UPB History
In 1988, the Bolivian Congress passed new legislation authorizing the creation of private universities for the first time, thus ending a lengthy period during which the only higher education available in Bolivia was at state-controlled institutions, which were not up to international standards. The Catholic University and the Military Engineering School existed prior to this time but only under restrictions from a special regime of the Bolivian national university system.
Bright young men and women desiring professional higher education were going abroad – principally to Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and the United States — to obtain it and often remained in their new country of residence after graduating. This practice generated an exodus of able human resources and the loss of more than $us 10,000,000 per year from the Bolivian economy. In 1988, the government of Bolivia opened the door to invigorate quality higher education in the country.
A group of far-sighted Bolivian leaders agreed to create a private university committed to educating young professionals who could assume the next generation of leadership and respond to the challenges of building a stronger Bolivia. In 1992, the UNIVERSIDAD PRIVADA BOLIVIANA (UPB) opened its doors with its first Intensive Pre university course.
The creation of this new institution was a lengthy process.
• 1986 – The Federation of Private Businessmen of Cochabamba (the Federation) began initial exploration of a private university.
• 1987 – The Federation invited the Confederation of Private Businessmen of Bolivia in La Paz to join in the process, thus establishing a nationwide base for the new university.
• 1988 – It recommended the creation of a nonprofit private foundation chartered to create what would become UPB. This entity was called the Nataniel Aguirre Foundation.
• 1989 – The Foundation purchased land with borrowed funds for the Apote Campus, nine miles from central Cochabamba. This campus remains undeveloped to date.
• 1991 – A smaller Santa Rosa Campus, four miles from the central city (with some existing buildings), was presented to the Nataniel Aguirre Foundation as a gift from the ADAM Foundation, a nonprofit organization sponsored by USAID, operating an arts, crafts and fashion center. Buildings were remodeled and adapted and new buildings were constructed to now provide classrooms large and small, laboratories for physics, chemistry, languages and engineering, a student lounge, library, administrative space, cafeteria, and an outdoor multifunctional sports court.
• 1991-1992 – The University curriculum was conceived as a response to the needs of the Bolivian economy and to preferences manifested by students in the 11th and 12th grades in an earlier feasibility study.
• 1992 – Bolivian government officially recognized Universidad Privada Boliviana and approved it for opening and functioning.
• 1992 – UPB started its first Intensive Pre-University course to prepare students for the challenge of university level study. Four hundred students from different schools in the state of Cochabamba took the Academic Aptitude Test prepared by the College Entrance Examination Board as a Spanish language equivalent of the Scholastic Aptitude Test [SAT].
• 1992-1993 –The year ended with the election of the founding President of the University, Dr. Absael Antelo Montero. With a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from the University of Utah and wide experience in the US teaching at and managing components of higher education institutions, Dr. Antelo was well-equiped to lead UPB into its full year of academic activities in January 1993.
• 1993 – The first semester saw agreement by the Board of Directors on Vision and Mission statements that remain current today. (See below)
• 1993 – A new curriculum was introduced in the second semester and remains in use today. It is based on a modular-programming plan called the Professional Performance Based Education Model, different from the traditional university curriculum.
• 1995 – UPB was admitted as an official member of the College Entrance Examination Board and was named as a National Center for Application and Scoring of the SAT entrance examination.
• 1996 – A new three story classroom building was constructed.
• 1997 – The first UPB graduation was held in October when 18 students graduated with Bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Business Administration, 17 received Diplomados and nine received Master’s degrees in Business Administration and Productivity and Quality.
• 1997 – The Bolivian Ministry of Education, evaluated UPB as one of the best universities in the country.
• 1997-1998 – The process of institutional self-study began and was completed. This study cited the need for UPB to elaborate a long-term Institutional Advancement Plan, which is an evolving process today.
• 1999 – The first phase of the new experimental laboratories building was completed.
• 2000 – Dr. Manuel Olave is elected as new President of the University. With a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California Santa Barbara and a vast experience in academic environments in the US, Europe and Central America, Dr. Olave had the necessary experience to continue leading UPB into the 21st Century.
• 2000 – The second phase of the new experimental laboratories building is completed and the campus is fully remodeled.
• 2001 – Graduate facilities are acconditioned in La Paz, Santa Cruz and Oruro.
• 2001 - UPB signed cooperating agreements with Florida International University (FIU), Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH), Universidad de Los Andes - Colombia (UNIANDES), University of Oklahoma (OU), Michigan State University (MSU), University of North Texas (UNT) and the University of New Mexico (UNM).
• 2001 - UPB opened double degree graduate programs in La Paz, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz with FIU (Master in International Business), USACH (Master in Business Administration) and UNIANDES (Master in Corporate Law).
• 2002 - UPB signed cooperating agreements with Johannes Kepler University of Linz - Austria, Central American School of Management (INCAE) and became a member of the Ibero American Alliance of Universities for Sustainable Development.
• 2002 – Undergraduate programs in Petroleum Engineering and Finance are offered to respond to the high demand in both fields.
• 2002 - Full University Certification issued by the Ministry of Education
• 2002 – UPB started a project to build a new campus in La Paz and started offering all the programs in the College of Entrepreneurial Sciences.
• 2003 – UPB is granted the ISO 9002-2000 quality certificate for all its undergraduate and graduate academic and administrative processes.
• 2003 – The university accreditation process under the MERCOSUR standards begins.
• 2003 – Numerous programs of continuing education at graduate level are offered due to the high demand.
• 2004 – The first full-time Master´s program and the Ph.D. program in economics and management begin.
• 2005 - Accreditation of the Civil Engineering program in MERCOSUR
• 2005 - La Paz Campus inauguration
• 2007 - Cochabamba Campus library remodeling
• 2008 - Cochabamba Campus event center inauguration
• 2009 - Inauguration of the La Paz Campus Library
