Catholic University to Offer Tucson Business Program -

By Jacqueline Jedrych

The Catholic University of America recently announced that the Busch School of Business will now be offering a new flagship college program located in Tucson, Arizona. The program will be held through the Metropolitan School of Professional Studies.

The goal of Catholic University’s partnership with Pima Community College (PCC) is to offer the burgeoning community of Tucson with a high-quality, well-rounded business education while connecting its students with the local business leaders. The program will begin in the fall semester of 2020.

Catholic University is partnering with Tucson, Arizona’s PCC to combine curriculum requirements in order to begin a new college program. The course will allow students to receive an associate’s degree after two years from PCC, and a Bachelor of Arts in General Management from Catholic University at the end of the four-year program.

Catholic University president John Garvey saw a need for an increase in quality Catholic education to serve the growing Hispanic Catholic population. University analysis showed “that of the 25 U.S. cities with the largest total increases in the Hispanic population, nine have no Catholic college or university in close proximity”, according to a University Communications release.

The program combines the demands of all institutions involved. PCC’s general education curriculum of writing, math, science, computer applications will be completed in the first two years. Students will continue classes through Catholic University – religion, philosophy, arts and humanities, and the Busch School’s general management curriculum of marketing, economics, leadership, career discernment, and 21st-century business tools.

The pilot program is a cohort of 20 students, with plans to expand enrollment to 100 students per cohort within three years. They will begin with an in-depth M-Core assessment, a test that helps educators and employers to determine how to properly motivate employees and students. The flagship group will all take the same classes throughout the next four years.

The courses will be taught both online and in-person. Pima offers all courses on campus, while a few select Catholic courses will be taught online. The program has no on-campus residence to allow students to live with their families or in the community, in an effort to lower costs for students and make the program more accessible. The total cost of the program is approximately $8,800. Financial aid will be offered through both institutions.

Catholic is also partnering with many local Tucson businesses and organizations to fundraise and help foster education. Partners helped to design the program in a way that would be beneficial to the specific needs of students in Tucson. They will also help with the student’s education by providing workshops, business roundtables, career development events, mentorship, and guided internships.

Catholic hopes to bring the same quality of education to the community of Tucson that they offer in their home campus in D.C. Catholic sees a future in the Tucson community and looks to foster new connections between its students and the business community in the area.