New Cal Poly partnership brings degrees to community colleges
Programs will allow qualified students to complete four-year degrees on community college campuses
– Cal Poly has announced new 2+2 programs with Cuesta College and Allan Hancock College to provide more opportunities for local high school graduates to earn Cal Poly degrees.
The programs will allow qualified students to complete four-year degrees on the community college campuses, expanding Cal Poly’s Learn by Doing education to more students in the region. In a traditional 2+2 program, students complete two years of study at a community college and then transfer to a four-year university for the remaining two years.
Starting in the current fall 2024 term, more than 20 incoming Cal Poly transfer students from Hancock College majoring in sociology will complete their final two years at Hancock’s campus in Santa Maria, allowing them to graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Cal Poly.
In fall 2025, Cal Poly and Cuesta College will begin a similar program for liberal studies students pursuing careers in teaching. The program will offer upper-level evening courses to accommodate working professionals and provide flexibility for balancing academic and professional commitments.
“These 2+2 programs demonstrate our commitment to fostering strong partnerships with our local community colleges,” said Cal Poly’s Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore. “These collaborations are inherently linked to our role as a steward of place, supporting the educational and professional aspirations of students across our region.”
The new programs reflect Cal Poly’s ongoing efforts to provide access to academically qualified local and transfer students.
“We are excited to see the continued growth of local student representation at Cal Poly,” said Terrance Harris, Cal Poly’s Vice President for Strategic Enrollment Management. “We know that admission to Cal Poly remains incredibly competitive. We also know we have some of the best and brightest students right here in our community.
“Our largest feeder schools are Cuesta College, Allan Hancock College, San Luis Obispo High School, and Arroyo Grande High School. Students who graduated from a local high school remain twice as likely to gain admission to Cal Poly than those outside our local area.”
Harris encouraged local high school graduates to connect with counselors to improve their chances of admission as transfer students. “Local students who have completed the transfer selection criteria are very successful in gaining admission to Cal Poly. I encourage you to connect early with the counselors at Cuesta and Hancock or here at Cal Poly. They are all familiar with the selection criteria and can help get you on the right track for taking the necessary coursework to be competitive in the admissions process.”
Cal Poly supports transfer students through personalized academic advising, career services, peer mentoring, new student programming, and a dedicated Transfer Center. These initiatives have led to an overall transfer graduation rate of 89%. In 2023, Cal Poly’s transfer graduation rate was the highest in California and tied with the University of Illinois for the top spot in the nation for students receiving Title IV financial aid.
Cal Poly has also implemented several transfer-friendly initiatives to help students transition smoothly into their degree programs, including streamlining transfer selection criteria and expanding Associate Degrees for Transfer (ADTs) options.
For more information, visit Cal Poly’s Transfer Center website.
