Monterrey Tec opens El Paso campus
by Alejandro Martínez-Cabrera \ El Paso Times
Posted: 05/24/2011 12:00:00 AM MDT
El Paso mayor John Cook, right, helps cut a ribbon Monday. at... (Rudy
Gutierrez / El Paso Times)
The prestigious Mexican university Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios
Superiores de Monterrey cut the ribbon on Monday to its new high-
school campus on El Paso's West Side, the institution's first physical
location in the United States.
"This is the first time a middle and higher education institution
breaks into the U.S. market. It's something unprecedented between
Mexico and the United States," said Pablo Cuarón, president of
Monterrey Tec's board in Juárez.
Cuarón said the school had flirted with the idea of opening a campus
in El Paso for several years, and like many other businesses that have
relocated here from Mexico, Monterrey Tec finally made the move to
follow the large number of people who have come to El Paso fleeing the
violence in Juarez.
"In the last three years, leaders and entrepreneurs have moved (to El
Paso) looking for safety for their families, and they are looking for
excellence in bilingual and bicultural education" for their children,
he said.
Monterrey Tec, which in recent decades has expanded its educational
offerings to include middle- and high-school programs, will start
classes for grades 9 and 10 -- and possibly 11 -- on Aug. 8 with about
100 students. It is located on 9,600 square feet of land at 5450 Hurd
Place.
Cuarón said the university's venture in El Paso is an experiment to
gauge their viability in the United States and, if they're successful,
they'll consider expanding to other U.S. cities near the border, like
San Diego or San Antonio, and bringing their higher education
programs.
If that were to happen, El Paso Mayor John Cook, who was at the event
Monday, said he welcomed the idea of having a third higher education
institution in the city.
"Some people have asked me, why do we need another institution of
higher education? I've said, why not? It makes sense to have as many
possible," he said.
Cuarón said the El Paso campus will be an extension of the one in
Juárez, which means the school curriculums in both cities will be
virtually identical, with the exception of certain modifications to
meet with high-school education requirements in the United States.
Monterrey Tec has 36 campuses across Mexico. In Juárez, the school has
about 400 students enrolled in their middle- school program and about
610 in high school.
The institution is currently accepting applications. Tuition is about
$8,000 a year, similar to the cost of Monterrey Tec's fees in Juárez.
Alejandro Martínez-Cabrera can be reached at
a.martinez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6129.
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