The Cal Poly College Based Fee
Student Aid and Learn by Doing Plan

Current College Based Fee Information

Currently, most if not all funds from the College Based Fee are directed towards access to courses. There has been some level of student involvement in decisions in most cases. Colleges have historically used the CBF to:

• hire more faculty to teach courses, expand access to major courses and otherwise promote opportunities that enable students to get the classes needed to graduate on time;
• support academic retention and graduation initiatives;
• promote student development; and
• enhance educational quality and experience for students

Below are examples of the ways in which this support of student opportunities has materialized:

• Providing access to classes in support of progress to degree/graduation
  • hiring faculty, staff, student and teaching assistants (salaries and benefits)
  • provide diverse course offerings
  • offer high demand courses
  • ensure sufficient and reasonable breadth of choice in courses
• Addressing instructional technology and equipment needs (includes, but is not limited to)
  • scientific instrumentation and equipment
  • lab equipment
  • computing equipment
  • printers
  • purchasing, maintaining and repairing instructional equipment
  • updating classroom electronic equipment and computers
• Creating/expanding practicum experiences, laboratory-equivalent, and other opportunities that allow for Learn by Doing and career development.
  • discussion sections
  • hands-¬on work with primary sources and/or acquisition of sources (e.g., databases and other library resources)
  • bringing in outside researchers or speakers for talks and presentations, and career speakers or events
  • class projects
  • organized workshops/visits to industry
  • senior project supplies
  • course projects
• Enhancement of student experience
  • student research, (including travel to conferences)
  • support of instruction-related activities
  • Student scholarships for study abroad opportunities
  • Staffing for advising and mentoring programs to support students in getting connected and graduating on time
• Supporting and enhancing instruction programs
  • collaborative spaces
  • library resources
  • lab improvements
• faculty development

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Cal Poly's Accessibility and Affordability

For many low income students, Cal Poly is not accessible.

Due to the lack of financial aid, Cal Poly currently has a lower percentage of students from a lower socioeconomic status than other public universities in California.

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Competitor Universities

When it comes to competing based on our student profiles, our most relevant competitors are the UC campuses. Evidence of this competitiveness with the UC comes from several sources. The most important source is the National Student Clearinghouse Competition Analysis. The data from the National Student Clearinghouse allows us to see where students ultimately enrolled after they were admitted to Cal Poly. The graphs below show the data for fall 2020 for first-time first years. The top graph shows the top five schools where students attended if they did not enroll at Cal Poly. The second graph shows where students who were admitted to Cal Poly but chose not to attend eventually enrolled. The last or lower graph shows the top five locations for enrollment for students who were not selected by Cal Poly.

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Impact of the Plan

Importantly, our initial projections show 60% of revenue dedicated to financial aid and scholarships. It is important to balance lowering the net cost of attendance for lower-income students with providing adequate funding for Cal Poly’s high investment comprehensive polytechnic (and statewide) mission. If, for example, we are not able to recruit and retain faculty and staff then the student experience will be diminished. We are confident that this plan will create greater access for all students to the excellent education we provide at Cal Poly.

As shown below, revenue increases steadily during the first few years as we phase in the fee increase through a cohort model. This process provides predictability and transparency for new students and for the campus. The result is that expenditures are divided into two primary areas:

• Financial aid and scholarships
• Academic mission

Funding is not sufficient to both close the financial aid gap with the UCs and enhance delivery of our comprehensive polytechnic mission. So, at least 60% of revenue will be used to provide financial aid and scholarship through the first four years. Additionally, an aggressive fundraising campaign will be initiated to further augment support for financial aid and scholarships for all students at Cal Poly.

The remainder of the funding (40%) will go towards the academic mission.

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The projected impact on net cost of attendance after aid by family income level is shown in the following graphs. These graphs show projected change in net cost of attendance with (bars representing cohorts) or without (solid line) implementing the increase in the CBF. Contributors to cost of attendance include tuition, fees, room & board, books and travel. For contributors other than tuition, costs increase each year due to cost-of-living adjustments, salary adjustments and cost of inputs (e.g. room and board). The various bars represent different cohorts following the implementation of the proposed plan. The difference between the line (status quo) and the bars represents the reduction ($150,000 parent income and below) or increase (>$150,000 parent income) in net cost of attendance.

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