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Cal Poly Suspends Plans for Santa Barbara MBA Program

SAN LUIS OBISPO – At the request of the California State University Chancellor's Office, Cal Poly’s Orfalea College of Business is permanently suspending plans to offer a Santa Barbara MBA program.
 
The CSU instead will look to its Channel Islands campus to serve the Santa Barbara market for an MBA program, given its closer proximity to Santa Barbara.
 
Prospective students who filed applications for admission to Cal Poly’s Santa Barbara MBA Program will receive a refund of the application fee.
 
Dave Christy, dean of Cal Poly’s Orfalea College of Business, said, “Our goal was to offer a self-supporting program that would complement and supplement, not duplicate, existing programs in the area. At the same time, the concerns of the Chancellor’s Office regarding proximity to CSU Channel Islands cannot be disregarded, and we all share the same desire to provide Californians access to high-quality programs.”
 
The Orfalea College of Business is named in honor of Al and Virginia Orfalea, parents of Paul J. Orfalea, founder of Kinko’s.
 
Paul Orfalea and his wife Natalie donated $15 million to Cal Poly's College of Business to enhance the quality and scope of business education for Cal Poly students.

The Orfalea College of Business is accredited by the Association of Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). Cal Poly is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

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