Cal Poly SLO delaying moving to semesters until 2026

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
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Office of the Provost

Dear Campus Community,

This note is to let you know that Cal Poly has been granted a one-year extension on our conversion to semesters. Our first semester was originally scheduled to be fall 2025; it will now be fall 2026.

We requested an extension due to new curricular developments related to AB 928, which is an assembly bill approved by the legislature last fall. AB 928 is designed to allow for a common general education transfer pathway from community colleges to both California State University and University of California institutions. We have recently learned that a new CSU GE executive order is expected, probably during summer 2024. Because that timeline would not give us time to develop our local GE template and convert our GE curriculum for a fall 2025 semester, we were granted an extension. Please consult the CSU AB 928 timeline here.

The prospect of a new GE executive order in line with AB 928 may raise many questions. At this stage we do not know what the new executive order will say. We will be watching all phases of the AB 928 GE timeline closely in order to learn more about the common GE.

Dr. Rachel Fernflores and I are working together to develop an adjusted timeline for converting to semesters for fall 2026. She will be reaching out with that timeline over the next few weeks.

This is an important development as the semester conversion process will impact the entire campus.

Thank you for the hard work you have already done toward converting to semesters. The work of those involved thus far, our collective forward momentum, in addition to the CSU AB 928 timeline, have all made our case for an extension compelling. The continued support for our semester conversion leadership team is greatly appreciated. Your efforts, commitment, collegiality and careful consideration of the conversion process in the early stages of the semester conversion have been exceptional. We look forward to the continued engagement and can-do approach.

In closing, let me state again that, as of March 1, 2022, Cal Poly has been granted a one-year extension on our semester conversion process. Our first term on a semester calendar will be fall 2026.

Sincerely,

Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore, Ph.D.
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

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Thanks for sharing.

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From previous published announcements, I assumed that this year’s freshman, the Class of 2025, wouldn’t be introduced to the semester system in their senior year. So, I’m happy with this announcement.

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I think it’s a bummer they’re going to semesters at all. Having attended a semester school, and having a kid who is a Cal Poly alum, the quarter system seems much better. I guess they’ve bucked the trend as long as they could.

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Right! I really liked cal poly because they had quarters, but now I’m not so sure

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I wonder if SLO will keep the “blocking in” of schedules for freshman with the semester system. That is a real solid advantage to have classes each quarter, which are guaranteed to be on your freshman schedule, because the GE’s can be difficult to get.