What Must We Do to Have a Place in the World?
The world is changing, and it does not look kindly on universities.
By Dean Andrew Ketsdever
It’s here where I’m supposed to leave a small message, roughly 500 to 600 words, about how great the college is doing and how the stories you’ll read in the coming pages reinforce my claim. Apologies to my managing editor—this message will be a little longer than that. [Editor’s note: Apology accepted.]
In exchange, I promise you that this will be well worth your time.
It is indeed true. The College of Engineering is great. It was clear to me when I started my deanship last year that Cal Poly Pomona has one of the best engineering programs in the state of California and by extension, the country. Indeed, the stories that you read here prove that the students, faculty, and staff are doing amazing things, and that the trajectory of the college is definitely upwards.
However, higher education is facing an existential threat.
There is a prevailing narrative that a university degree is not important, is not necessary, and is not worth it.
When I was a high school student, my biggest dream was to attend a university. I never believed that the value of a university education would be questioned, let alone disparaged. We have come from a place in the late 1950s where the entire country believed that the future held a college degree for all Americans to a place where the value of those degrees is questioned daily. In fact, only one in four U.S. adults sees a university degree as an extremely valuable gateway to a well-paying job.1
On top of that, the population is shrinking. The U.S. Census Bureau forecasts the number of 18-year-olds, the primary college student demographic, to plateau at 4.2 million people by 2033 before contracting to 3.8 million by 2039. Finally, the bureau doesn’t foresee the 18-year-old population exceeding 4 million people again at any point this century.1
Also, students who graduate from high school are less likely to immediately enroll in a university. In 2010, 68 percent of high school graduates immediately enrolled in a two- or four-year university the following fall. In 2021, it was 62 percent.1
In short, a combination of ongoing shifts in the population and an increasingly unfavorable sentiment that questions the value of a college degree is creating a critical issue for many universities.
It is a slow-moving threat, but if you look in the rearview mirror, it is a threat that is closer than it appears.
Here’s the good news—the College of Engineering has continued to enjoy record numbers of applications. Nationwide, we are the 23rd largest engineering college by undergraduate enrollment, and we are 31st in engineering degrees awarded. Based on our admission trends, things are looking very good for this college. Aspiring engineers apply at a rate that allows us to be very selective in our admissions process, and we work feverishly to meet surging demand by supplying a growing number of classes with high-quality faculty.
While the College of Engineering can continue to be an enrollment center for the university, the threats to higher education will continue to erode the public’s confidence in our work. Quite the dilemma, but there is an answer. We must continue to remain relevant by delivering a high-quality workforce that is unparalleled in the nation. We must continue to work to become the premier College of Engineering in the nation by leaning into our 68 years of institutional history, knowledge, and experience to shape our future.
If we simply maintain the status quo, if we do not embrace new technologies, and if we can’t meet the challenge of providing relevant graduates to an ever-changing industry, then we will simply go the way of the dinosaurs.
This outcome is unacceptable.
Nothing short of a full-throated response that rebuts the intense negativity surrounding the value of a college degree will begin to reverse the dangerous trends that threaten universities, and by extension, this college.
To that end, the needs are clear:
First, offer amazing engineering experiences that can’t be had elsewhere. It’s never been easier to learn how to be an engineer—open YouTube, search your topic of interest, and get access to free, high-quality lectures from instructors across the world. Education is increasingly democratized, no longer gated by admission processes, tuition, and location. If you want to learn to be an engineer, you need only a laptop and a connection to the internet.
You can spend hours learning about the strength of materials online; however, considering appropriate materials and applying stress and strain formulas in the development of an actual formula race car is the difference between learning on YouTube and learning at Cal Poly Pomona. Every College of Engineering degree program has at least ten laboratory experiences. This is truly remarkable and proves the point of our learn by doing approach. However, our experiential learning opportunities do not stop at the classroom door. Beyond the classroom, the College of Engineering has over 60 student clubs and competition teams. Students engaged in these activities are learning engineering skills, but they are also learning essential skills necessary to be successful in their careers like leadership, communication, and critical thinking.
While the state of California has done an amazing job of providing access to diverse groups of students to higher education opportunities, it simply doesn’t have enough funding to support the incredible work that students do beyond the classroom. Supporting that work is critical to the success of students in the workforce and by extension, critical to the college’s future.
Second, we need to make significant capital improvements. Simply put, to support students, we need more resources. When I ask students in clubs and competition teams what they need the most, they all tell me the same thing: SPACE. Our current buildings are designed to support students in their academic pursuits in the classroom. In a large college, there is very little “extra” space for students to use. Besides optimizing the spaces we have now, we need thousands of more square feet. This will require new buildings and new additions to existing buildings.
By supporting these needs, we can further ensure that earning an engineering degree from Cal Poly Pomona means you are well prepared for what comes next. The return on the investment of a college education through engineering is high, one of the highest of all degree programs. The cost of tuition within the California State University system, while increasing, remains affordable and is one of the lowest tuition rates of any statewide system in the country. We are here to improve the lives and outcomes of every student for the better. The best way to do that is to educate students to be excellent engineers who go on to have amazing careers and have deeply meaningful lives. That value proposition will never be out of fashion.
Here’s where you come in:
All of this will require significant support.
While the state of California has been a significant source of funding, the state cannot provide all the resources necessary to enhance student opportunities beyond the classroom. Formula SAE, Baja SAE, Liquid Rocket Club, Concrete Canoe, Chem-E Car, Steel Bridge, UAV Club, and more need your support.
To that end, I hope you take advantage of these two options: Message me directly at aketsdever@cpp.edu. I would love to talk to you and learn how you’d like to be a part of our future. Or if you would rather act today, give to the Dean's Excellence Fund.
Finally, I hope you enjoy reading the stories in this year’s magazine. These are deeply personal, human stories. Stories of peaks and valleys, wins and losses. Stories of passionate people who took it upon themselves to change lives and generations of families for the better. These stories embody who we are—resilient, passionate and ready to take on any challenge. Enjoy the issue, and I hope to hear from you soon.
Be Well,
Andrew
Andrew D. Ketsdever, Ph.D.
Dean, College of Engineering
1 Bauman, Dan. “Colleges Were Already Bracing for an ‘Enrollment Cliff.’ Now There Might Be a Second One.” The Chronicle of Higher Education, 7 Feb. 2024, www.chronicle.com/article/colleges-were-already-bracing-for-an-enrollment-cliff-now-there-might-be-a-second-one.