Cal Poly Humboldt has seen declining enrollment for years. Is the name change helping?

What’s in a name? When it comes to Cal Poly Humboldt, which rebranded to include the polytechnic designation earlier this year, university officials are hoping the answer is “More students.”

Thus far, it looks like they might be right.

As of early May, enrollment for the fall 2022 term is up 7% from the previous year, according to Cal Poly Humboldt spokeswoman Aileen Yoo. The university anticipates that there could be as many as 6,280 new and continuing students this fall.

That would be an increase of nearly 1,000 students from the spring 2022 term, and would bring enrollment back to levels seen before the pandemic.

“We’ve seen confirmations of students wanting to attend Cal Poly Humboldt,” said Peter Martinez, university director of admissions.

It marks a significant upswing for a university that has seen a dramatic decrease in students attending over the last six academic years, dropping from 7,771 students in 2016-17 to 5,053 in 2020-21.

“Like most universities in the country, Cal Poly Humboldt had been feeling the effects of the pandemic. We’re now at a point where we’re seeing strong signs of increased enrollment, particularly with first-time undergraduates,” said university Provost Jenn Capps in a statement.

Polytechnic means that a university offers instruction in a variety of applied sciences and technical subjects, often with a strong hands-on component.

“What the data are telling us — and what we’ve been hearing from several students and parents — is enthusiasm for our polytechnic designation and for the new and high-demand polytechnic academic programs. We’re also the largest employer in Humboldt County, so increased enrollment has enormous positive impacts for our region as we continue to expand.

Though the university changed its name in January, that’s not the only change that’s happening there, thanks to an infusion of $433 million in state funding.

Cal Poly Humboldt is set to add 12 new programs, beginning in the fall 2023, including mechanical engineering, cannabis studies, applied fire science and management and marine biology.

The university has seen steady growth across all of its colleges, Martinez said.

“I would say we’ve been moving positively as a whole and keeping par,” he said.

This story was originally published May 13, 2022 at 5:00 AM.