Its official, looks like this will be the end of Cal Maritime Academy.
From the articles I was reading, it was mentioned they are going to evaluate the majors and their enrollment against the costs. And it also mentioned that they are going to attempt to recruit more licensed students. In other words I think financially the licensed programs are on a lifeline.
The only thing that might keep them alive is the fact that students might try to get into Cal Poly by applying to the USCG licensed majors (95.5% acceptance rate) then switch majors to a harder one to get into from Cal Poly (30% acceptance rates). This was concern was also expressed and one article mentioned it was still being determined whether students would be able to change campuses if they change their major. In other words you may have more students enrolling in the licensed tracks just to transfer after a semester.
Cal maritime as a maritime academy as we know it is dead.
Honestly as sad as it is I hope it eventually leads to a decrease or elimination of the licensed programs. There are too many licensed graduates being pumped out by all the other academies for not enough jobs. This has resulted in maritime industry wages stagnating for decades in terms. We seem to be in somewhat of an equilibrium right now in the industry but it would be batter if there were less people to raise wages. It would be better if the US flag was expanding greatly and it would make sense for academies and the industry to be recruiting like crazy but overall it is not.
I’m not sure I want less licensed grads. There’s plenty of work right now to go around it you actually want to sail. The less licensed grads we have available is a slippery slope for companies to be able to lobby for foreign labor, and getting it. New grads don’t want to sail anyway right now for a number of reasons. And less than two years ago the halls were full of wide open jobs, sitting for weeks.
Junior officer jobs maybe the other schools would be happy for less 3rd competition but, we need a bigger merchant marine not a continuously smaller one.
Cal Poly Maritime will want that new full funded training ship. They will also want to continue getting all those VA paid full ride “disabled” veteran license students.
If they take the new training ship and operate it for awhile, they would get more federal money to keep the license programs going.
With MSC unable to crew its ships, someone will be running that new training ship for a license program.
I can’t image Cal Poly is too happy absorbing the financial issues with Cal Maritime. Also students are more aware and cautious of not only choosing small colleges with financial issues but also majors that may be cut. There are countless stories with colleges closing down or eliminating majors that are not financially viable.
If the licensed majors aren’t bringing in more money then Cal Poly is spending on them, then a big school like Cal Poly is probably going to cut them. Other maritime academies have been bringing in and leaning on non licensed majors because they are more financially viable.
I think this news is only prolonging the death of those majors.