News Archives - 2009

Augsburg branches out

Augsburg's "southwest branch campus" will welcome its first cohort of MBA students next week. Through a partnership with St. Stephen Lutheran Church in Bloomington, Augsburg will be the only accredited MBA program in the area.

St. Stephen approached the College about hosting an Augsburg program after the church completed construction of its 22,000 square foot educational facility in 2006. According to Steve Zitnick, Augsburg MBA director, the MBA program was a logical fit because of its one-night-a-week cohort program. "It made sense for them and for us."

Zitnick said the Bloomington site, just south of Interstate 494 and France Avenue, is ideal for working professionals because it is close to where students work and live. "We found that this location resonated with students who would have a long commute to downtown or to St. Paul, for example," he said.

"Our relationship with Bethel serves as a model for how this can work well," he added. For 10 years, Augsburg has shared classroom and administrative space with several Lutheran congregations in Rochester, Minn., most recently with Bethel Lutheran Church. Augsburg offers undergraduate evening classes and graduate classes in nursing and business in Rochester.

As part of the arrangement with St. Stephen, the College will provide IT infrastructure and furniture for the classrooms it will utilize. Zitnick said the program will strive to provide the same high-quality student experience as it does at the main campus. "We will have the same faculty, the same variety of services for students," he said.

Augsburg may add another cohort in Bloomington this fall, and Zitnick said there has been discussion about introducing another graduate program at St. Stephen.

There will be an open house at the Bloomington campus on Thursday, January 22 at 4:30 p.m. St. Stephen is located at 8400 France Avenue South.