Will Cal Poly students be back in the fall? University starts planning for campus return
Cal Poly leaders are preparing a plan that would hopefully allow students to return to campus in the fall following coronavirus closures, according to a Wednesday email sent to the university community.
Cal Poly’s spring and summer quarters are being held entirely online, and the university hasn’t officially announced how fall quarter classes will be conducted.
But President Jeffrey Armstrong said Cal Poly leaders are hopeful students can resume some in-person classes during fall quarter, even as the university is making plans for continued virtual courses, if necessary.
“What fall quarter will look like is still uncertain, but we are optimistic and are planning for students returning to campus and a return to some in-person, face-to-face instruction,” Armstrong wrote.
“However, we have to plan for contingencies and remain flexible due to the dynamic nature of the coronavirus pandemic. In-person learning would only occur in combination with some virtual learning and the necessary physical distancing to minimize the potential of infection and help protect vulnerable faculty, staff and students.”
The university is also taking local K-12 schools’ fall plans into consideration. San Luis Obispo County schools “face similar concerns to ours,” and continued closures will impact faculty, staff and students with children, Armstrong wrote.
Campus housing and Week of Welcome
Cal Poly leaders have not yet decided how Week of Welcome and other new student orientation programming will be held in the summmer and fall, said Matt Lazier, a university spokesman, in an email.
The university is planning to house students on campus in September, and incoming students will be notified if anything changes, Lazier said. Cal Poly’s first-year on-campus housing requirement remains in place, he said.
Lazier declined to provide additional information about Cal Poly’s post-pandemic housing plans because leaders are still working out all the details.
“The university is engaged in broad emergency response planning for a wide variety of possible scenarios for fall,” Lazier wrote. “As long as the virus is with us, we have to be prepared for many possibilities, including being able to respond quickly in the event a stay-at-home order is reissued in fall.”
Cal Poly budget issues on the horizon
Armstrong’s email also raised the issue of impending financial issues the university will face due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“It is clear that Cal Poly’s budget will be significantly impacted over the next two to three years,” Armstrong wrote.
“Consequently, we must accelerate our efforts to modernize, optimize and centralize administrative functions to more effectively eliminate redundancies and inefficiencies and create cost savings. As a first step, we have paused most hiring efforts and are not filling some positions that become vacant due to retirement or turnover.”
Armstrong outlined some administrative shuffling and announced a new provost and executive vice president, Dr. Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore, who will assume her position on Aug. 3.
It is unclear whether pressures on the university’s budget might result in higher tuition and fees.
Expanded online learning?
Armstrong also discussed the possibility of using the university’s newly developed experience with online learning to expand opportunities for faculty-student research collaboration, study abroad and continuing education.
“Could we reduce the time it takes to complete a Cal Poly degree to three or even two years?” Armstrong wrote. “Could we use our online abilities to help mid-career graduates re-skill or up-skill as the economy and the demand for particular talents changes over time?”
Although the university’s focus remains hands-on, in-person instruction, Armstrong encouraged creative thinking and making the most of skills developed during the pandemic closures.
“My questions are not aimed at replacing that core function of Learn by Doing, but at complementing and enhancing it,” he wrote.
This story was originally published May 7, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
