History
On August 10, 1999, J. Alberto Moyano Ferrer, his wife, Lydia B. Bautista Möller, and their four daughters, Angelica, Marcela, Lina Maria, and Liliana, migrated from Bogota, Colombia, to Hollywood, Florida, fleeing a dramatic rise in violence and human rights violations. They left behind an institution of higher education they founded in 1979 in their home country to start a new life in South Florida.
In January 2000, UL School of Business was created in the state of Florida as a private, for profit, educational entity. On February 20, 2001, the Florida State Board of Non-public Career Education granted the institution a license to offer non-degree programs in Small Business Management and Marketing and Sales Management. President Moyano believed that to educate a true entrepreneur, all aspects of the learner must be engaged. Focusing on the mind, body, spirit, and the intuitive need to know more, he created the school’s Holistic Education Model.
On January 26, 2004, President Moyano passed away after battling larynx cancer. Mrs. Lydia Batista was appointed president of UL School of Business on February 5th, 2004. As part of the succession plan, her daughters, Angelica, Marcela, Lina and Liliana had been appointed as members of the board of directors and administrators of the institution to continue the legacy their parents had built since the inception of the institution.
In November 2004 the institution was approved by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to issue I-20s for International Students
In 2008, UL School of Business was renamed Unilatina International College. The College was approved to offer programs in business, tourism, and communications and confer associate’s degrees. The Business Administration Associate’s Degree was approved in November 2006, the Travel and Tourism Associate’s Degree was approved in March 2007, the International Business Management and Communications and Mass Media Associate’s Degrees were approved in March 2009. The Bachelor’s Degrees were approved in December 2015.
In 2020, the college was renamed United International College with the aim to expand the college’s Model of Holistic Education to a multicultural, international and inclusive student body.
In June 2021, the college was approved to offer a graduate level program in Business Administration in Spanish and in English. On this same date, the college was approved to offer distance education by Florida Commission for Independent Education. The Master of Business Administration was launched as an online program in July 2021 and the college began to offer hybrid degree programs. All programs incorporate the education philosophy of J. Alberto Moyano Ferrer, a curricular framework that promotes and develops entrepreneurial skills, emotional intelligence, and global competencies (cross-cultural communications skills, multilingualism, and technology skills).
On January 5th, 2023, United International College inaugurated its Athletic Department, the UIC Eagle Rays, with men’s basketball and men’s baseball varsity teams.
In June 2023 the college’s board of directors approved a new mission that reflects all degrees and modalities offered at the institution.