The contribution of Catholic educational institutions in the general level of Indonesian colleges and high schools, as well as its role in achieving national goals of intellectual development despite poor and diminished government support[4] has been proved by the latest studies.

[5] As a first attempt to introduce Catholic-run universities in Manado, the Diocese founded in the 1960s IKIP Catholic Budi Dharma which managed to produce graduates (S1) but was later closed.

Steps to re-establish Catholic universities began were again begun by the Diocese in 1997, starting with contacts with the De La Salle Brothers in Manila who have years of experience in managing higher education institutions in the Philippines.

J. Suwatan, MSC established the Foundation of Unika De La Salle Manado, with an official letter from Notary R. H. Hardaseputra, SH No.

[6] After a permit from the Indonesian Government and a lot of improvements, the number of prospective college students of Unika De La Salle Manado drastically increased, a trend that has been continuing until now.

In 2007, from 1,077 active students of Unika De La Salle Manado, approximately 20% came from outside the region such as Pontianak, Balikpapan, Samarinda, Jogjakarta, Jakarta, Papua,[8] Ambon and Ternate.

[9] The structure of Unika De La Salle is organized into seven faculties as follows: The university includes the following support units/services: The motto of Unika De La Salle Manado is 'Religio, Mores, Cultura' (Religion, Morals, Culture), reflecting the university's vocation to educate young people to believe in and rely on God, endorse and promote moral values, while respecting, exploring and promoting the world's present and past culture.

While continuously improving the training[10] and recruitment of its Indonesian lecturers, Unika De La Salle Manado also develops links with national and international institutions, both academic and non-academic.

Intense and long-term cooperation has been developed between Unika De La Salle-Manado with the Asia Pacific Regional Conference (PARC) of the Lasallian Brothers, based in Singapore.