NUC University, (formerly known as National University College) is the largest for-profit

private university Private universities and private colleges are higher education institutions not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. However, they often receive tax breaks, public student loans, and government grants. Depending on the count ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

with its main campus in

Bayamón, Puerto Rico Bayamón (, ) is a Bayamón barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico. Located on the northeastern coastal plain, it is bounded by Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Guaynabo to the east, Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, Toa A ...

. The university was founded in 1982 as the National College, and offers

undergraduate studies Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

and

graduate studies Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachel ...

health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

business administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

information technology Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...

, and

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

NUC University is

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by the

Council of Higher Education of Puerto Rico ''Their mission'' is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access to all the students. The Council of Education of Puerto Rico (CEPR) is an agency of ...

and the

Middle States Commission on Higher Education The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, abbreviated as MSCHE and legally incorporated as the Mid-Atlantic Region Commission on Higher Education, is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evalua ...

History

In 1980, a steering committee, led by Jesús Siverio Orta, worked on the planning and organization of the institution. It was not until the first of April, 1982 that the institution began its educational operations in Bayamón,

under the name National College of Business and Technology. In June of the same year, the committee acquired the Polytechnical Community College, obtaining at the same time its operating license from the

Puerto Rico Department of Education The Puerto Rico Department of Education (PRDOE; ) is one of five jurisdiction-wide public education systems in the United States, with Hawaii, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa being the others. The PRDOE is the state education ...

with the same rights, privileges and obligations as the predecessor institution. NUC University began its educational program with four classrooms on the third floor of the Ramos Building located in the city of Bayamón, which also had a typing laboratory, a pharmacy laboratory and a library. Initially, the institution only offered Pharmacy Assistant and Secretarial Science programs. The first group of students from these two programs graduated in July 1983. In 1984 it opened the Arecibo Campus in

Arecibo Arecibo (; ) is a Arecibo barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado, Puerto Rico, Utuado and Ciales, Puerto Rico, Ciale ...

, Puerto Rico, and in 2003 the Río Grande Campus in Río Grande, Puerto Rico. In the following years NUC University started expanding rapidly, establishing a learning center at the San Cristóbal Hospital on September of 2007 in Ponce, Puerto Rico which later became the Ponce Campus on July 10, 2009. In January 2011, NUC opened an additional location in

Caguas Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality in central eastern Puerto Rico. Located in the eponymous Caguas Valley between the Sierra de Cayey and Sierra de Luquillo of the Central Mountain Range, it is bordered by San Juan and Trujillo Alto to ...

, Puerto Rico and in June 2014, it became the Caguas Campus. In March 2017, NUC opened a Campus in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, and in November 2018, the institution opened it most recent campus, the South Florida Campus in the State of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Campuses

The multi-campus school is one of the largest secondary education institutions in

. Today NUC University have 15 campuses, nine of them in the State of

, and 13 centers of the IBC technical division. Puerto Rico Campuses: * NUC Arecibo * NUC Bayamón * NUC Caguas * NUC Mayagüez * NUC Ponce * NUC Río Grande * CCU Caguas * CCU Bayamón * NUC-IBC Aguadilla * NUC-IBC Arecibo * NUC-IBC Bayamón * NUC-IBC Caguas * NUC-IBC Guayama * NUC-IBC Los Colobos, Carolina * NUC-IBC Manatí * NUC-IBC Mayagüez * NUC-IBC Ponce * NUC-IBC Yauco * NUC-IBC Escorial Florida Campuses: * NUC South Florida * NUC-FTC Deland * NUC-FTC Kissimmee * NUC-FTC Orlando * NUC-FTC Pembroke Pines * NUC-FTC South Miami * NUC-FTC Lakeland * NUC-FTC Tampa * The DAVE School Oregon Campuses: * Hillsboro Aero Academy

Accreditations

NUC University is authorized by the

and

by the

to offer university studies of the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels, as the case may be. Likewise, the university is committed to the professional accreditation of its academic programs. For this reason, some academic units have programs accredited by organizations, such as: * Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) * Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) * Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) * American Culinary Federation Education Foundation Accrediting Commission (ACFEFAC)

Certifications and authorizations

The institution is also authorized and certified by the following entities: * Puerto Rico State Approving Agency for Veterans Education * Microsoft IT Program * U.S. Department of Education * Vocational Rehabilitation

Memberships

* Puerto Rico Private Education Association * Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators of Puerto Rico * American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers * Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities * National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators

References

External links

* Private universities and colleges in Puerto Rico Universities and colleges established in 1982 1982 establishments in Puerto Rico Bayamón, Puerto Rico For-profit universities and colleges in North America {{Caribbean-university-stub