Proposal to Increase College Based Fees - FAQ

1) How much is the proposed College Based Fee increase?

The proposal increases the college based fee to $362 per quarter for all full time students ($181 per quarter for part time students) effective Fall 2009. The fee would be increased by an additional $100 per quarter for all full time students ($50 per quarter for part time students) effective Fall 2010 and another $100 per quarter for all full time students ($50 per quarter for part time students) effective Fall 2011.

Note: The $362 college based fee amount includes the annual adjustment based on the Higher Education Price Index (HEPI).

2) How do students benefit from our College's academic fee?

Cal Poly Engineering has achieved worldwide recognition. The long-term value of a Cal Poly degree, however, depends on the continued excellence of its educational offerings. The academic fee helps preserve the quality of the academic programs and departments in the College of Engineering and sustain the frequency of course offerings.

3) Why are students being asked to pay more? Why do we need more money to support our College's programs?

• The State of California is facing a budgetary crisis of historic proportions that has already forced cuts to university's budget, with the result that our programs, facing deficits, will have to cut faculty and course offerings in addition to taking other cost-cutting measures, such as increasing class size, and putting lab maintenance and equipment acquisitions on the back-burner.
• The university enrollment has increased from around 17,000 to 20,000. The Cal Poly Master Plan calls for an enrollment of 21,000 in the next few years, which would mean an increase in the engineering enrollment of approximately 250 students. Without an increase in budget, the College of Engineering will not be able to hire new faculty to meet increased student demand, nor will the college be able to improve its student/faculty ratio of 28.75/1, one of the highest for the leading undergraduate engineering colleges and competitors, such as UC Davis, UC Berkeley and UCLA.
• At the current level of funding through student fees and the state budget, the number of full-time equivalent faculty (FTEF) in the college has not increased since 2003, and remains at 211 FTEF. From 2003 to 2007, however, total undergraduate enrollment in Engineering increased from 4,552 to 5,304, an increase of 746. Meanwhile, the state budget support of CENG has remained essentially static over the same period and is expected to decrease in the next few years.
• The cost of educating engineering students has increased over the years. To cover for this cost increase, state fees at UC Davis, UC Berkeley, and UCLA have increased since 2002 from $4072, $4046, and $3698 to $8635, $8932, and $8309, respectively, increases ranging from approximately $4500 to $4900. In the same time period, student fees at Cal Poly have increased from $2984 to $5043, an increase of $2056, less than half as much as the competitors.

4) What exactly is the money used for?

• In 2002, Cal Poly students agreed to increase their fees in order to ensure the quality and value of their degree. Since that time, College Based Fees have supported student success by providing resources to meet the demand for courses, hire and retain instructional faculty, improve access to labs, maintain and upgrade labs, support student and club projects, and acquire equipment and technology.
  
• The College Based fee revenues go directly to the department/program of the student paying the fee.
• The proposed fee increase shall be used for instructionally related activities, with the first priority being the hiring of instructional faculty to maintain and enhance the quality of education of students majoring in Cal Poly Engineering departments and programs.

5) What happens if the student voters do not approve the fee?

Without a fee adjustment, Cal Poly students can expect erosion in the quality of their education. Major and support classes may be cancelled or offered less frequently each quarter and year. There may be an increase in class size, despite the fact that small class size has always been an important factor in the excellence of Cal Poly's engineering education. And instructional lab equipment will not be replaced, maintained, and repaired as needed, nor will the College be able to invest in new technologies.

6) How is the fee allocated?

The revenues from the proposed College Based Fee increase go to the department/programs of the students paying the fees. All students majoring in the college will be assessed the fee and revenues will be allocated directly to departments/programs according to the department/program student headcount.

7) What role do students have in determining how the College Based Fee funds are used? How will we know if the money was spent wisely?

• Each department/program has a standing "Department/Program Fee Allocation Committee" consisting of at least five (5) elected students, the majority of whom are upper class students, two faculty members, and the department/program Chair.
  
• The Fee Allocation Committees review the department/program budget; solicit input from students and faculty; and formulate plans for the distribution of next year's funds.
  
• The first priority for use of the College Based Fee increase is to ensure student success by providing support for instruction, in particular the hiring of instructional faculty.

8) Can additional tenure-track faculty be hired with the fee?

Yes. Departments or programs can meet student demand by hiring tenure-track faculty as well as lecturers. Department/Program Fee Allocation Committees should be aware, however, that if funds are used to hire staff (especially tenure-track faculty members), then there will be a restriction on future use of the funds, because the funds would have to be allocated to that salary in subsequent years as well, unless the position becomes funded in some other way.

9) Because of the academic fee, can students be assured that they will have access to all the classes they need?

Each department/program will have a much greater capacity to respond to the needs of its majors by offering additional sections or courses in the discipline. As the CSU and Cal Poly evolve, however, from being State-supported to being State-assisted, and as the current budget crisis continues to play out, students must be aware that the administration can make no hard and fast promises.

What the University, and the College and departments/programs can pledge is that student success, including access to classes and progress to degree, is foremost in importance in allocation of College Based Fee revenue.

10) How do our fees compare to other good institutions? How much does it cost to go to other public universities in California and across the nation?

Cal Poly's student fees are much less than tuition/fees at the University of California and also less than many comparable out-of-state public educational institutions. Click here to see a comparison of Cal Poly fees with other universities .

11) Is the University looking only to student fees as a way to support high- quality programs at Cal Poly? What about help from the State of California? From the CSU?

The partnership to preserve excellence at Cal Poly includes the State of California, private donors, and students. The greatest contributor to the funding partnership is the State, or more accurately, the California taxpayers. However, the CSU is only State-assisted-there is a significant and growing funding gap between State support and the actual costs to educate a full-time Cal Poly Engineering student. Although the State recognizes the decline of public support to the CSU and also the higher costs associated with laboratory-intensive science and technology programs, the Legislature cannot appropriate additional funding in light of California's current fiscal crisis.

12) What about help from alumni and friends and corporations that make donations to the College?

Private support can have a huge impact -- it can mean the difference between an educational program that is very good, or great. Cal Poly Engineering has an aggressive and ongoing Advancement Program, which has been successful in raising approximately $12 million over the last three years in cash and in-kind donations from alumni, friends, and industry partners. However, while this sum is impressive, only a small percentage of the total can be applied to ongoing instructional costs. Many donations comprised in-kind gifts of equipment or technology, and another large portion of donated funds were designated for specific departments, programs, projects, or student scholarships. Even with increased efforts to raise contributions, it is unlikely that private support could pick up a great percentage of the College's operating costs, more than 90% of which goes to faculty and staff salaries.

13) Who votes on the proposed academic fee?

All undergraduate and graduate Cal Poly students will have the chance to submit an advisory vote online on the proposed fee increase on March 11-12 via the Cal Poly Portal.

14) How will students be informed about this proposal?

The information campaign extends from February 9, 2009 to March 12, 2009 and includes a wide variety of communication efforts. Information posted on the Engineering Student Council website includes background information, fee comparisons, and a schedule of forums sponsored by the Engineering Student Council, College of Engineering, departments/programs, and department-based clubs and professional societies.

In addition, the University has posted information, pro and con statements, and a copy of the proposal at www.calpoly.edu. The College website  provides an informational press release and linkage to the ESC website, as well as video messages from Dean Mohammad Noori and ESC Chair Jessica Paz.

15) What else is being done to raise funds to support Cal Poly and my College? How is this fee proposal part of a larger, more comprehensive plan for funding academic excellence at Cal Poly?

In 2001, Cal Poly embarked upon a $225 million fundraising campaign, the largest ever held for a public master's university in the U.S. The College of Engineering raised almost $65 million. The College has built on that success with an aggressive advancement program, raising approximately $12 million over the last three years. Much of this money is targeted by donors to specific projects, scholarships or endowments. For instance, gifts from donors enabled the College to increase freshmen scholarships from $197,000 in 2006-2007 to $314,000 last year. While these scholarships are vital for students and help recruit the best and brightest students to Cal Poly, they do not help offset the ongoing costs of instruction incurred at the department/program level.

16) What is the basis for the fee level requested?

Over the last several years, Cal Poly has experienced funding shortfalls that equate to approximately $25 million. An increase in the college based fee would help minimize the negative impact that the budget reductions have had.

An additional measure we've looked at to determine the proposed fee increase level is that of fees/tuition at other universities similar to Cal Poly. We often compare Cal Poly to campuses within the University of California system - specifically UC Davis where their fees are $9,484 as an example.

When comparing Cal Poly's current fees with the Public "Tech" Colleges group as defined by US News, excluding other CSU campuses, Cal Poly's undergraduate fees are $1,864 below the average and $7,339 below the high of $12,382. Click here to see a comparison of Cal Poly fees with other universities.

17) If the CSU imposes a fee increase on all students in the CSU system, will the college based fee increase be rescinded?

No. The CSU may in the future impose a system-wide fee increase in order to help sustain the university system or to keep up with inflation, but this fee proposal is intended to ensure student learning and success. Examples of opportunities that will be made possible with the fee include:

• Scheduling of classes needed to promote timely progress to graduation.
• Increased graduation rates with less time to graduation.
• Quality degree programs with uncommon learn by doing opportunities that characterize a Cal Poly education.
• Increased recruitment and retention of faculty members and correspondingly student access to the faculty.
• Student-faculty research collaborations and project based learning.
• Acquisition of sophisticated equipment and instrumentation.

An increase in the college based fee will put each academic unit in a better position to continue its academic distinction and thereby contribute to the growing national reputation of Cal Poly and the enduring value of a Cal Poly diploma.

18) Why is none of the fee increase designated for scholarships?

In the past, the Board of Trustees of the California State University have required that 1/3 of the revenues resulting from a university-wide student fee increase be set aside for financial aid. The trustees dropped this requirement from the 2002 and current College Based Fee proposals because the fee increase is college/department/program specific.

Cal Poly Engineering has made student scholarships a top fundraising priority: from 2006-2007 to 2007-2008, the College increased freshmen scholarships from $197,000 to $314,000.

19) How will increased fees impact financial aid?

• Both CSU instructional fees and mandatory campus fees are included in an individual student's expense budget and are used in the determination of their financial need. Additional fees may be added to the student's cost of attendance and correspondingly reflected as an increase in student aid eligibility.
• Students, who have applied for financial aid and would like to know how a potential increase in fees might impact their eligibility for assistance, are encouraged to meet with their financial aid counselor.