Founded in 1969, Universidad Tecnica de Machala (Technical University of Machala) is a non-profit public higher-education institution located in the small city of Machala (population range of 50,000-249,999 inhabitants), El Oro. Officially recognized by the Consejo de Aseguramiento de la Calidad de la Educación Superior del Ecuador (Council for Quality Assurance of Higher Education of Ecuador), Universidad Tecnica de Machala (UTM) is a coeducational Ecuadorian higher education institution. Universidad Tecnica de Machala (UTM) offers courses and programs leading to officially recognized higher education degrees in several areas of study. UTM also provides several academic and non-academic facilities and services to students including a library, as well as administrative services.