Expanding Educational Horizons: Cal Poly and Allan Hancock College Partnership Programs

Cal Poly and Allan Hancock College have forged a dynamic partnership, creating pathways for students to achieve their educational goals while remaining rooted in their communities. These innovative programs address the challenges faced by Central Coast residents in accessing four-year degrees, offering flexible, career-focused routes to a Cal Poly education.

The Vision Behind the Partnership

Cal Poly's regional Bachelor's Pathways are expanding due to the success of the sociology program at Allan Hancock College. The partnership exemplifies a commitment to aligning efforts and creating Cal Poly degree opportunities for students across the Central Coast.

Bachelor's Pathways at Allan Hancock College

Cal Poly’s Bachelor’s Pathways at Allan Hancock College in Business Administration and Sociology offer flexible, career-focused routes to a Cal Poly degree. These programs are taught by Cal Poly faculty but are located at the Allan Hancock campus, allowing community college transfer students to access four-year degrees without commuting to San Luis Obispo.

Business Administration Pathway

The business administration pathway leads to a Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration in management and human resources. The Cal Poly Business - MHR program prepares students to become practicing professionals in functional roles related to recruitment, staffing, training and development, and compensation. The program aims to cultivate leadership skills and teach business fundamentals to enrolled students.

Sociology Pathway

The sociology pathway, first launched to great success, offers a Bachelor of Arts in sociology through a hybrid format designed for students balancing school, work, and family. The sociology program prepares students for careers in a range of fields including criminal justice, law, social services, government, business, and education. All sociology students have full access to Cal Poly services including library resources, healthcare, advising, career support, and more. Many services are available virtually, and students are also welcome to access resources and attend events at Cal Poly, including Week of Welcome, club meetings, sports games, concerts, and theater arts performances.

Read also: Accessing the Cal Poly Portal

Cal Poly at Hancock Program Structure

The Cal Poly at Hancock program follows the Cal Poly academic calendar. The program is designed in a cohort style, so students move through the curriculum with the same group of peers while experiencing Cal Poly’s Learn by Doing approach.

Financial Aid and Enrollment

Participants in all programs are fully enrolled Cal Poly students with access to university advising, library resources, and Cal Poly student support services. All students are encouraged to apply for financial aid at Cal Poly. The financial aid that a student qualifies for depends on their individual circumstances. For the first two years of the program, financial aid will be administered by Allan Hancock College (school code 001111), and for the final two years, it will be administered by Cal Poly (school code 001143).

Additional Programs and Support

Students with infants, toddlers, or preschool-age children can reach out to the Orfalea Children’s Center Lab School at Allan Hancock College’s Santa Maria campus to inquire about the availability of twilight hour childcare.

Expanding Access and Addressing Barriers

Community college graduates on the Central Coast have faced barriers in accessing four-year degrees in the past, due to the competitiveness of Cal Poly and the university’s notoriously low transfer rates, on top of other barriers like cost and commute. The new bachelor’s programs are an effort to help ease those burdens.

Cal Poly's 2+2 Program Expansion

Cal Poly’s 2+2 program will expand to include liberal studies at Cuesta College and business administration at Allan Hancock College. The expanded offerings aim to increase regional access to Cal Poly degrees by allowing students to complete lower-division coursework at partner colleges before finishing upper-division classes through Cal Poly. The program gives Central Coast residents the option to not relocate to San Luis Obispo. These programs are cohort-based, meaning students progress through the program together as a group and designed for evening and online formats. Cal Poly originally debuted the 2+2 program with the sociology cohort, offering a Bachelor of Arts at Allan Hancock College.

Read also: Cal Poly Cost Breakdown

Liberal Studies at Cuesta College

At Cuesta College, Cal Poly’s 2+2 liberal studies program caters to students seeking the flexibility of evening courses and a consistent schedule from term to term. Students take these evening Cal Poly courses on the Cuesta campus and online, along with school-based field experience each term. Emphasizing early childhood and elementary education, the program develops educators who can meet the region’s growing demand for qualified teachers. The program allows students to complete the upper-division courses in two, three, or four years, depending on their course load each term.

How to Apply

Students interested in applying to the Cal Poly Bachelor's Pathway in Sociology at Allan Hancock College should refer to Cal Poly’s Transfer Course Criteria for Sociology. To meet both required and desired transfer course criteria for the sociology pathway at Allan Hancock College, prospective students are strongly encouraged to complete an Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) in Sociology. This degree is also sometimes referred to as an Associate in Arts Transfer Degree (AAT). An ADT or AAT can be earned from any California community college and some out of state colleges.

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