The Academic Senate on Tuesday voted to support an Associated Students, Inc. resolution voted during one of their December meeting (above). The resolution recommends Chancellor Timothy White keep Cal Poly on quarters.
Katrina Borges
Special to Mustang News
The faculty-driven Academic Senate has voted in favor of keeping Cal Poly on the quarter system, supporting a previous decision made by the Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) Board of Directors.
“We think quarters are fine,” said Steve Rein, Chair of the Academic Senate. “There were no clear benefits of switching to semesters. It was just common sense to stick with quarters, and the students affirmed that.”
In December, ASI unanimously decided to advise California State University Chancellor Timothy White against converting Cal Poly to semesters. The board cited Cal Poly’s uniqueness as the reason behind their decision. For example, programs based on the harvest seasons are synced with the quarter system.
This decision occurred in response to Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong’s announcement that Cal Poly would begin converting to semesters by the end of the decade.
The Academic Senate voted Tuesday to support ASI’s recommendation.
“We went through a process of evaluation of semesters vs. quarters, and the argument for quarters was stronger,” Rein said.
Despite early advocating for semesters, Armstrong now supports ASI and the Academic Senate’s resolutions. He plans to write a cover letter for both and send them to White, university spokesperson Matt Lazier said.
According to Lazier, this will happen sometime within the next couple weeks, as the president’s office is still waiting for the Academic Senate’s final resolution documents.
“The president and the chancellor are not in any active decision-making right now,” Lazier said. “It comes up in conversation every few months, and the president uses the opportunity to affirm Cal Poly’s stance.”
Rein said though the Academic Senate doesn’t side with ASI on every issue, this particular decision was all about supporting students’ desires.
“We stand behind what the students want from the chancellor,” he said.