I am an out-of-state student and this makes me angry. I accepted Cal Poly because I was promised residency within a year and financial assistance along the way. So far none of that has come true. I wouldn’t be surprised if the same practices are still being used.
This is just as bad for out-of-state students. I’m a third year and paying MORE each quarter, but the quality of education has gone down so much since I stepped foot on this campus. I can’t get the classes I need each quarter, I’ve had to use all of my priorities and it looks like I’ll have to stay another extra year (at extra tuition rates) just to get what I need to graduate. Each quarter they are NOT offering enough SESSIONS of each class to get enrolled. They NEED TO UP THE CLASS SIZES to fit more people into the classes so that we can get our requirements done and graduate! It really sucks! I’ve told all of my friends back home NOT TO GO TO CAL POLY because the quality of education has gone downhill – you can’t get the classes you need and no one cares, the faculty spend have of the class time COMPLAINING to the students about their pay cuts, while the students are actually paying MORE than they did for LESS. This is NOT a place for out of state students to go any longer.
I can kind of agree with Maraviglia. Right now Cal Poly is recognized as an outstanding school in California, but is completely unknown in regards to the rest of the nation. If we do start to become more of a national draw, with it will come national recognition. Thus will give our graduates a much better chance of landing better jobs outside of California. Also Cal Poly will start to be recognized as a larger force in terms of National rankings and what not.
The problem is that this action serves with total disregard to the CSU’s fundamental root. A California State University system payed by Californians for the education of Californians.