Issue 1
Westwood College Gaming Competition
Westwood College honored the winners of its 3rd Annual 2D Game Development Competition recently during an award ceremony held on the Westwood College Anaheim campus. Six awards were given to teams of students, including one in a new Most Innovative Use of Flash® category. The prize includes one-on-one development time with an experienced Adobe developer and premium placement of the finished game on the Adobe® AIR® Marketplace.
The competition featured original 2D Adobe Flash games created by students from Westwood College’s Game Software Development and Game Art programs. Ten games were submitted by students in Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles and finalists were judged by some of the interactive entertainment industry’s leading experts. Judging criteria included artwork and coding, originality, game concepts, interactivity and player experience.
The top three prizes for games and teams were:
- 1st Place—“Bio,” created by a team of four students from Westwood College–Anaheim Campus
- 2nd Place—“BioLancer,” created by a team of four students from Westwood College–DuPage Campus
- 3rd Place—“Stupid Robot,” created by nine students from Westwood College–Los Angeles Campus
Ear to the Ground
Transferring credits: Less theory, more hands-on approach
Rumors abound in regard to a student’s ability to transfer credits to another school. We want to be very clear on this point: some colleges and universities will accept the entire Westwood degree or partial degree credits; others will not. As with any type of transfer of credit, it depends on the policies of the receiving institution.
Since Westwood is a career-focused college, we offer an experiential and hands-on approach which is different from the typical lecture and theory approach used at traditional colleges and universities. Since these more traditional schools don’t offer similar courses, they can’t provide credit for many of the Westwood courses. Keep in mind that no college, including Westwood, can guarantee or deny a transfer of credits in advance of reviewing a student’s specific request for transfer. For more information on credit transfers, check out this page.
If you are thinking of pursuing an advanced degree, you might be required to take several prerequisite classes prior to being admitted into a graduate program. Make sure you talk to your program director if this is a direction you are considering, so you can learn ways to improve your chances of being accepted into graduate school— like getting outstanding grades. Your program director may also be able to point you to graduate programs that have accepted Westwood students in the past from your program.
Apex Financing Program At A Glance: Helping students fill the financing gap
Westwood’s Apex institutional financing program is designed for students who have exhausted all other means of financing their college education. This program helps students cover any gap between the cost of tuition and grants, loans and scholarships they have secured.
If you qualify for and choose
\to accept financing from Westwood, you will be required to make payments against the outstanding balance each month during the time you are a student attending Westwood College. A majority of students have a payment of $150 a month. No interest is charged during your time at Westwood, and there are no origination fees.
When you graduate or finish your time at Westwood, you have a 90-day grace period before interest begins to be charged on the balance. Interest rates are NOT retroactively applied to the balance. The reason interest rates on Apex financing are high, between 10 and 18 percent, is to ensure that students have exhausted all other financing options first. The business of Westwood College is education, not banking, but we don’t want cost alone to be a barrier to any student getting a college degree. Upon graduation, we encourage our students to research other forms of financing at a lower interest rate to replace their Apex financing.
Please note: At no time can Westwood College take out a loan or provide financing without your express written consent. Be sure to contact the business office if you want to review the terms of your loan or a copy of your award letter.
Graduate Profile
Bryan Mashinter, May ’08 graduate in Game Art
Bryan works at 5280 Mobile, a Denver media firm that transfers files to be used on mobile phones. He was hired two months before he graduated from Westwood. In addition to his day job, Mashinter and five other Westwood College graduates created Zubian Studios, a company that specializes in creating graphics, from logos to animations to website design.
“The best part of being a Westwood student was the relationships and being in a learning environment—being around other people who thrive and thirst for knowledge. Then there’s being surrounded by a bunch of nerds, fellow like-minded people who like to discuss who would win in a fight: Wolverine the comic, versus the game, versus the movie.”
Get more of Bryan’s Westwood experience, and other graduate interviews.
Job Tip
Getting a job these days can be a difficult prospect given the struggling economy. But while you are attending Westwood, you can make the right moves
to prepare you to jump into your new career. Contact Career Services for help in preparing your résumé and graduate portfolios and refining your interview skills.
Job tip: Come to your job interviews prepared: learn as much about the position and company beforehand and have a handful of questions ready.
Campus Briefs
Top of the class
A quick shout out to Westwood College student Ashley Herring and Westwood grad Patricia Trujillo. They have been selected to receive the 2009 Colorado Association of Career Colleges and Schools “Student of the Year” awards. Ashley is studying fashion merchandising and Patricia graduated with honors from Westwood’s medical assisting program.
Art for a cause
Westwood College Online School of Design and The American Institute of Graphic Artists worked on a collaborative project with Access Gallery of Denver to feature posters designed by teens. The program helps create a world where people with disabilities have the opportunity to learn through, participate in, and enjoy the arts. Find out more.
Using hammers to build humanity
In July, a group of business/construction management students from the Westwood College—Arlington Ballston Campus took a day to learn while giving back to their community by volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. The 18 students helped install roofing, vinyl siding and drywall and painted a Habitat Home for a very deserving family. Thanks to these students for their hard work, service and leadership!
On the Net
Nearly 100,000 clicks and still going
We recently launched our first viral marketing campaign, and the three videos are pushing 100,000 views. They are hosted on YouTube and linked through various online networking sites and blogs like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. These pieces are exaggerated portrayals of job experiences, but all highlight a frustration of having been stuck in a dead-end job and how Westwood can help steer them in the right direction. Check them out.
Wall posts and tweets
Westwood’s Facebook page, Twitter account and LinkedIn profile keep adding followers, fans and connections. There are just over 600 fans on Facebook and several hundred Twitter followers. Sign on and use these networks to ask questions, follow the latest news about Westwood and network with fellow students and graduates. You can find us on: facebook, twitter and linkedin.
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