CSU Channel Islands will offer undergraduate classes in business through the Santa Barbara City College Campus, under an agreement that officials from both colleges signed during a Sept. 29 news conference.

The program will begin in fall 2011 with up to 30 students, who will take one or two courses per 12-week term at SBCC, according to a news release from CSUCI. Under the schools’ five-year agreement, CSUCI will oversee academic and administrative aspects of the program and SBCC will provide classroom, office and library space and cooperate in student recruitment.

The agreement is “something I’ve been trying to do for years,” CSUCI President Richard Rush said at the Sept. 29 news conference. He said he expects to develop expanded partnerships with SBCC.

Bill Cordeiro, dean of the Martin V. Smith School of Business at CSUCI, said the school  doesn’t specialize in any aspect of undergraduate business but it has an emphasis on entrepreneurship, global business and management.

SBCC President Andreea Serban said there is a great need for undergraduate majors who will go on to start or work in small businesses. “These are the backbone of the U.S. economy,” she said, adding that SBCC hosts the Scheinfeld Center for Entrepreneurship on campus.

City College students who meet CSUCI’s criteria for transfer will be granted automatic admission into the program. The program will offer all required courses for a CSUCI bachelor’s in business.

The bachelor’s degree program can be completed in as little as two years and the total tuition cost would be about $16,000, said Gary Berg, dean of extended education at CSUCI. He added that Channel Islands will be making financial assistance available to students based on need.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated on Sept. 29 to correct an error about the extent of classes offered at SBCC and with additional information and quotes from the news conference.

Are you a subscriber? If not, sign up today for a four-week FREE trial or subscribe and receive the Book of Lists free with your purchase.