On Wednesday, March 7, the ASI Board of Directors voted to pass Resolution #18-07: ASI Board of Directors’ Stance on the Proposed Opportunity Fee. The resolution states that the board does not support the Cal Poly Opportunity Fee or the proposed allocation of revenue from the fee to the Cal Poly General Fund and to the CSU chancellor’s office.
“When we were presented with the Cal Poly Opportunity Grant and Fee, it was marketed as benefiting low income students, but almost half would be diverted to different sources and not go towards that goal,” board representative for the College of Science and Mathematics and mathematics senior Tim Wetzel said.
“The board debated this resolution for nearly two hours before taking a vote. While I believe board members understand the needs of low income students, in the end, they could not support a fee increase where over 40 percent of the funding was going to support something other than low income students. Our hope is that the administration will listen to the students and find another solution that will truly make a difference,” Chair of the Board of Directors and business administration senior Daniela Czerny said.
The resolution states that “students already contribute to the Cal Poly General Fund through payment of tuition, and thus should not be required to pay additional money into the general fund through a fee designed and marketed as a source of support for low-income students.”
If approved, the proposed Cal Poly Opportunity Fee would apply to newly enrolled out-of-state students. Comments on the proposed fee will be accepted through March 14. Visit the Cal Poly Opportunity Grant and Fee website for more information.
