In the province of
Abra, located across the road of the former Abra High School (now Abra State Institute of Sciences and Technology-ASIST Bangued Campus) Abra Valley Colleges was the pioneer in tertiary-level institution. The remnants of the Bayquen Hotel which was leveled to the ground in
World War II was the present location of its building only made of
bamboo materials and roofed with
cogon. Students of those times even have to use umbrellas to shield themselves from raindrops and even raise their feet to the chairs to avoid the water on floor. In 1948, through the leadership of Mr. Pedro V. Borgoña founded the Abra Valley Junior College, Inc. The old bamboo building was later on re-built into a concrete building that rose into a three-storey structure. Graduates from most secondary schools of the province particularly from Abra High School enrolled here. The school was renamed Abra Valley College dropping the word "Junior" from the original name. In 1993 the school was in public auction, but on December 22 of the same year, the eldest son of the founder Mr. Francis A. Borgoña redeemed the institution with the aid from his cousin Mr. Francisco del Rosario, and the school was renamed as Abra Valley Colleges. In 1998, a
Bachelor of Science in Criminology was offered. In 2000 courses were offered such as Bachelor of Secondary Education, Bachelor of Elementary Education, Bachelor of Science in Hotel & Restaurant Management, and Bachelor of Science in Information Technology. ==Struggles and problems==