Sunday, Jun. 07, 2009
Cal Poly graduates make way for larger class in the fall
As 3,600 students prepare to leave, more than 4,700 have already accepted fall admission offers
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closeCal Poly will graduate more than 3,600 students in commencement ceremonies on Saturday and Sunday.
Their departure comes as more than 4,700 new students have already accepted offers of admission to the university for the fall.
But the university expects some of those students won’t end up coming to Cal Poly for various reasons, which happens each year, and the school only will be slightly over its target for enrollment. Both graduation ceremonies are at 9:30 a.m. at the university’s Alex G. Spanos Stadium.
University police will deploy additional staff to help with traffic flow and parking throughout the campus.
Saturday’s ceremony will graduate students from the College of Architecture and Environmental Design; Orfalea College of Business; College of Engineering; and Continuing Education.
Sunday’s commencement is for the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences; College of Education; College of Liberal Arts; and the College of Science and Mathematics.
Two honorary degrees will be conferred during this year’s commencement ceremonies.
One recipient, Rob Rossi, a 1975 graduate in architecture, will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters for his professional achievements, public service and extraordinary commitment to higher education.
Rossi, a Santa Margarita resident and one of the county’s top developers, will give the keynote address on Saturday.
The other recipient will be Inonge Mbikusita-Lewanika, a 1964 graduate of Cal Poly in home economics who earned her master’s in education from the university in 1965.
Mbikusita-Lewanika will receive an honorary degree of doctor of laws in recognition of her public service and commitment to peace and women’s and children’s rights.
Mbikusita-Lewanika will give the keynote address on Sunday.
Cal Poly expects as many as 30,000 visitors to be on campus for the commencement ceremonies. New students
Poly officials are still trying to gauge how many new students will end up coming to the university in the fall.
Jim Maraviglia, the assistant vice president for admissions, recruitment and financial aid, said about 4,000 new freshmen have committed to the university for the fall and about
790 transfer students have accepted admission.
“Typically we lose about 10 percent of those students, which we call a melt rate,” Maraviglia said. “We won’t know until it happens (in the fall) how many students will show up.”
Cal Poly officials initially targeted 3,579 freshmen to attend in the fall and 631 transfers. The university now expects to have 3,757 students officially start classes and 653 transfers.
Maraviglia said students are being encouraged to graduate sooner and noted the university bases its budget on the total units of credit students take rather than head count.
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