The Eller College of Management Executive Master of Business Administration program is opening new doors near Phoenix next semester to add more students to its enrollment, taking a $400,000 chunk out of the Eller College's annual budget, officials said.

The expansion will add a UA hub just outside Phoenix for MBA students who wouldn't normally enroll at the UA because of the 100-mile commute to Tucson, said Brent Chrite, associate dean and director of Eller College MBA programs.

"If they're working in Phoenix and they want an MBA, there's no way many students would come to Tucson when they have to drive up every weekend," Chrite said. "Now the walls of the market have come down and we're able to compete more."

With the expansion, the UA will be able to alternate hosting the MBA program near Phoenix some years and in Tucson every other year, which should help the program attract a larger pool of students from around the state, said Julie Krell, director of marketing and communications at the Eller College.

Last year, 36 students enrolled in the Executive MBA program, and at least 50 more are expected from Phoenix next year, Chrite said.

The program will temporarily be run from rooms in the Scottsdale Marriott McDowell Mountain Hotel, where the students can also stay over the weekend between classes, Chrite said.

There are plans to move into a permanent facility in a few years, most likely in the downtown Phoenix area, Krell said, but those details are still being decided.

The expansion will make it even better for students like me because Phoenix has an enormous amount of business, and it's right in their backyard - Alex Rios, Executive MBA student

In terms of price, the expansion is one of the more pricey endeavors the MBA program has taken on, as it will cost at least $400,000 to establish the UA program near Phoenix, Chrite said.

While the cost may sound steep, many expenses - like faculty salaries, transportation and residential costs - should be covered by private donations and the cost of tuition, which is priced next year at $47,500, Chrite said.

The funds will take an estimated 1 percent out of the Eller College's budget of about $39 million, which comprises monies given by the university and the University of Arizona Foundation, said Patricia Sousa, assistant dean of administration and academic affairs at the Eller College.

"It's very expensive for us," Chrite said. "It's the most expensive program we run."

But if the expansion is successful, it's also possible the MBA program could increase its annual budget from the college because there would be more of a demand for funds, said Paul Portney, dean of the Eller College, in an e-mail.

Portney said that by expanding the Executive MBA program to the Phoenix area, the program would be in a concentrated area of corporate offices and would be more appealing to businessmen and -women in the area.

Alex Rios, a finance Executive MBA student from Phoenix, said he thinks the program will "blow up" in Phoenix because it's especially appealing for students in terms of saving time and gas mileage.

Rios, who travels about 200 miles every other week so he can take classes at the UA, said the commute is worth it because the Executive MBA program is unique in terms of length and teaching style.

Whereas the norm at many institutions is to base MBA degrees on a two-year scale, the Executive MBA program at the UA is based on a 14-month timeframe, Chrite said.

"I really liked how I could finish in half the time," said Rios, who is also a senior financial analyst at Intel in Phoenix. "And the expansion will make it even better for students like me because Phoenix has an enormous amount of business, and it's right in their backyard."

It also makes it clear that the state universities are not geographically constrained, and each can provide different kinds of academic options in several areas, said President Peter Likins.

"The ASU and UA programs are very different. It's important that as a system, we provide the people of Arizona with as many options as we can," Likins said. "Now we can offer education to other people throughout the state."