Opportunities and Threats: The University

Opportunities and Threats: The University of Arizona

Opportunities

The University of Arizona has a number of opportunities as a business model. It offers a strong academic environment, a robust graduate program, links to future employment, and recreational opportunities for students. Because of the wide variety of its educational and recreational programs, it belong in the ranks of well-respected state universities.

One of the University's greatest opportunities for its students is its interntional and off-campus study/exchange programs. The University offers study abroad program in over 60 countries in over 40 languages and in over a dozen courses of study.

These various programs allow University students to literally receive a global education. Furthermore, the exchange programs bring students from diverse countries to the home campus, so that even students who are unable to participate in the exchange program still get to experience some of the benefits of the exchange program.

Another wonderful opportunity that the University has is helps its students with career development. The University has an active alumni program, which enables students to develop social contacts with industry leaders while still in school. It also has a career services program which hosts career days, helps students explore graduate school opportunities, connects students with mentors, connects students with volunteer opportunities, and helps student find internship opportunities. Given the difficult job market, and the fact that many college graduates are having problems finding jobs, a thriving career services department is a significant bonus. A college degree's value is based upon the increase in earning potential it brings to the student, therefore a university that helps launch careers provides more value than a university with a lackluster career services department.

One of the factors that make the University of Arizona a strong institution is its thriving graduate programs. Universities are often ranked by the strength or weakness of their graduate programs and the quality of original research the university is able to provide in certain fields of study. Furthermore, in addition to offering traditional graduate programs, the University offers an opportunity for those holding bachelors degrees to earn graduate certificates through work experience. This opportunity will be appealing to those students seeking post-graduate education but who need to work rather than being full-time graduate students.

The University's outside business partnerships also offer benefits to students. Most universities have outside business partnerships, such as vendor relationships with on-campus providers. However, the University goes beyond traditional vendor-relationships. It actively cultivates a wide variety of partnerships with businesses, which increases its access to research opportunities. Furthermore, these established relationships with corporations help increase internship programs and also promote the hiring of graduates. The influx of corporate money to the school helps drive down the costs of education for students, providing a higher educational value.