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Cal Poly to raise student fees in an attempt to increase racial diversity

March 8, 2022

President Jeffrey Armstrong

By Ben Di Guglielmo

After months of deliberation and open forums, Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong announced on Monday that the San Luis Obispo based university would be adopting a measure to raise fees for future students. Beginning next year, tuition prices will increase by approximately $700 a year, every year until 2026.

“To avoid any misunderstanding, I want to be clear that this fee applies ONLY to students who are enrolling for the first time starting in Fall 2022,” Armstrong said in his announcement.

The increased fees will go mostly towards efforts to increase racial and socioeconomic diversity in the student population by offering more scholarships and financial aid, according to the proposal. The university wishes to see the demographics of the student body “more closely resemble the state of California.”

The proposal would allocate 60% of newly raised funds towards scholarships and financial aid, the remaining 40% would go towards funding “Cal Poly’s unique, but higher-cost polytechnic, Learn by Doing academic programs.”

“The consultation process has been a good reminder for everyone that Cal Poly can dream big dreams, can have robust discussion and debate about both ends and means for achieving those dreams, and can take bold action after due consideration,” Armstrong added.


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So, poor kids are refused entry to the hallowed grounds of Cal Poly? Ohhhhhhh! I see! When they get that outrageous student loan from the government, Mr. Armstrong gets to dip deep into it by “raising fees”.


Curious, what costs more; Racial diversity, or socioeconomic diversity? Also, how does high tuition “more closely resemble California” demographics? Finally, why do the new 2022 students alone get saddled with this increase for four years?


45

“mostly” …..”efforts”….”wishes”…… = money ain’t going to make it to stated programs.


33

A substantial fee increase is going to assist in making the CP campus more diverse? This fee increase will only result in the campus becoming even more white, if that is possible, and more elitist. Right now, local students who are low to middle income cannot afford to attend CP because of their exceptionally high tuition/fees. As a former CP employee I heard way too many times how a fee increase would also increase financial aid funding….don’t believe it as its a wolf in sheep’s clothing…..sounds good though. I find this to be a very sad announcement by President Armstrong who is obviously out of touch with us common and real folks.


52

“The increased fees will go mostly towards efforts to increase racial and socioeconomic diversity in the student population by offering more scholarships and financial aid”


Please no sports scholarships… we need more brains, not brawn…


25

Where exactly do the percentages start and stop? How many is too many and how many is not enough? That’s always my question when it comes to issues of “equality”.


31

What’s HIS cut?


32

How else is the CSU going to pay for former CSU Chancellor Joseph I. Castro’s $500,000+ golden parachute after Castro failed to protect women and others from years of harassment by Frank R. Lamas, who also received a nice golden parachute thanks to Castro. Plus if Joseph I. Castro accepts his other golden parachute and takes the tenured (can never be fired) job (another part of his golden parachute for failing at his previous job), at Cal Poly someone has to pay that salary. President Armstrong certainly isn’t going to pay those costs.


22

I’ve got a good idea, use a double blind enrollment system so the people who admit the students don’t know their race or religion. Then take the people with the best grade point averages.


1

This is HIS increase, once again he refused to put it to a vote, even an advisory vote, as he knew people were too smart to fall for his continued policy of waiting to increase all his added fees until current students (who could vote) are gone. He has raised the costs of going to CP by thousands of dollars since he has been at CP. No other campus has added even a fraction of that amount. He also is allowing the CSU to convert CP to semesters, a death blow to the unique quality education received at CP, so it can become mediocre like all the other campuses in the CSU where a much smaller percent of students graduate within 4-6 years, or graduate at all. There is a reason CP graduates, especially in STEM or professional degree departments, and being on quarters is one of the main reasons. He has barely made a dent in the number of black students (his primary goal) after throwing 10s, maybe 100s of millions of dollars into all his programs. Maybe money ISN’T the issue.


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