Strategic Direction: Facts and Figures
With 20+ practice-based, fully-accredited professional programs including architecture, filmmaking, business and liberal arts undergraduate and graduate majors, Woodbury is a non-profit institution dedicated to the student experience.
Our strategic direction
Learn about Woodbury’s mission, vision, values, strategic principles and 2020-2024 Goals and Strategies.
Woodbury University transforms students into innovative professionals who will contribute responsibly to the global community. We achieve academic excellence by focusing on purposeful student engagement, establishing external partnerships and ensuring that all our processes, services and environment enrich the student experience.
Woodbury University offers students a personal, communal and practice-based experience. With an exceptional student-to-faculty ratio and small class sizes, students at Woodbury are able to engage with faculty and their fellow students in ways that are generally not possible at larger institutions. Despite our small size, Woodbury students have the opportunity to learn in a modern, cutting-edge environment. Since internships are a requirement for all majors at Woodbury, students also begin developing their career skills while they are still attending the university. They also have many opportunities to develop their leadership skills and help shape the direction of the student experience while on campus.
The five Goals and nineteen Strategies for our Strategic Plan include:
Goal 1: Achieve Academic Excellence
Woodbury University provides students with a high quality, practice-based education. We commit ourselves to enhancing our academic offerings and their delivery, and we ensure that our educational programs meet the needs of employers, today and well into the future.
- Strategy 1A: Enhance student learning
- Strategy 1B: Create effective learning environments
- Strategy 1C: Develop new curricular programs
- Strategy 1D: Implement new academic technological systems
Goal 2: Contribute Responsibly to the Local and Global Community
We will expand and strengthen our relationships within and beyond our Southern California community to benefit Woodbury’s student population and ensure that the university builds upon its growing impact in the region.
- Strategy 2A: Develop and strengthen pathways that engage students in co-curricular experiences that positively impact their learning and their communities
- Strategy 2B: Increase sustainable priorities across the campuses
- Strategy 2C: Develop new educational initiatives for non-traditional students
- Strategy 2D: Promote diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout all operations
Goal 3: Enrich the Student Experience Through Purposeful Engagement
We will expand co-curricular, curricular, and retention initiatives to increase students’ commitment to their education and a purposeful understanding of their professional and academic goals.
- Strategy 3A: Increase or enhance High-Impact Practices
- Strategy 3B: Create career and graduate school opportunities after graduation
- Strategy 3C: Provide data-driven student-centered services and processes
- Strategy 3D: Promote a vibrant campus life
Goal 4: Build Reputational Strength
Woodbury will work to expand its reputation locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally as an exceptional university.
- Strategy 4A: Make Woodbury University a great place to work
- Strategy 4B: Enhance and support faculty development
- Strategy 4C: Enhance and develop new external partnerships
- Strategy 4D: Define and strengthen our brand
Goal 5: Build Financial Stability and Operational Excellence
We will become more efficient and forward-thinking through the intelligent and responsible implementation of student-focused improvements to our financial and operational systems and facilities.
- Strategy 5A: Ensure financial stability
- Strategy 5B: Manage facility excellence
- Strategy 5C: Improve IT infrastructure
Woodbury University is committed to building a university that values student, staff and faculty engagement in addressing issues of diversity, equity and inclusiveness because this is an essential part of an experience-centered education. We create an inclusive climate because we know that the richness of different experiences and perspectives is intrinsically valuable and vital to advancing innovation, critical thinking, solving complex problems, and creating a vibrant academic community.
We seek to create a campus culture with this wide range of perspectives and experiences by recruiting and encouraging diverse candidates to apply as students, staff and faculty, including people of any race, color, creed, national origin, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status, disability, religion or military status.
Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Plan for 2020-2024 includes the following 6 Goals and 16 Strategies:
Goal 1: Student Recruitment – Increase recruitment of underrepresented student populations
- Strategy 1: Actively recruit students from underrepresented groups
- Strategy 2: Enlist alumni from underrepresented groups to help recruit students
Goal 2 – Student Success and Retention – Increase retention initiatives for underrepresented students
- Strategy 1: Develop early arrival program for underrepresented students
- Strategy 2: Develop peer mentor program for underrepresented students
Goal 3 – Faculty, Staff and Administrator Access, Recruitment and Development
- Strategy 1: Increase awareness of diversity, equity and inclusion by developing and providing professional development opportunities
- Strategy 2: Continue to increase recruitment of underrepresented faculty, staff, and administrators. Promote greater diversity of the Board of Trustees
- Strategy 3: Create the synchronization of an onboarding system. To increase collaboration and visibility into the onboarding experience, making it both engaging and impactful
- Strategy 4: Assess policies and practices that are likely to reduce outcomes associated with unconscious bias
Goal 4 – Campus Climate
- Strategy 1: Foster a climate in which all members of the community feel safe, respected and valued
- Strategy 2: Identify the key diversity and inclusion priorities for the university
- Strategy 3: Foster environments where everyone can share their uniqueness and backgrounds
Goal 5 – Curricular Content Development and Opportunities – Create effective learning environments for all students
- Strategy 1: Design for and enhance accessibility for all
- Strategy 2: Ensure all educational spaces have state of the art academic computing resources
- Strategy 3: Develop and implement digital interactive reference service
- Strategy 4: Develop curricular content that promotes diversity, equity and inclusivity
Goal 6 – External Partnerships – Community Relations
- Strategy 1: Expand existing constituent relationships with diverse associations such as Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities
- Strategy 2: Cultivate partnerships with external organizations who prioritize diversity
Woodbury University cultivates a personal, interactive learning environment that focuses on innovative, practice-based professional and liberal arts education. We add distinct value with our focus on faculty-student interaction and support for student development and achievement. We focus on our Core Values and Strategic Principles to enable the success of our students, employers who hire our graduates, and the community at large.
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Excellence | Driven by standards of excellence in teaching, services, student well-being, community safety and sustainable practice
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Ethics | Setting the highest standards of academic and professional behavior to encourage social responsibility
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Aspiration | Pursuing ever higher levels of competitiveness, distinctiveness and service learning
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Community | Building a culture that values diversity, open communication, collaboration and engagement
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Civic Engagement | Achieving civic fulfillment through the process of giving back
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Entrepreneurship | Fostering a culture of creativity, innovation and opportunity
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Design Thinking | Developing the ability, desire and confidence to imagine new ideas to create impact and make a difference
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Transdisciplinarity | Harnessing the creative power of multiple disciplines and communities that broaden perspectives across academic boundaries
Below, you can review the four hallmarks and their University Learning Outcomes (ULO).
Hallmark 1: Creativity, Knowledge, Skills
- ULO 1.1: Think critically (Core Competency: Critical Thinking)
- ULO 1.2: Employ creative, innovative problem-solving
- ULO 1.3: Create, build, design, and/or develop projects relevant to discipline
Hallmark 2: Professional Behavior and Ethics
- ULO 2.1: Take initiative personally and professionally
- ULO 2.2: Apply ethical and/or professional principles relevant to discipline
- ULO 2.3: Collaborate with members of diverse populations on projects and/or products
- ULO 2.4: Communicate effectively (Core Competency: Written Communication, Oral Communication)
Hallmark 3: Analysis, Synthesis
- ULO 3.1: Select, analyze, and synthesize diverse information from reliable, scholarly and appropriate sources (Core Competency: Information Literacy)
- ULO 3.2: Interpret and/or apply quantitative reasoning relevant to discipline (Core Competency: Quantitative Reasoning)
Hallmark 4: Civic-Mindedness
- ULO 4.0: Engage responsibly in the community and environment
Learn more about how we have determined these hallmarks in the report below.
Woodbury University wants to equip students, faculty and staff with theoretical and practical knowledge that addresses sustainability issues in their disciplines, careers, community relationships and daily lives.
Many changes within the environment have critically affected our way of life. From water shortages to pollution and climate change, our planet has become stressed, yet our relationship to our surroundings is detached. Acknowledging these environmental, social and economic issues, Woodbury’s goal is to create and nurture sustainable campus life. At Woodbury, sustainability is regarded as a subject of study and is implemented in every sector of the institution.
Woodbury encourages continued learning about sustainability through coursework, research and the experiences of life on campus. Sustainable Woodbury prompts our community to explore our future, our current status and our past and challenges us to examine our natural and built environments, campus life, curriculum, co-curricular learning opportunities and stewardship of resources in the spirit of shared and just decision making.
Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI)
The US Department of Education designates this status to colleges and universities that enroll a significant percentage of undergraduate Hispanic students. It allows these institutions to apply for Title V grants under the Higher Education Act of 1965. These grants can be used for many academic purposes serving all ethnicities at the institution including faculty development, development and improvement of academic programs, scientific or laboratory equipment for teaching, student support services , etc. There are about 400 colleges and universities that have been designated as an HSI in the U.S. and territories.
Woodbury has received Title V grants since 2001. Our latest Title V grant was given in 2019 and runs through fiscal year 2024.
Rankings
See some of our recent university-wide and programmatic rankings and accolades.
Woodbury ranks among the top 4% of colleges and universities based on economic value by The Economist.
Learn more from The Economist
The New York Times ranks Woodbury 10 among 161 higher education institutions in California on upward student mobility.
Learn more from The New York Times
Woodbury has been recognized by Colleges of Distinction, a resource for guidance counselors, parents, students, and others looking for higher education, every year since 2015.
Learn more about Colleges of Distinction
Woodbury ranks 14 out of 110 small colleges in California for economic value by Great College Deals.
Learn more from Great College Deals
The Animation program is ranked among the top 20 on the West Coast for 2019 by Animation Career Review.
Learn more at Animation Career Review
The Bachelor of Architecture program ranks 18 in the DesignIntelligence survey of undergraduate programs in the United States.
The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Architecture program ranks 12 nationwide and 4 in the west in the DesignIntelligence survey of undergraduate programs in the United States.
Learn more at DesignIntelligence
The Graphic Design program has ranked as a ‘Top Design School’ each year from 2015 – 2019 by GDUSA.
Learn more at GDUSA
Value Colleges named the Graphic Design program a ‘Top 25 Best Value’ for 2019.
Learn more at Value Colleges
Quick Facts
Founded in 1884, Woodbury is one of the oldest universities on the west coast of the United States. The university is a private, non-profit institution with a Southern California campus located in Burbank.
Lean more about Woodbury’s history
Learn more about Woodbury’s locations
Learn more about STEM programs at Woodbury
Woodbury is accredited by six accrediting organizations
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Western Association of Schools and Colleges
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National Architectural Accrediting Board
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The Council for Interior Design Accreditation
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Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
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Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs
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National Association of Schools of Art and Design
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Learn more about Woodbury’s accreditation
Woodbury has 25 undergraduate and five graduate programs within four different schools.
As of the Fall 2022 semester’s official reporting date, the university had a total of 943 undergraduate and graduate students.
The average student-to-faculty ratio is 8-to-1, and the average class size is 13.
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Woodbury’s student population is approximately:
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40% white
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28% Hispanic/Latino
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13% Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander
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5% Black or African American
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2% two or more races
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1% American Indian or Alaska Native
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6% of the student population is international
The male–female ratio is:
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45% male
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54% female