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Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo recently announced that it will become the state's first public university to transition to year-round operation beginning in the summer of 2025. This change will give students the option to start in the summer and stop their studies in another semester. The university will then be able to admit more students each year.
Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong said other universities have found success with this model.
“I think next to growth (enrollment) will be student success,” Armstrong said.
Armstrong said he wanted to take inspiration from schools that have been open year-round for years, such as Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and the University of Waterloo in Canada, and put a “Cal Poly twist” on the idea that would benefit all students.
Starting next year, students will be able to choose either summer or fall for their application process. Faculty and staff may also choose which terminology to use.
Armstrong said students and staff will have enough information to make informed decisions about what their schedules will look like, and “they'll know what they're getting into.”
If a student decides to start in the summer, they may have a better chance of being admitted to Cal Poly, which currently has an acceptance rate of 28% and is heavily influenced by more applicants than available seats, Armstrong said.
“We don’t change the standards,” Armstrong said. “What we’re doing is opening up more spaces to accommodate more students year-round.”
Starting the school year in the summer is different from simply taking summer classes or taking a few classes during the last few weeks of summer through a summer start program designed to help students adjust to college.
According to Armstrong, students who begin the school year in the summer are offered the same full range of courses offered in other semesters, and classes last for the entire semester.
When asked about the expected costs of the change to year-round operations, Armstrong said: “Overall, we believe the investments required will not be significantly different from those required to grow enrollment through traditional, non-annual operating vehicles. .”
Under the year-round model, students, including first-year students, will have more opportunities to engage in “high-impact practices” such as internships, study abroad and undergraduate research, according to Armstrong.
“We know that when students engage in high-impact practice, retention rates improve and their chances of graduation increase,” he said.
For example, a student who chooses to start in the summer may choose to study abroad or do an internship in the fall semester and return in the spring semester.
Armstrong said students may decide to take classes each semester and graduate earlier, but this is not required.
He said it’s “really about flexibility for all students.” “I think it will be very positive and expand access to high-impact activities. We want it to be more equitable.”
Armstrong added that no matter when a student starts, financial aid will still apply to the entire academic year (third or second semester).
In an ideal world, Armstrong said about a third of students would start in the summer, but if they do, that number could be as high as 15 to 20 percent.
“It allows us to grow. [and] The number of students in the regular school year is decreasing, which is relieving some of the pressure,” Armstrong said.
Cal Poly began discussing this change in 2019, but it was delayed by the pandemic. The change was then scheduled to begin in summer 2024, but was postponed again after Cal Poly met its enrollment goal for the year by increasing course availability, allowing more students to enroll full-time.
As college enrollment has increased, colleges and universities have been trying to find ways to do so without increasing costs too much. In 1999, the California Legislative Analyst's Office issued a report recommending that colleges and universities move to year-round operations.
Cal Poly is the only public university in California to make this switch, but other schools are making various efforts to increase enrollment and expand summer classes.
Other CSU campuses are also considering ways to offer more flexible academic schedules, according to CSU spokeswoman Hazel Kelly.
“The President’s Office is working with the university as it considers the various impacts of the alternative schedule, including student enrollment, campus budget, financial aid, accreditation, labor agreements and facilities,” Kelly said.
California State University, Long Beach is working to expand enrollment during the fall and spring semesters by focusing on “underrepresented majors with available spots,” according to CSULB spokesman Gregory Woods.
“To strengthen enrollment, our strategy is to improve retention and average unit load of current students and to expand class sizes at the freshman, first-year student level,” Woods said.
San Diego State University, which has the second-lowest acceptance rate of all CSUs and is heavily impacted, has no plans to move to year-round operations like Cal Poly but is exploring other ways to increase enrollment, said SDSU spokeswoman La Monica Everett-Haines.
“However, we have been implementing efforts to increase summer enrollment and overall we continue to see high levels of enrollment growth during the semester and summer semester,” Everett-Haynes said.
The University of California has similarly been working to expand summer enrollment without switching to a year-round model.
“All UC campuses are committed to increasing overall enrollment, including efforts to improve on-time graduation and expand online, summer and off-campus opportunities, as well as expand the capabilities of California students through more non-traditional approaches and advance educational equity,” Ryan King said. “I’m doing my best to do what I’m told,” he said. UC spokesperson.
According to the “Building 2030 Capacity Report,” published in 2022, UC has shifted to increasing online course offerings and financial support during the summer to help meet enrollment goals. King said the report shows a surge in summer 2020 enrollment, and that “UC campuses see this surge as an opportunity to increase summer enrollment and capacity over the long term by increasing the number and mix of online and impacted fall-winter-spring courses.” It was recognized as. offering.”
Cal Poly decided that it would be most advantageous to expand its regular summer offerings as well as transition to a year-round model.
Armstrong said the move to year-round operation will benefit all students, not just those who choose to start in the summer. Because classes will be offered more frequently throughout the year and there will be more opportunities to engage in impactful activities. The campus community will grow.
In an effort to increase enrollment, Cal Poly is working to build more on-campus housing so that all first- and second-year students can live on campus. The project will “add thousands of beds between now and 2030. said Armstrong.
Armstrong also expects the shift to year-round operations, along with increased financial support, will aid Cal Poly's efforts to increase diversity.
When Cal Poly begins this rotation, students will only be able to choose between a summer or fall start, and only freshmen will receive this option. Armstrong said he hopes everyone will have this option in the future and that spring departures will also be available.
“We think this will be very important,” Armstrong said. “Evidence from polls and questionnaires of prospective parents and students shows that there is very strong interest in the concept of operating year-round.”
Ashley Boulter I am a fourth-year student at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, majoring in Journalism and minoring in French and Ethnic Studies, and an EdSource member. California Student Journalism Corps.