In February 2020, the first cohort of students from the new Associate Degree in Business Administration graduated from Nangarhar University in Jalalabad. UMass/CIE worked with the Economics Department of the university to develop the degree program.  The cohort contained 26 students, 7 of whom were women.

The degree was one of five Associate degrees initiated by UMass as part of its work with the University Support Workforce Development Project (USWDP).

The Business Administration degree is intended to provide educational opportunities for individual growth, build communication skills, enhance analytical and research capabilities, administrative capabilities, and develop academic, educational and research cooperation with the relevant centers at the provincial and country level.  The associate degree takes 2.5 years and includes a semester of internship in a local organization.

CIE worked in collaboration with faculty members from the UMass Isenberg School of Management, and Greenfield, and Holyoke Community Colleges to support development of  Business degrees in three Afghan universities. Faculty members from US institutions worked with faculty at Nangarhar to develop the degree, design courses, identify learning materials, and train faculty members.

Other Associate Degrees started with support from UMass/CIE included one in Biomedical Equipment Technology (BMET) at Kabul University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), one in Information Technology at Kabul Polytechnic, and Associate degrees in Business at Balkh and at Herat universities.