10:42 a.m.

A lot can change in 100 years — just ask the employees at West Coast University.

When the Costa Mesa-based university first opened its doors in 1909, it was an ophthalmology school. When World War II efforts peaked in the 1940s, the university shifted its focus to aviation. Twenty years later, the university produced astronautics experts to help send the first man to the moon.

Although few could envision the vast changes that the next century would bring, West Coast University adapted to the unique challenges of each new decade. One hundred years later, it is not only relevant, but revolutionary. It has come back to its healthcare roots, and has pioneered a unique program in the nursing healthcare system.

“The university’s definition got a little bit blurred,” said David Pyle, the executive chairman of the board for the university. “When I was able to purchase it in 1997, it had lost its focus. I wanted to refocus it so that it could service a certain niche in the healthcare industry.”

In 2008, Pyle’s goal materialized when West Coast University became the only state-approved school of its kind in California to offer a bachelor of science degree in nursing.

According to Dan Holestine, the university’s vice president of marketing, earning this distinction wasn’t easy. Up until this point, the California Board of Registered nurses hadn’t ever issued this approval to a proprietary institution (a private, profit-generating school).

“The process involved working with the Board of Registered Nurses,” he said. “There was a general resistance to approving the degree at proprietary [schools] like us. So there were a number of hurdles and accreditation obstacles to clear.”

Officials, though, welcomed the challenge.

“We felt we would be subject to more scrutiny than other traditional schools, so we wanted to exceed the expectations,” Holestine said.

Due to the state’s ongoing nursing shortage, West Coast University has been inundated with recent admissions applications.

“Professions in healthcare are becoming one of the only bright spots in the current job market,” Pyle said.

According to Holestine, the increased volume of applicants has caused a shift in the demographics of the school.

“We have [recently] seen more interest in nursing,” he said. “We have also seen a more diverse range of individuals who are interested in our programs, and we think that is due to the well-documented shortage of nurses.”

Traditional nursing schools have struggled to keep up with the growing pool of applicants, Holestine said. But West Coast University’s flexible class schedule has allowed it to accommodate more students.

“Traditional schools can only handle so many students,” Holestine said. “And there is a strict student-to-teacher ratio in the clinical. So traditional schools enroll the same number of students, despite the growing pool of applicants.”

The school’s flexible class schedule is just one example of its commitment to students, Pyle said.

“The university has a students-centered focus,” he said. “We treat students like customers, and that strategy has been a resounding success.”

According to 2009 valedictorian Karen Crespo, the school’s faculty was a constant encouragement to the students.

“A lot of people were on the verge of quitting, but faculty would help them,” she said.

Krespo graduated from the Anaheim campus in spring and now works as a case manager at a hospice. She was grateful for the one-on-one time she spent with the faculty at West Coast University.

“They definitely gave personal tutoring, offered extra help, made class interesting — despite our big class,” she said. “And the career center prepared us to get jobs.”

According to Pyle, students don’t have to jockey for positions in impacted classes.

“In the state college system, you can get bumped out of certain classes,” he said. “In our school, we basically guarantee students a seat in the hard-to-get-into science classes, assuming their academic performance is satisfactory.”

As West Coast University sets its sights on the next hundred years, Pyle hopes that it will fill an important niche in the evolving landscape of healthcare.

“According to current demographics, people will be living longer. So more healthcare will be needed in the latter stages of life,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure that our students are able to meet all the employment opportunities that are out there.”

In order to better equip future students for success, Pyle aims to add new degrees to the university’s roster. Some of them would include a master’s degree in nursing, a physician assistant’s program, language certification programs and degrees in healthcare administration.

Pyle said that administrators will work closely with faculty to steer the future of the university.

“If you can’t predict what the future will be, the next best thing is to have your hand on the pulse of what’s happening on the front lines of healthcare,” he said. “That means listening to our doctors and nurses,” he said.

In the meantime, Pyle has grand ambitions for the school.

“I think West Coast University has a chance to become a global leader in nursing education,” he said.