It is the only campus of the University of Puerto Rico on the southern region of the island.

[9] In 1982, the school starts offering four-year degrees and its name is changed Colegio Universitario Tecnológico de Ponce (CUTPO[10]) to reflect this.

[11] In 1998 the school is given administrative independence from the University of Puerto Rico flagship school at Rio Piedras and its name is once again changed to become Colegio Universitario de Ponce.

[12] In 2000, in light of the expansion and diversity of the school academic offering, the Consejo de Educación Superior de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Higher Education Council) authorized a name change to Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce (University of Puerto Rico at Ponce).

In 2017 in response to budget cuts to the university system by the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico the campus students voted to join the University of Puerto Rico strikes, 2017.