Monday May 22, 2006
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Volume 1

The Right Direction: Westwood Announces New Employee Communications Program

Welcome to "The Right Direction" – our new internal communications program! Westwood has always been headed in the right direction when it comes to serving students. Over the past three years we have nearly doubled our student population; we've opened new campuses in Atlanta and Virginia; and we've experienced explosive growth in Westwood Online.

As Westwood continues to expand and grow, it is imperative that we establish a means of consistent and creative communication with you, our employees and adjunct faculty. It is vital that each and every person within the organization understands the basics of who Westwood is, where we are going, and what we are trying to achieve. To that end, "The Right Direction" was born!

The program includes weekly email newsletters like this one, a brand new Web page and contests and exercises that will occur on all campuses. These vehicles are designed to provide a consistent and creative means of sharing a common focus, disseminating corporate updates, celebrating corporate and campus success stories, and encouraging your feedback.

"The Right Direction" is the next evolution of Launching Careers, which has become fundamental to Westwood's mission and it will continue. The new internal communications platform gives us the additional focus and direction we need to ensure our continued growth. And 2006 will bring more opportunities and challenges to Westwood – from steady growth to HLC accreditation to re-launching the Westwood brand. The initiative will initially be for Westwood employees only, but a similar program will be launched for Redstone later this summer. Stay tuned!
 

Fidelity to Provide 401(k) Services

Alta announces that Fidelity Investments, one of the country's largest and most-trusted investment management companies, will now provide 401(k) services for all Alta, Westwood and Redstone employees.

The 401(k) Plan offers a choice of Fidelity products to allow you to pursue your own investment strategies. The plan includes the new Fidelity "Freedom" Funds that allow you to simply choose the year closest to when you think you will retire, then have Fidelity do the investment elections for you.

All regular full and part time staff and faculty are eligible to participate in the 401(k) Plan. Once you've been employed for a year, you are eligible to receive the Employee Match, which means Alta adds $.25 for every $1 you put into your account.
 

Westwood Students Win Orange County Advertising Awards

Students from Westwood's Los Angeles Anaheim (LAA) took home Gold, Silver and Merit awards from the Orange County Ad Club's "ADDY" awards' student competition. The O.C. Ad Club is a chapter of the American Advertising Federation.

The teams of students created two ad campaigns, for a fictional newspaper "America Today" / "America Hoy." The Spanish campaign won the Silver award and the English campaign won the Gold.

Also, a single entry of a "Hamlet" poster by student Steve Cox won a Merit award.

"This not only puts Westwood in the ranks with other major colleges in our area in the eyes of the ad industry," said Bob Peterson, Westwood's Program Director, who's highly involved in the O.C. Ad Club's Career Days, "it breaks the shell and helps students get inside ad agencies and start networking."

The Gold team winners are Vince Cevera, Brian Lawrence (who is now working at an Ad Club agency), Patricia Chavira, Paul Kim, Ryan Lintner, Elisa Padilla, Audrey Reed and Christopher Tomsen. The Silver team winners include Cevera, Chavira, Padilla, Sandra Cervantes and Yvette Villarreal.
 

Westwood's Houston South (HNS) Campus Named "School of Distinction"

The Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT) named Westwood's Houston South Campus as a "2006 School of Distinction" at its annual meeting. This award recognizes member schools that demonstrate a commitment to the rigors of ACCSCT accreditation and deliver quality educational programs. ACCSCT is non-profit, independent accrediting agency, dedicated to ensuring quality education for more than 200,000 students annually at more than 800 ACCSCT accredited institutions.
 

Chicago Tribune Spotlights Network Technology at Westwood College

The Chicago Tribune features Westwood in a "Hot Career Profile" on Network Security. John Metych, Westwood's Chicago DuPage Program Director, was featured and provided a great description of Westwood's curriculum.


 

The Right Direction (Copyright © 2006) is the official communications program for Alta Colleges, Inc. This information is the property of Alta Colleges, Inc. and is only for the viewing or use of the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of, or the taking of any action in reliance upon the information contained in this e-mail, or any of its attachments, is strictly prohibited and we ask that this e-mail and any attachments to this e-mail be immediately returned to the sender and simultaneously deleted from your computer without making any copies thereof.