| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | For-Profit Education |
| Founded | Los Angeles, California 1979 |
| Headquarters | Irvine, California, U.S. |
| Number of locations | Los Angeles, Anaheim, Ontario |
| Key people | David Pyle, Founder Vacant, President, American Career College |
| Website | americancareercollege.edu |
American Career College is a privately held vocational college that specializes in health care training programs. American Career College offers both Diploma and Associate Degree programs through three campuses in the Los Angeles metro area.
Programs at American Career College include:
Programs vary in length from ten to twenty months. Each program contains both didactic and hands-on training, including clinical/externships for most programs.
Graduates from the dental assisting, massage therapy, medical assistant, optical dispensing, pharmacy technician, vocational nursing, and health claims examiner/medical biller programs receive a diploma and are prepared for industry certification exams, where required.[1]
Graduates of the health information technology, respiratory therapy, and surgical technology programs receive an Associate of Occupational Science degree and are prepared for industry certification exams, where required.
American Career College also offers General Educational Development (GED) test preparation courses and examinations at all three campuses.
American Career College is accredited by Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools.[2]
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American Career College has three campuses in southern California. The 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m2) Los Angeles campus is located at 4021 Rosewood Ave. in Los Angeles, California. The Orange County campus is located at 1200 North Magnolia Ave. in Anaheim, California. This campus is 21,000 square feet (2,000 m2). The Ontario campus is located at 3130 East Sedona Court in Ontario, California and is 64,000 square feet (5,900 m2). All campuses include classrooms, computer labs, and laboratory spaces.[3]
All three American Career College campuses are accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES).[4]
The Pharmacy Technician training program is accredited by the American Society of Health Systems Pharmacists (ASHP).[5]
The Vocational Nursing program is approved by the California Board of Vocational Nurse and Psychiatric Technicians (BVNPT).[6]
The Associate of Occupational Science in Surgical Technology program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) upon the recommendation of the Accreditation Review Committee on Education in Surgical Technology at the Los Angeles and Orange County campuses.[7]
The Associate of Occupational Science in Respiratory Therapy program holds a Letter of Review from the Committee on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (COARC) at the Orange County and Ontario campuses.[8]
The Dental Assisting program is approved by the Dental Board of California.
The Associate of Occupational Science in Health Information Technology program is in candidacy status with the Council on Certification of the American Health Information Management Association at the Orange County campus.
American Career College is also a member of the California Association of Private Postsecondary Schools (CAPPS).[9]
American Career College was founded by David Pyle in 1979 under the name of American College of Optics. Originally the school focused only on optical dispensing.[10] In May 1997, Mr. Pyle purchased West Coast University, which was founded in 1909, out of bankruptcy and planned to develop a program for the training of registered nurses.[11]
The school remained a little known entity running classes from its locations in downtown Los Angeles at 4021 Rosewood Avenue and [Anaheim] at 1200 North Magnolia Avenue until the approval of the vocational nursing program in 1994.
In the fall of 2008, American Career College opened a new campus in Ontario at 3130 East Sedona Court which held classes for both American Career College as well as West Coast University. Approximately 500 ACC students were relocated from the temporary campus located in Norco.
In December 2005 American Career College appeared on the ABC show Extreme Makeover Home Edition. CEO David Pyle donated three full scholarships for nursing education to three young women working at the Saban Free Clinic.[12]
In August 2008, the Orange County Register published a story about the for-profit education sector which mentioned ACC in relation to a former student accused the school of withholding key information about her education from her in order to get her to start school. Her claims focused on the Diagnostic Medical Sonography program and her eligibility to sit for a licensing exam.
In April 2010, American Career College students and faculty donated over 3,700 man hours volunteering at the L.A. Remote Area Medical (RAM) event, providing free medical care to patients in need.[13]