CSU Officials urge integration of Cal Maritime and Cal Poly

California State University officials announced Wednesday the system has recommended the “integration” of two institutions for “fiscal sustainability” and better fulfillment of workforce needs.

Officials have recommended that California State University Maritime Academy and California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, combine operations, resources and governance. The merger—as the effort appears to be, though CSU system officials have not used that term—would require approval from the California State University Board of Trustees. If approved, the effort is expected to be completed by the start of the 2026–27 academic year.

“The recommended integration of Cal Maritime and Cal Poly is an innovative and vitally necessary strategy with benefits that will be felt throughout the CSU, the state of California and our nation,” CSU Chancellor Mildred García wrote in the announcement. She added the plan will provide “a long-term solution to Cal Maritime’s untenable fiscal circumstances,” and leverage “academic and operational synergies between the two universities” that will benefit students and the state.

The announcement noted that enrollment at Cal Maritime has fallen by 31 percent, slipping from around 1,100 students in the 2016–17 academic year to just over 750 this past academic year. Officials also cited “rising employment and operational costs” as contributing to “Cal Maritime’s fiscal crisis.”

Cal Maritime would continue to offer specialized programs at its Vallejo campus.