Westwood College Highlights
- Established in 1953
- Over 12,000 students
- Offers tuition-free retraining of alumni
- Nationally accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT) or the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS)
About Westwood College
Founded in 1953 and previously known as Denver Institute of Technology, Westwood College has grown to over 16 campuses across the U.S. The College's career-centered program areas include business, design, computer and information technology, criminal justice, healthcare, and industrial services.
Westwood College Academic Programs
Westwood's programs are organized into several schools. All of the degree programs have a core set of courses that are designed to ready students for their careers through a foundation in communication, analysis, collaboration, and ethics. These schools include:
- School of Business – Program degrees are for preparing students for a wide range of business careers including construction, healthcare, fashion merchandising, hospitality, marketing, sales, and accounting. The school's MBA degree gives students advanced business knowledge and skills that are targeted at advancing their careers as business professionals and managers.
- School of Design – Focuses on teaching the practical capabilities that students need for creative careers in areas such as animation, web design, interior design, computer-aided design, and game design. The school emphasizes hands-on training.
- School of Justice – Provides a hands-on degree program for criminal justice. The school is set up to prepare students for a range of related career paths including those in the correction system, youth advocacy, private security, and law enforcement.
- School of Technology – Structured to train students with the computer and information technology skills they will need for their careers. Programs include those for network engineering and management, game software development, e-business, and systems security.
- School of Healthcare – The school's medical assisting degree programs are built to give students the knowledge they need for both front and back medical office careers. Its medical insurance coding and billing diploma program gives training in insurance and medical claims processing to ready students for entry-level jobs as medical collectors and insurance claims clerks.
- School of Industrial Services – Geared towards students that like to work with their hands and to be in the field rather than just in an office, this school offers degrees in automotive technology and surveying.
Learning Options at Westwood College
Students have the option of studying at one or more of Westwood's over 16 U.S. campuses, which are located in U.S. metropolitan areas. To help students balance their schedules, classes are offered during the day, evenings, and weekends.
The school runs its classes year-round and focuses class content on the most important career skills which means that students can complete their degrees faster than at many traditional colleges. An Associate degree can be completed in 20 months and bachelor's in three years.
Faculty
As a career-oriented institution, Westwood hires faculty who are working professionals and have the requisite educational backgrounds.
Student Life
Student life varies from campus to campus according to the needs of the students. Activities involve clubs, honor societies, professional associations, meeting with employers, free tutoring, recreation, and cultural.
Westwood's Student Services staff begins working with students upon their enrollment. They are available to help with scheduling, housing, academics, and financial needs. Services are also available for the campus libraries and bookstore.
Tutoring is available as needed at no cost to students. Tutoring is an opportunity for advanced students to earn extra income and add to their resume.
The College coordinates with Collegiate Housing Services (CHS) to help place students in dormitory-like apartments near Westwood's campuses. Typically these apartments are furnished with two bedrooms for up to four same-sex students.
Westwood's Career Development Services staff provides students with help before and after graduation. The advisors assist with resumes, portfolios, job searches, networking, and interviewing. They maintain continuous contact with many hiring companies to identify opportunities for students and alumni. Each campus regularly holds onsite recruiting events with hiring employers. An Alumni Web site is a resource for job searches and networking. Westwood reports that over 80% of its graduates end up moving into careers in their chosen fields.
Westwood continues to educate its students after they graduate. The school offers tuition-free retraining for its alumni. Alumni can return to audit classes, take updated courses, and learn about the latest advancements in equipment and software.
Admissions and Financial Aid
Admission requirements depend on the specific program. However all require at least a high school diploma or equivalent and an interview with an Admissions staff member. Undergraduates must show basic proficiency in college-level skills by passing an entrance examination such as an ACT or SAT test. Graduates need a bachelor's degree from an accredited college. Non-native English speakers must show that their communication abilities in English are sufficient for college-level work.
The majority of Westwood students receive financial help for tuition. Forms of aid include loans, grants, scholarships, and tuition reimbursements. Westwood helps its students to determine the costs of going to school and to apply for aid.
Program Catalog