It took one year of research, 23 task force members, a 685-page report and a vote from 7,250 students to realize Cal Poly would do well to stay on quarters. Call it overkill, but no one will say it wasn’t thorough.
And it shouldn’t have been for nothing.
Cal Poly learned Monday about plans to move the campus from quarters to semesters by the end of the decade. Though it was University President Jeffrey Armstrong who told students, faculty and staff of the plans, the proposal itself appears to have come straight from the office of the California State University (CSU) Chancellor, Timothy White.
“Chancellor Tim White is moving down a pathway toward a decision that all quarter campuses would convert to semesters on a phase-in basis,” Armstrong told Mustang Daily. “And this would mean Cal Poly, we would convert as well.”
Though Armstrong faced criticism for how he went about reviewing semesters, he did eventually recommend White leave all quarter campuses untouched. Monday’s decision, Armstrong said, was a “compromise” between Cal Poly and the CSU: The campus will switch to semesters, but be the last campus to do so.
In a letter Armstrong wrote to White during early February, he introduced the Semester Review Task Force’s extensive work completed in fall quarter as reason to stay on quarters. Among other arguments for quarters, Armstrong cited task force-estimated costs of more than $20 million and the loss of priceless opportunities for the university as it shifts resources to focus on switching to semesters. The president even admitted the Semester Review Task Force shook his own preconceived idea that semesters are generally a better system.
“Cal Poly has been through a careful and (in-depth) process concerning the subject of converting to semesters or staying on quarters,” Armstrong wrote to the chancellor. “My position is to support the thoughtful and overwhelming recommendation of Cal Poly stakeholders to stay on quarters.”
It’s understandable that White wants all schools on a common calendar. After all, the university system is attempting to trim administrative costs as it turns the corner from hundreds of millions of dollars in budget cuts during the past four years.
But spending millions of dollars more to convert campuses to semesters is not the answer to the CSU’s problems. And while Armstrong claims the benefits of having all schools on the same calendar outweigh the losses Cal Poly will face, there is no available report by the CSU outlining exactly what these benefits are.
Not only this, but the CSU has agreed to pay approximately three-quarters of conversion costs. With tuition high and stagnant faculty pay still in effect, where will the university system find money to finance this? Armstrong said he doesn’t know, and the CSU won’t comment on semester conversion until plans are further along in the chancellor’s office.
So for now, Cal Poly is left with multiple questions after a wide consensus of the Cal Poly community demonstrated a pro-quarters stance. There appears to be little that can be done, with Armstrong resigned to White’s compromise and the system moving closer and closer to semesters.
But that system is running in a different direction than what the campus wants. And while Cal Poly is part of the system, it shouldn’t be married to it. If quarters are what have worked for Cal Poly, why not stick with it?