International University of La Rioja

The International University of La Rioja (UNIR) is a private open university in Spain focused on online education, based in Logroño, La Rioja. Also has presence in Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. In December 2019, the institution had more than 45,000 distance learning external students, 12,000 of them overseas students. UNIR offers 37 university degrees, more than 80 master's degrees, 77 proprietary degrees, 16 Advanced Studies and 3 doctoral programmes. The university is composed of six departments (Education, Law, Management and Communication, Humanities and Social Sciences, Health Sciences and Engineering). It also has an Official Language School and a School of Doctoral programmes. History UNIR started its academic activity in 2009. The university follows the general provisions established by the Spanish Universities Act (LOU), the guidelines issued by the European Union and the norms set by the Spanish Government and the Regional Government of La Rioja. Its structure, organization and operation have been designed according to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) parameters and requirements. With the 21% of its enrolled students distributed in 79 countries worldwide, the Universidad Internacional de La Rioja aims to become a global university and an international academic reference. 60,000 students have graduated from UNIR from its inception to the middle of the 2018–2019 academic school year. This university created the role of personal tutors in modern distance education. These personal tutors support students by arranging different meetings with them in order to follow-up their learning and encourage them to meet the challenges and opportunities of university life. The personal tutoring system aims to be completely adapted to the personal and professional circumstances of each student. On 8 March 2019 the Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, an active member of the regional Proeduca Altus group, became a publicly traded company in the Mercado Alternativo Bursátil (MAB) of Spain. In 2020 UNIR launched its institute for digital experts, EDIX, specialized in high-employability University Expert Certificates aimed at professionals who want to upgrade skills and retrain during their working life through programmes with a strong digital and technological component whose objective is to develop digital experts.