Is Cal Poly‘s new 2+2 program allowing Cuesta College and Allan Hancock College transfer students to complete their final two years of their four-year degree on their own junior college campuses ripping off students by charging them the same price as students attending classes on Cal Poly’s campus?
According to the Cuesta College website, full-time tuition costs $1,288 a year plus $62 in fees. Hancock is $1,156 plus $52 in fees. At Cal Poly, tuition and fees cost $13,596 per year … more than 10 times the cost! I mean, sure, Cal Poly says these sort-of transfer students can come to campus (and pay for parking) to use facilities such as the Recreation Center and the library (that’s being remodeled, so not, like, right now, but in the future), and these students are being taught their Cal Poly classes on their junior college campuses by actual Cal Poly instructors, so it’s OK to charge full freight, right? Meanwhile, Cuesta and Hancock say these students already have access to their facilities.
“Our college is actually invested in providing support for those students,” Hancock President Kevin Walthers said. “We’re giving them library access, computer access, things like that. You know, we hoped that because we were going to provide some of those things that the fees would be lower for the students, but that’s not the way that it worked out.”
Look, the 2+2 program can be terrific for students living at home who can’t afford to commute or pay room and board in uber-expensive SLO Town. Being able to earn a four-year degree without having the surrounding costs of coming to Cal Poly’s campus is a real boon. Still, don’t they deserve a bit of a break?
Cal Poly feels too much like a business and not enough like a public university whose mission is to offer affordable education. It seems like Cal Poly’s attitude is, “Well, if you’re not going to come to campus where we can charge you up to $693 per year for parking, $12,000 for housing, and $7,000 for a meal plan, then you’re going to have to pay full tuition and fees even though you’re not getting the same experience.”
No wonder more and more Americans are becoming cynical of higher education and questioning whether a university degree is worth it anymore. Between crushing student loan debt, the fact that 32 percent of college-educated people never find jobs in their field of study, and that companies such as Apple, Tesla, and Google no longer list degree requirements, one might be forgiven for thinking a university diploma isn’t necessary.
It may not be. Success stories about people who bypassed college abound.
But let’s get real. Sure, college may not be necessary and won’t guarantee success, but it sure makes it more likely. According to the 2022 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, on average, high school degree holders earn $44,356 a year, associate degree holders earn $52,260, and bachelor’s degree holders earn $74,464.
A student’s more assured path to success continues to include earning a four-year degree, so societally speaking, we should be making it easier to achieve this goal, not harder, especially considering nearly a third of freshmen drop out before the end of their first year and 40 percent of enrolled students won’t graduate within eight years.
Congratulations to the current crop of 2+2 students, and good luck on achieving your goals. Sorry we’re not making it easier on you. If you want to protest this expensive injustice, the good news is university campuses are bastions of free speech! Yay!
Public universities like Cal Poly are public, after all. Get over there and make your voices heard … as long as you’re doing it in an approved, non-disruptive way that follows the university’s Time, Place, and Manner (TPM) directive, which means no preventing others from moving or accessing an area; following police instructions, leaving the area if others are engaging in illegal activities; no staying overnight or occupying buildings after hours; and getting written permission for signs, posters, banners, and chalking. Oh, and no tents or megaphones. Oh, and the university scheduling team can recommend locations for free speech activities. Yeah, over there. No, a little farther. A little farther.
Other than that, free speech away, people! Don’t worry about that the entire idea of a protest is to disrupt, because it ain’t gonna happen! Not on Cal Poly’s watch!
The system was put to the test on Oct. 7, when the pro-Palestine protest, called “a year of genocide walkout and rally,” was scheduled on Dexter Lawn. University Police showed up about 15 minutes before the 20 protesters. Nearby, a pro-Israel group had info tables set up. Almost immediately, police started giving pro-Palestine protesters a hard time. Free speechish at best.
Speaking of free speech, Karen Velie of the CalCoastNews blog proved once again she’s a slipshod “journalist.” As Nate Abate‘s rape trial proceeds, she published a photo purportedly of Abate’s co-conspirator, Julian Contreras, who fled to Mexico. I guess now we’re not sending them our best. Unfortunately, the photo Velie initially published was of a Spanish actor Julián Contreras Jr., who posted, “WTF! Please, don’t use my identity.”
He sounds un poco enojado since this is at least the second time Velie’s made this mistake. Que desastre! Δ
The Shredder is protesting the cost of higher education. Commiserate at shredder@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Oct 10-20, 2024.
So is it video education or are they hiring teachers for that location? Both are awful. You will have Cuesta instructors teaching Poly curriculum.
Like your paper. Don’t like your censorship.
Shanti: what corporations have been bailed out lately?