Privatizing Cal Poly? For or Against?

BeingSLO
Mon, 21 Nov 2011 21:09:24 +0000

I would only partially agree with bjornredtail.

I agree that CA owns Cal Poly’s land and buildings, obviously. But it is absolutely critical not to forget absolute magnitude of California’s financial crisis. It is beyond disastrous.

With that said, I am sure the state government is considering various unorthodox (even crazy) methods to reduce its deficit. I am certain the state government has thought about ways to reduce/even eliminate higher educational spending if possible.

Therefore, I would not be surprised that the state government actually examined the possibility of having a test case for higher education privatization plan, since no one would dare to privatize a whole system all at once.

And I would not be surprised if Cal Poly seriously considered/volunteered for this test case. When you really think about it, Cal Poly really has reach its natural limits in terms of growth within the CSU, both for academic standards, research, and prestige. Realistically, CP probably will not be able to increase its admission requirements any higher than it is now, precisely because it is a CSU. Also, CP being a CSU always has some “stigma” attached to it, regardless of its veracity. When people rip on Cal Poly, they always say it is just some crappy STATE school.

So with all that said, if CA rejected the idea of SLO becoming a UC, the next logical solution for the administration to consider is to privatize it. One so it can be out of the CSU’s constraints and it can chart its own long term growth strategy (increasing admission standards, creating Phd programs, increasing tuition, etc.), and two I guess the administration feels confident enough that it has what it takes to raise more money on its own than being with the CSU.

Privatizing SLO is technically feasible. SLO can become a non-profit corporation with the state being its largest shareholder. So the land issue is not an issue. Also, the state will have the benefit of seeing if privatization actually works, and still retain “control” of a quasi-private school.

U of Michigan essentially operates as a quasi-private university. And Cornell is state-supported private university. So it has been done before, and done well.

I don’t know, its just a thought, but given how everything is melting down in the world I don’t believe privatization is just a mirage. Just look at the EU/EURO, no one thought it can break up even 2 years ago, but guess what, people are saying (screaming) exactly that today!