Westwood College Online

aj June 24, 2007 at 11:53 p.m.

is west wood accredited

Unsatisfied November 15, 2007 at 6:35 p.m.

The animation program is nowhere near the caliber that is needed to be an employee at Pixar, Disney or Dreamworks. Most of the work / lessons are very basic and you have to teach yourself all the important skills that are needed to work for one of the big production companies. As for the cost, all that Westwood cares about is getting your money.

Adam December 6, 2007 at 7 a.m.

search google for "Is Westwood college good?" and about the 3rd link down - read that. Ex-Students and even teachers from several of their campuses are sueing them for deceitful business practices. I noticed this too when the lady talking to me latched onto getting $100 from me right then and there and wouldn't let go for me to "sleep on it for tonight" like I told her. That lady scared me, and I almost made the mistake of applying to a school that was (very CLEVERLY) luring me in to giving out my bank account information.

Derik Wilson April 7, 2008 at 10:55 a.m.

I think that with on line college you will be getting a lesser quality degree for more money. One of the things that I do not like about Westwood is that it is over $300 per credit out, no proctored tests are give, and the classes (most of them) are concerned with pushing you through at the fastest possible rate whether or not you learn anything at all. I am currently in a compiler design course and I must say, it is the most ridiculously designed course I have ever taken. The code we are given to learn from is more than 10 years old, which means that it will not compile on modern compilers (C++). You might think that this sort of thing would be a good learning tool, having to debug old code, but when given a week to compile three decade old programs and turn in the output by Sunday night, it seems like we are being distracted from the purpose of the course.

Another issue I don't like about Westwood is the fact that many of the "instructors" do no instruct. They post what they are given and are barely around to answer questions when needed. There were a couple of exceptions, but for the most part, the instructors seem like they lack the knowledge or desire to fill their billet.

I started off doing well there with a 3.7 GPA and now I am down to a 3.3 GPA because I just can't seem to stay motivated to continue the circus that is Westwood.

Markus E June 4, 2008 at 9:27 p.m.

Wow. Its very easy to listen to a lot of negative things. Especially when most people who post things are only motivated by their negative experience. I did a lot of research to uncover both sides of Westwood College. Aside from all the bad stuff on here there are a lot of good things.
For example, their online program is ranked in the TOP 10 based on an independent researcher: www.OEDB.org. They beat out other places like Unv of Phoenix and Devry. Also, they are the only online college with graduates in game software develop and game art design. Under their Student's Right to Know, OVER 85% of their students are actually using their degree after they graduate---THAT'S A HUGE PLUS! The cost may seem high and sticker shock is definitely natural! But when you compare it to other private colleges, they are fairly competitive. The Art Insititute wanted over $100,000 for a bachelors! Oh and they are accredited by the ACCSCT and are HLC candidates also! So they offer both regional and national accreditation.

zach price September 24, 2008 at 1:41 p.m.

how much does it cost to go to westwood college

Read the fine print! October 13, 2008 at 5:49 p.m.

As a former employee all I can recommend is that you read the fine print and take time to analyze everything that your admission representative is telling you. There are many successful students who land good jobs in their field of study but many times more that end up with a lot of debt and nothing to show for their time/money. The admissions reps are generally not very candid about the actual cost of the school and will explain to students that grants and/or student loans will cover most of the cost. They will also ask the potential student if he/she can make a $150 payment a month while acting like this will take care of the balance not covered by student loans and grants. Please do not fall into the trap of thinking that this $150 a month payment along with financial aid will take care of the cost, I have seen many students who truly believe this. Everything is disclosed in the promissory note that each student signs, but because of the rush to start classes and the complicated legal writing of the promissory note most students sign without fully understanding. Below are some things to think about before making such a big decision.

- Full time tuition is $4,149 per term (10 weeks). There are 5 terms a year and a bachelor's degree requires 15 terms. Total cost for bachelor's degree is over 70k and over 35k for an associates degree including books, software and online fees.
- Any amount not paid for by student loans is being financed by Westwood at 18%. This is made more enticing for students by asking if they are able to afford $150 payments on the amount financed. The interest rate is 0% while the student is in school. Once you are dropped or graduate the interest rate jumps to 18%. By continuing to pay $150 a month once out of school you will basically pay double on any balance that you owe (ie. You will end up paying 19k for a 10k balance at 18%).
- Is there another option for education that won't put you in debt for around 100k? Many students that I spoke with would have been much better served by a local community college or at the very least an online college with regional accreditation. National accreditation sounds great but most schools are regionally accredited and won't accept transfer credits from nationally accredited schools. Think about what happens if you decide that Westwood isn't for you and you want to transfer your credits elsewhere. No school will guarantee the transferability of credits but "good" schools (state colleges, ivy league) won't accept Westwood's credits in almost any circumstance.

Please post here if you have specific questions- I'm happy to answer them. Westwood is not a bad choice for every student but there are much better choices out there for most students. Think about it and don't get rushed into making a decision that you later regret!

Read the fine print! October 14, 2008 at 5:50 p.m.

Chris,
Have you spoken to several employers in the computer networking field that you would like to work for upon graduation? You may want to check with some of these employers; a lot of them aren't necessarily looking for a degree but are looking for certifications (CCNA, CCNP, etc). You can generally get the training directly from the certifying body for less than $2k and take the test for under $500. If the companies that you would like to work for aren't looking for a degree in computer networking, why spend $100,000 (once interest is factored in) when you could spend less than $5,000 for the same credentials.
Other than that, both ITT and Westwood are for-profit, private schools that are going to be very similar in cost and education. Both have sales people (called Admissions Representatives at Westwood) that will try and convince you that the school they are representating is better than others. In reality they are very similar- again do your research and find out if the IT jobs that you aspire toward really need a degree or if you would be just as well off taking some classes and getting your certifications in UNIX, Cisco, etc. A lot of the entry level IT jobs that you would be eligible for upon graduation are only looking for the certifications, so again why put yourself in debt around $100k when you can get the training and certifications directly through the companies for a fraction of that cost? Check with the employers and find out what they are looking for instead of relying on what highly-paid sales people are telling you.

Mike December 9, 2008 at 5:50 p.m.

I too want a Game developer degree and I am Military as well.
Where do I look? I was going to transfer to westwood in the fall 09.