The Arizona International Campus, a smaller version of the University of Arizona, is up and running after two years of planning.

The campus has been in the works for the past two years, said Celestino Fernandez, executive vice president and provost of the new campus.

Fernandez said the new campus is an effort to accommodate the growth of new student enrollment over the next 20 years.

"The campus creates additional options for students, mostly students coming from high school and working students who are coming back to school," Fernandez said.

AIC offers six majors in liberal arts:

• social sciences
• natural science and math
• humanities
• language and culture
• fine arts
• liberal studies

"All of the programs are interdisciplinary, offering a more holistic approach," Fernandez said.

The campus operates with the help of about 20 employees. There are seven, full-time, and a few part-time, professors, Fernandez said.

"One of the main reasons I chose this campus was its unique approach to one-on-one learning," said Marco A. Lopez, an AIC political science freshman.

Lopez said the teacher-to-student ratio is about one to 10.

The difference between AIC and the UA campus is the classes are smaller, which allows more interaction between the professors and the students, Fernandez said.

"Some classes, like humanities and social sciences, are five units. Students can be involved in some pretty big projects," he said.

AIC will have about 40 students enrolled by the time the fall semester starts, Fernandez said.

"Parents and students have visited and registered," Fernandez said. "They think it's a wonderful program, and they like the environment."

Fernandez said, in terms of planning, he thinks that is a very good number, considering the UA started with about 23 students.

Like the UA, the budget for the campus is allocated by the legislature through grants, contracts and investment income.

This fiscal year, the budget is $2.1 million and will grow as enrollment grows, Fernandez said.

"The budget is tight, but we'll manage," Fernandez said. "We will need additional resources (in the future) to continue."