(VALLEJO, Calif.) — California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) will acquire California State University Maritime Academy (Cal Maritime) in hopes of saving it from bankruptcy and dwindling enrollment, The Tribune reported.
The administrative merger, approved by California State University (CSU) trustees Thursday, is slated to be complete by the start of the next academic year and will present around $30 million in cost savings for the CSU system, according to CSU Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer Steve Relyea.
The nearly 100-year-old Cal Maritime, located in Vallejo, is lauded for its vital educational offerings as the only degree-granting maritime academy on the West Coast and one of seven in the nation.
The program trains cadets in marine transportation, engineering and technology. Some students can earn credentials from the U.S. Coast Guard. But Cal Maritime has faced drastic enrollment decline over the past seven years, with just 700 students enrolled for the 2023-24 academic year, according to the CSU Chancellor’s Office. The decline, along with rising operating costs, contributed to significant financial challenges for the institution.
To save the academy’s maritime programming, CSU in June announced a plan to fold the institution into Cal Poly – a plan that gained unanimous committee approval Wednesday afternoon, sending it to the board at large for another unanimous vote Thursday.
“It’s a great day, it’s a historic day for the CSU,” said Chancellor Mildred Garcia after the committee vote. By July 2025, Cal Maritime will be known as the Cal Poly Maritime Academy located at the Cal Poly Solano campus, according to Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong. It is intended that Cal Maritime students will be officially enrolled as Cal Poly students by the start of the 2026-27 academic year.
