by Andres Felix

Provost Jenn Capps held an Academic Address on Jan. 12 to update members of the Cal Poly Humboldt Campus on topics such as enrollment, budget and the way they’ve impacted each other.

University Budget

Although enrollment appears to be increasing, the University still took a financial hit this year as the California State University (CSU) Interim Chancellor Jollene Koster implemented enrollment recalibration. Essentially, CSU campuses that have been under their enrollment targets have had some of their funding given to campuses that are over-enrolled. The Humboldt campus enrollment target has also been lowered. 

“We have taken a 3% hit,” Capps said. “Which equates to between $2.1 million and $2.3 million [taken from the] University [budget]. So, we’re losing those resources because they’re taking back some of the resources. What [the enrollment recalibration] also did was lower [the] target so our target is now 7,375 [down from 7,603].”

Other financial changes that hurt the University’s wallet include faculty compensation, which will cost $3 million, and an increase in insurance and utility costs. There is hope from administration that enrollment numbers will continue to increase and thus garner more financial support from the Chancellor’s Office.

Enrollment Numbers

Capps shared that this is the second year in a row that the University has begun to level out and see some growth rather than a loss in students. 

“We had about a 2% increase in enrollment for the second year,” Capps said. “Pause for a moment because that’s a big deal. As you all know, many of you [faculty] have been here much longer than I have. We were in a literal freefall; our parachute wasn’t opening. The parachute opened, we leveled out and now we’re [increasing our enrollment].”