Polytechnic is a difficult term to define, said Phil Bailey, acting provost for California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo in California, and no one agrees on the same description. Polytechnic schools provide a mindset instead of just a skill set, Bailey said. He drew a comparison to the chemistry lab courses he’s taught on his campus for the past four decades. “The purpose isn’t to teach how to use instrumentation, it’s to teach how to use instrumentation in an intellectual way,” he told the Herald. “It’s about problem-solving.” And it has been a great marketing tool, he said. The largely undergraduate university has no football team but offers numerous research opportunities, with more than half of Cal Poly San Louis Obispo’s research papers having undergraduate authors. More than 55,000 students apply to the school each year for one of 4,000 slots. “We’re in a 23-campus system. We stand out because we’re polytechnic,” Bailey said. Read more here: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2015/05/23/3575307_in-seeking-students-wsu-tri-cities.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy