 Inter
American University of Puerto Rico is a private institution
with a Christian heritage and an ecumenical tradition. It
is a non-profit organization that provides college instruction
to youth of both sexes. It was originally founded in 1912
as the Polytechnic Institute of Puerto Rico by the Reverend
John William Harris and offered elementary and secondary
education on the land occupied today by the San Germán
Campus. The first college level courses were started in 1921
and in 1927, the first group of students graduated with Bachelor's
degrees. In 1944, the Institution was accredited by the Middle
States Association of Colleges and Schools. It was the first
four-year liberal arts college to be so accredited outside
the continental limits of the United States.
This accreditation has been maintained
since then. The University is approved to provide educational
services to veterans intending to pursue studies under the
norms of the Veterans? Administration. The programs of the
University are authorized by the Council on Higher Education
of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and by the Commonwealth's
Department of Education, which certifies teachers for the
public school system of Puerto Rico. Inter American University's
School of Law is accredited by the American Bar Association
and the School of Optometry, inaugurated in 1981, by the
Council on Optometric Education. In March 1982, the first
doctoral program was initiated.
Inter American University is the largest
private university in Puerto Rico. Enrollment, in recent
years, has been maintained at approximately 38,000 students.
At the present time, about 24 percent of all the Island's
college students and 40 percent of the students who go to
the Island's private colleges attend Inter American University.
Inter American University's tradition of
public service, the geographical location of its instructional
units and its continuing attention to student needs make
it especially attractive and accessible to students from
all the municipalities of Puerto Rico. The increasing availability
of both Federal and Commonwealth funds for student financial
aid has enabled many students, who otherwise would not have
been able to do so, to get a college education.
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