TUCSON, Ariz. — The University of Arizona made a huge expansion. With the help of a company called WeWork, a Wildcat education is now more accessible than ever before.
WeWork is a company that provides co-working spaces where people can get access to an office or a hot desk and internet access to use as a base to work from. Students in more than 40 countries can now have access to a Wildcat education.
“We're extremely enthusiastic. The University of Arizona has, by far the largest network of global locations, and no one has anywhere near our reach around the globe,” said Brent White, UArizona’s vice provost for global affairs.
The partnership has already increased enrollment.
“Its already greatly increased the number of students who are studying in our global microcampus network this fall. This will even make it easier for students to access the University of Arizona education,” said White.
Having these spaces helps international students attend the university, who otherwise wouldn’t be able to, especially due to the pandemic.
“International students in particular have a very difficult time making it to the United States to study this fall, and that may continue for quite some time. So the University of Arizona has worked to make spaces available for students where they can get access to a University of Arizona education online,” said White.
One of the primary challenges in many countries is students may not have access to reliable internet nor access to a space that's conducive to study.
“And most importantly have access to the internet. We see this problem domestically that many people live in rural areas are don't have the resources don't have access to sufficient high speed internet. So you imagine what you know that the digital divide means for people around the world,” said White.
With those 650 locations across the globe, White said, this reach is unprecedented in terms of the access UArizona is providing to its education.
