The biggest difference between the UA and the Arizona International Campus is the way the new institution has geared its focus toward the students.

Students at the new campus will receive a more personalized education, since professors will interact with each student individually, said Celestino Fern'ndez, AIC executive vice president and provost.

At the University of Arizona, students can begin to feel like they're just another number, Fern'ndez said.

"So many kids can't possibly understand everything when you can't even stop the class to ask a question," AIC student Jenni Walker said.

Walker came from a small town and said she prefers small class sizes as compared to the mobs at bigger universities. But she admits that what AIC, a liberal arts college, has to offer isn't for everyone.

"Some people don't do well in small settings without a lot of people," she said.

There is not a big difference in the way the two campuses got their starts. The University of Arizona opened in 1885 with 23 students, and 45 began classes today at AIC, Fern'ndez said.

The student population is capped off at 5,000 for AIC in order to maintain one-on-one learning, Fern'ndez said.

There are only seven full-time professors at AIC, with a few teaching part time. Altogether, there are 20 employees.

The Arizona State Legislature appropriated $1.5 million for AIC's initial planning activities of 1994-95. The UA was appropriated $25,000 during its first years.

Pomona College, in Claremont, Calif., is also a liberal arts college and began in 1887 with about 30 students. Its population is now at 1,400, said Don Pattison of Pomona College Public Affairs.

Pima Community College was first located in a hangar near the Tucson International Airport, with 3,543 students in 1970.

All the students at AIC will begin as freshmen. Upperclassmen will not be allowed to transfer there until next year, Fern'ndez said.

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