West Valley College

Career opportunities in Criminal Justice generally can be categorized into five major fields: Law Enforcement; the Courts; Corrections, Forensic Science; and Private Security. In these career fields, criminal justice professionals prevent and control crime, shield the public from harm, provide detention and rehabilitation services, and finally, ensure equal justice for all citizens through the judicial system. Job opportunities exist at the Federal, State, and local levels of governmental jurisdiction. The private sector has an ever increasing need to employ criminal justice professionals within its organizations.

The Associate in Arts in Child and Adolescent Development for Transfer degree (AA-T in Child and Adolescent Development) is a 60 unit program which provides students the lower division coursework required for transfer to a CSU institution for the major in Child and Adolescent Development for the goal of teaching in the elementary schools of California or entering advanced careers with children and families. Students who complete the Associate in Arts in Child and Adolescent Development for Transfer degree (AA-T in Child and Adolescent Development) will be able to integrate the developmental theories of child development into the implementation of teaching practices and curriculum and demonstrate a broad understanding of biological, social, cognitive, and cultural factors influencing children’s development and learning. Students must complete the following requirements: - 60 semester or 90 quarter CSU-transferable units; - the California State University-General Education-Breadth pattern (CSU GE-Breadth); - OR the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) pattern; - a minimum of 18 semester or 27 quarter units in the major or area of emphasis as determined by the community college district; - obtain a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0; - earn a grade of C or better in all courses required for the major or area of emphasis.

Early Childhood Education is a vital component to our local, state, and national system of care and education for young children and offers many exciting career opportunities. The Associate in Science in Early Childhood Education is designed to prepare students to qualify for a variety of permits issued by the Teacher Credentialing, State of California. These permits include a master teacher, site supervisor, and program director permit. Receiving an A.S. in Early Childhood Education also meets the requirement to teach in a National Head Start Program.

After completing a certificate in Program Director, a student will be able to Supervise a licensed early childhood program operated in a single site or multiple-sites by coordinating curriculum and staff development.

This certificate requires the successful completion of 6 required core courses and 3 units of electives for a total of 21 units. This certificate satisfies the Department of Social Services Title 22 Community Care Licensing requirements for qualified infant-toddler and pre-school teachers, and before and after school age caregivers in a licensed early childhood program. It also satisfies the California Department of Education Title 5 child development coursework requirements for the Child Development Assistant or Associate Teacher permit.

This certificate is intended to follow successful completion of the Early Childhood Teacher Level 1 certificate, including prerequisite courses CHST 001, 002 and 063.

The Court Reporting Certificate of Achievement is the top level of four “stacked” program certificates and is intended to provide relevant academic knowledge, proficiency, and work experience to individuals pursuing careers as court reporters in the United States. This certificate also includes the final courses required to qualify students to apply to take the California Certified Shorthand Reporter written and skills licensing examinations.

The Scoping and Proofreading certificate is designed to provide relevant skills to individuals pursuing careers assisting court reporters in the production of certified transcripts of legal proceedings using specialized computer-aided transcription software. Courses are also designed to provide general proofreading skills required for employment outside of the legal environment.

This certificate is designed to provide relevant skills to individuals pursuing careers transcribing legal, medical, or general material, and/or providing office technology/office computer applications support. Transcribers, also known as transcriptionists, convert speech (either live or recorded) into written or electronic text documents. Transcription services are often provided for business, legal, or medical purposes.

The primary goal of the Paralegal Program is to prepare students for positions as paralegals as a means of improving the accessibility, quality and affordability of legal services. West Valley's Paralegal Program is responsive to the needs of the State of California and contributes to the advancement of legal professionals.

The Paralegal Associate of Science degree goals and objectives were designed to prepare the student to enter into the paralegal profession.

The Architecture Program at West Valley College is primarily transfer oriented. It prepares students to enter 4- and 5-year architecture programs at the university level. Most students transfer to U.C. Berkeley, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly Pomona, the University of Southern California, and to a variety of public and private institutions, nationwide.

The program is academically challenging. The West Valley architecture courses, by necessity, must match the content and intellectual rigor of those at the universities with which it has transfer agreements. In addition to architecture courses, students typically have substantial general education requirements to fulfill and must complete requisite math and science courses, usually including calculus and physics.

The Architecture Program at West Valley College is primarily transfer oriented. It prepares students to enter 4- and 5-year architecture programs at the university level. Most students transfer to U.C. Berkeley, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly Pomona, the University of Southern California, and to a variety of public and private institutions, nationwide.

The program is academically challenging. The West Valley architecture courses, by necessity, must match the content and intellectual rigor of those at the universities with which it has transfer agreements. In addition to architecture courses, students typically have substantial general education requirements to fulfill and must complete requisite math and science courses, usually including calculus and physics.

Upon completion of the Certificate in Computer Information Systems: Computer Science, students will demonstrate ability to design, implement, test and debug simple Java or C++ programs in an object-oriented programming language.

The Graphic Design Certificate of Achievement requires the successful completion of 7 required courses (20 units) and 8 units of electives. This program provides Career Technical Education opportunities to develop occupational skills focused on graphic design development and production in the areas of: mass communications (broadcasting and print), digital media and graphic design. Students plan and create client-focused design solutions that incorporate traditional design concepts, static and not static layouts, critical ideas, and current technologies. Upon successful completion of this program, entry-level career opportunities exist in graphic design, print production, marketing, corporate communications and other emerging opportunities.

This program provides foundation design skills and technical planning for web and app design fields. Foundation skills in strategic thinking, planning, wire framing, and technology platforms are stressed. Other areas of focus include visual communication, interaction and user experience.

This program provides Career Technical Education in the areas of digital communications, user experience, graphic design and web/App design. Students have the opportunity to plan, develop, test and market web and App design solutions with an emphasis on functionality and code using optimal parameters, accessibility standards and user experience guidelines.

The Insurance Billing Specialist program is designed to train the student to receive medical claim forms, abstract medical information such as diagnosis, prognosis, and dates of treatment from patient records, complete forms, and answer inquiries from doctors, patients, and insurance companies. Billing specialists must have knowledge of medical terminology, diagnostic and procedural coding, as well as the legal requirements for release of medical information.

The Medical Administrative Assistant program focuses on the many and varied administrative functions of a medical office, including personnel supervision, credit and collection procedures, and management of time and resources.

The Medical Assistant Program prepares students to work in the front and back office of a physician’s office, clinic, or other outpatient facilities. Multiple skills and areas of theory are taught so that graduates are prepared to assume an important and valuable role as a team member in health care delivery.

The Medical Assistant Program prepares students to work in the front and back office of a physician’s office, clinic, or other outpatient facilities. Multiple skills and areas of theory are taught so that graduates are prepared to assume an important and valuable role as a team member in health care delivery. Upon completion of all required courses, students are placed in an internship in a local health care facility. This is a valuable experience in applying the knowledge and skill acquired in class to the workplace.

West Valley College offers all of the required courses that a student needs to take in order to obtain a Real Estate Salesperson’s license. The California Bureau of Real Estate (BRE) requires that an individual take three real estate-oriented classes and pass a state licensing exam before obtaining a renewable Real Estate Salesperson’s license. A Salesperson’s license is necessary in California for a person to be able to represent buyers and sellers of real estate.

West Valley College in Saratoga offers a variety of real estate courses to those seeking to obtain a California Real Estate Salesperson license, a Real Estate Broker license, or a Real Estate Appraiser license.