Westcliff University

Westcliff University (WU) is a private, for-profit university in Irvine, California. Founded in 1993, it offers bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees, as well as certificate programs and continuing education courses.

History
Westcliff University was founded in 1993 with a focus on online education in the fields of business and education.

In 2019, Westcliff University acquired Western State College of Law, further expanding its educational offerings and strengthening its presence in legal education.

Campus
The university moved to a new campus in 2018, located in the Von Karman Creative Campus area of Irvine, California. The new location expanded the university's campus space more than four times larger than the previous facility. The campus is centered by the main building housing classrooms, faculty offices, administrative services, and study areas, as well as a multipurpose building for athletics and recreation, career fairs, and other events. In 2020, it moved to the nearby Intersect Campus area of  Irvine.

Westcliff also holds in-person classes at Plaza Tower in Cerritos, California.

Academics
The university offers online and hybrid programs focused on business, IT, and education fields. Programs include one-year certificates, bachelor's degrees, post-baccalaureate certificates, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees. The university is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), and Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). It is also approved by California's Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE).

Colleges and schools
Westcliff University offers 21 areas of study and confers degrees from two colleges. The university is classified as a Special Focus Four-Year: Business & Management School by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The university has a 10-to-1 student-faculty ratio and offers bachelor's degrees and master's degrees through its three colleges and one law school:
 * College of Business
 * College of Education
 * College of Technology & Engineering
 * Western State College of Law

Enrollment
Total enrollment: 5,625.

Undergraduate enrollment: 1,817 and 144 transfer students.

Graduate enrollment: 3,808

Undergraduate attendance status:


 * Full-time: 95%
 * Part-time: 5%

Undergraduate student residence:


 * In-state: 36%
 * Out-of-state: 6%
 * Foreign countries: 58%

Graduate Distance Education:


 * 17% of graduate students are enrolled exclusively in distance education courses.


 * 83% of graduate students are not enrolled in any distance education courses.

Westcliff University's retention rate for first-time bachelor's degree-seeking students is 74%, comparable to the national average of 76% (data submitted to IPEDS).

Social Responsibility
Westcliff University established the Social Responsibility Committee in 2022 to collaborate with local nonprofits. According to a 2023 Companies That Care special report by the Orange County Business Journal, the university's impact more than doubled in 2023, with donations reaching $68,843 and volunteer hours exceeding 5,188 compared to $17,000 and 634 hours in 2022. Westcliff also awarded $2,885,916.12 in scholarships, fostering a culture of social responsibility and service.

Military and Veterans
Westcliff University is designated as a Military Friendly School, offering programs to support veterans and active-duty service members (e.g., Yellow Ribbon Program, credit for military training, and dedicated support point of contact). Their membership in the Department of Defense Voluntary Educational Partnership Memorandum of Understanding further emphasizes their commitment to the military community.

Athletics
The Westcliff athletic teams are called the Warriors. The university competed as an independent program until 2020, when it joined the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the California Pacific Conference (Cal Pac) in March of that year, effective beginning the 2020–21 school year.

Westcliff competes in 28 intercollegiate varsity sports. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, futsal, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, volleyball, and water polo, while women's sports include basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, futsal, lacrosse, soccer, softball, stunt, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, volleyball, and water polo. The university also sponsors a varsity ESports team. Westcliff Athletics also offers an academy team (developmental program) for another 11 teams.

Along with the move to the NAIA, the university announced further expansion of the athletic program with the addition of men's and women's tennis, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's surfing, men's and women's water polo, softball and cheerleading.