California Polytechnic State University
| California Polytechnic State University | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Motto | Discere Faciendo (Latin) |
| Motto in English | To Learn by Doing |
| Established | March 8, 1901 |
| Type | Public Land-Grant University |
| Endowment | US$ 130.9 million |
| President | Jeffrey Armstrong |
| Provost | |
| Academic staff | 1,047 [2009 Fall] |
| Admin. staff | 1,383 [2009 Fall] |
| Students | 19,325 [2009 Fall] |
| Undergraduates | 18,302 [2009 Fall] |
| Postgraduates | 1,023 [2009 Fall] |
| Location | San Luis Obispo, California, United States |
| Campus | Suburban, 9,678 acres (39.17 km) Total, 1,321 acres (5.35 km) for the Main Campus |
| Colors | Green and Gold |
| Athletics | NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision 20 Varsity Sports |
| Nickname | Mustangs |
| Mascot | Musty the Mustang |
| Affiliations | California State University Big West Conference Great West Conference |
| Website | www.calpoly.edu |
 | |
| See Cal Poly's quickfacts | |
California Polytechnic State University, or Cal Poly, is a
Comprising six distinct colleges, the university offers 70 undergraduate programs, 26 graduate programs and 6 teaching credentials/certificates. Specifically, the university's engineering, architecture, and agriculture colleges consistently place at the top of United States national academic rankings. In
According to an investigative report by the
Cal Poly is a member of the
History
Name
The university's full, official name is "California Polytechnic State University." In common with many other polytechnic institutions, however, the university has also sanctioned an
Overview
Cal Poly was established in 1901 when
In 1924, Cal Poly was placed under the control of the California State Board of Education. In 1933, the Board of Education changed Cal Poly into a two year technical and
The college was authorized to offer Master of Science degrees in 1967. From 1967 to 1970, the school’s curriculum was reorganized into different units (such as the School of Science and Math, the School of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the School of Architecture, which was created in 1968). Cal Poly's
Relationship with Cal Poly Pomona
1960 Football team plane crash
On October 29, 1960, a chartered plane carrying the Cal Poly
Female admissions
In 1904, Cal Poly opened as a
Organization
In August 2010, Robert Glidden was announced as Interim President.
The CSU Board of Trustees has appointed Robert Glidden as interim president effective 1 August 2010. Glidden was previously the president of
Cal Poly's vice president is Robert D. Koob, who rejoined the University in 2008. Koob was Cal Poly's vice president from 1990 until 1995, but left to become president of University of Northern Iowa from 1995–2006.
Cal Poly Corporation
The Cal Poly Corporation is a separate non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation operating in concert with the university. Its primary role is to furnish non-academic services for the university such as eateries, the bookstore, and endowment administration. This arrangement is relatively common at many of California's public universities. The corporation was founded in 1941 and was known as the Cal Poly Foundation until February 1, 2006.
Cal Poly Foundation
The Cal Poly Foundation is the philanthropic auxiliary of the university. The Foundation raises funds and manages the endowment and other gifts.
Associated Students Inc.
Associated Students Inc. (ASI) governs and enriches the quality of student life through social events and advocacy. It is a complement to the educational mission of the university.
Campus
Cal Poly is the second largest land-holding university in California, with holdings totaling 9678 acres (2nd only to UC Berkeley and 1st in the CSU system). Part of the Cal Poly property is the
Expansion
The Cal Poly Master Plan calls to increase student population from approximately 17,000 students to 20,000 students by the year 2020–2021. To maintain the university's "Learn by Doing" philosophy and low class sizes, the master plan calls for an increase in classrooms, laboratories, and professors.
Current construction
- The Center for Science and Mathematics
- Will replace aging "spider" Science Building 52 with a new 250,000-square-foot (23,000 m ) structure. It will add new laboratories, classrooms, and studios to support the expanding population of the university. It is planned to be the largest and most technologically advanced structure in Cal Poly once constructed. In addition a Centennial Park will be constructed adjacent to the structure.
- Recreation Center Expansion
- Will expand the Recreation center and triple its usable size. Two new gym rooms, additional leisure pool, synthetic turf for sports complete fields, triple the size of exercise and weight training rooms (from 7,000 sq ft (650 m ) to 21,000 sq ft), and a multi-activity center are planned additions to the recreation center. (Student Vote passed on 28 Feb 08. Construction began Fall 2008)
Completed construction
- Engineering/Architecture Renovation and Replacement
- Include a new building which will provide 46,000 square feet (4,300 m ) of space of classrooms, laboratories, and rooms for student related needs/activities.
- University Union Renovation
- For a more open and inviting feel for the UU Plaza, including upgrading the stage/event area, seating and landscape. The UU Plaza is a focal point for group events and social interactions. Includes the demolition of the center planting area and the concrete steps separating the Union and the campus dining complex. The stage will be relocated and upgraded and landscaping will be added.
Commuting
Campus parking is limited. In its most recent survey of available parking spaces on campus, the Cal Poly University Police reported 2,615 general purpose parking spaces, 1,635 dorm resident spaces, and 6,621 total spaces. In its facilities Master Plan, the university admits that while more parking spots will be added, the actual ratio of parking to students will decrease since enrollment is expected to increase sharply. To resolve the disparity, the Master Plan calls on the university to reduce the demand for individual vehicle parking. As part of that plan, the university has constructed additional dorms and has tried to make campus life more enjoyable. However, many students would prefer not to live on campus for a variety of reasons, including alcohol restrictions and a mandatory meal plan for Freshmen. Recently, the school launched a public information campaign called "Options", which seeks to educate students on commuting alternatives, though it is not clear that the campaign has had any effect. Additionally, the campus police discourage alternate forms of transportation such as skateboarding and rollerblading by prohibiting them on campus. Recent increases in parking costs and gas prices have caused a massive increase in the use of bicycles and buses.
Bicycle racks are available throughout the campus, but the off-campus student population is mostly centered in areas either close enough to walk or areas judged to be too far to ride a bicycle. The city's SLO Transit bus system provides service to and from campus. Since the buses are partially subsidized by student tuition, Cal Poly students can ride for free. Bus service throughout the county is provided by SLO Regional Transit Authority. Discounted passes are available to the Cal Poly community.
Academics
Colleges
The university currently offers
Ranking
According to
In 2010,
Among public schools whose highest degree is a master's, specific engineering programs were ranked (overall includes both private and public universities):
In the 2009 edition of "America's Best Architecture & Design Schools" published by the leading architecture and design journal "DesignIntelligence," Cal Poly was the #3 undergraduate architecture school in the nation. The landscape architecture program was ranked #10.
Cal Poly’s graduate program in City and Regional Planning ranked #1 in the "Planetizen" 2009 Guide to Graduate Urban Planning Programs, in the US whose highest degree is a Master's.
In 2009, the magazine "Diverse Issues in Higher Education" placed Cal Poly among the top 10 of its “Top 100 Degree Producers 2009” ranking. This places the university in the top 10 schools in the nation in granting degrees to Hispanic, Asian and other minority students in agriculture, architecture and engineering.
Alumni of Cal Poly average the third-highest salaries of all public university graduates in the United States according to a
Admissions
Cal Poly's admissions process is "more selective" according to US News. For fall 2010, Cal Poly accepted 10,918 freshman applicants out of a total 33,626 freshman applicants, yielding a 32% freshman acceptance rate. Accepted freshman applicants had an average high school
Cal Poly requires students to declare a major when applying for admission, and the university then admits the most competitive applicants within each major. Because of this, certain Cal Poly majors set higher admission standards than do other majors. To prevent students from applying for an easy-to-get-into major and transferring to another major, Cal Poly makes it difficult to change majors. Each major has adopted a specific change of major plan which includes required classes to be taken while maintaining a certain GPA (usually between 2.5-2.75) in order to be considered as a transfer candidate. Students within the college (i.e. College of Engineering, College of Business) are often granted priority over outside transfers and often transfers from other universities. While many hear it is difficult to change majors, those who are committed to their newly desired major find little trouble or hidden steps in the transfers process. Cal Poly prides itself on students taking courses within their major right away in their freshman year to advance the knowledge that they walk away with as graduates. However, in some cases, students wishing to change majors completely transfer to other universities.
Tuition
Due to the state-wide fee increase, fall 2009
These quarterly tuitions are for Colleges of Agriculture, Business, Engineering, Architecture & Environmental Design, and Science & Math. Liberal Arts majors will pay less, at $1966 per quarter.
Endowment
Cal Poly’s endowment more than tripled during its Centennial Campaign from
Student life
Residence halls
There are five distinct groups of
Each of the residence halls represent a different living community on campus. The six red-brick halls are the Living-Learning Program halls for the different colleges of Cal Poly. The five North Mountain halls are organizationally a part of the engineering Living-Learning Program. The Sierra Madre and Yosemite halls are the First-Year Connection Program halls and focus on freshman-oriented transition programs. All buildings house students of all majors. The Cerro Vista Apartments is the Transitions community for first-year and second-year students. Poly Canyon Village is the Sophomore Success Program community, which is open to primarily to sophomores, but also juniors and seniors, and helps students transition into independent living. The total on-campus population is 6,200, making it the largest student housing program in the California State University System.
Greek life
Since 1949, Greek organizations have been present at Cal Poly. The Greek community consists of three governing councils at Cal Poly:
There are currently:
10 USFC Fraternities/Sororities:
18 IFC Fraternities:
8 Panhellenic Sororities:
1 Panhellenic Interest Group: Alpha Epsilon
Week of Welcome Orientation Program
Also known as WOW, the Week of Welcome Program serves as a volunteer-based orientation program for new students during the week prior to the beginning of the school year in September. It's purpose is to introduce students to the campus and the community and prepare them for a successful college career. New students are placed in a group of about 10-20 other new students led by two current Cal Poly student Orientation Leaders. The WOW groups participate in an array of orientation events in addition to activities both on- and off-campus. In 2010, the awareness section of the program won the 2010 National Orientation Directors Association (NODAC) Media & Publications Showcase Award in the Emerging Technologies. The awareness section was entirely developed by student volunteers. The program started in 1957 and is now the largest volunteer orientation program in the nation.
Athletics
Cal Poly fields 20 varsity sports. The school's mascot is the
One of the school's best programs, in recent years and in the 1980s, is the women's volleyball team. On November 19, 2007 the team captured its second straight Big West Title by posting a 15-1 conference record and a 23-8 record overall. The program made it to the third round of the playoffs for the first time since 1985 before losing to Stanford in the Sweet 16. The team also went 23-6 in 2006.
In addition to the women's volleyball team, the men's cross country team has finished in the top 25 in the nation four of the past five years. In 2008, Coach Mark Conover and his men's squad captured their sixth straight Big West Title. Later that year they went on to finish 23rd at the National Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, IN.
The
Blue-Green Rivalry - A Series for Sustainability
The Blue-Green Rivalry is based on Gauchos and Mustangs competing in 16 sports. Each winner will receive one point per win (regular season) with two points being awarded to series winner in baseball and softball. The overall winner will be announced each spring.
The creative angle of using games to promote campuses' sustainability and recycling efforts is first of its kind in college athletes. Both Cal Poly and UCSB plan expanding marketing of the innovative rivalry series to include sponsor messages, recycling challenges, and additional promotional platforms in upcoming years.
Cal Poly and UCSB have a combined 40,000 student population and almost 20,000 faculty/staff and reach approximately a half million fans in the Central Coast region each year through athletics.
Notable athletes
Notable alumni
See also
Notes
Sources
External links
Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Polytechnic_State_University
