UCLA Extension to open new location in San Fernando Valley area
By Laurel Scott
Feb. 26, 2017 9:33 p.m.
UCLA Extension students will soon be able to enroll in spring classes at a new location in Woodland Hills.
The Woodland Hills building will have 12 classrooms at the Warner Center on Oxnard Street, said Wayne Smutz, dean of continuing education and UCLA Extension.
Woodland Hills is the second location outside of Westwood that UCLA Extension has moved into. UCLA Extension has another off-campus location on Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles, Smutz said.
The location was established partly because some extension students from San Fernando Valley had to travel through rush-hour traffic to attend classes in Westwood, Smultz said.
“Getting to Westwood in the evening for classes can be daunting at times,” Smutz said. “We thought that we should go to students more, instead of them having to come to us.”
The Woodland Hills location will offer 56 courses during spring quarter, including classes in business, foreign languages, entertainment and technology.
“We picked a variety of areas (of study) and we’ll be finding out what people in the Valley most need and respond to,” Smutz said.
UCLA Extension spent two years researching the best location for expanding, finding an appropriate building and remodeling it into classrooms, Smutz said.
Smutz added the new location will mostly serve professionals who already hold a bachelor’s or master’s degree and are seeking to advance or change their careers.
Smutz said he expects the new location, which offers classes Monday through Thursday and on Saturday, to attract up to 1,500 students per week.
He added UCLA does not have immediate plans to open a third location outside of Westwood, but UCLA Extension has its sights set on Playa Vista as a potential site if they do choose to expand again.
The Woodland Hills location will also hold an open house to advertise its courses at the Warner Center on March 11.
