Westlawn cuts costs for students

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology has instituted a number of measures designed to help students cope with education costs and encourage them to keep studying during these tough economic times, it reported in a statement today. These include controlling tuition costs and finding ways for students to obtain otherwise expensive design software at little or no cost.

First, tuition for all courses will be held at 2008 levels through September 2009, the school stated. Second, as of March 15, Westlawn will be offering a no interest tuition payment plan for all four modules of its professional diploma program in yacht and boat design, as well as for the Westlawn short course, Elements of Technical Boat Design. 

In addition, Westlawn will continue to offer students two low interest options for financing the four-module Yacht and Boat Design program and for the Elements of Technical Boat Design, it reported. With interest rates from 3 percent to 9 percent, students have the flexibility to choose the payment plan that best meets their needs, the school suggested. Students moving on from Module 1 to the advanced modules can continue to finance their tuition by rolling over any balance due as they progress in their study. 

This tuition financing program is available through TFC Credit Corp., which has been financing student tuition for over 35 years. For more information on the no interest tuition payment plan, as well as information on the tuition financing through TFC Credit, go to the Westlawn web site, www.westlawn.edu, to download the Westlawn catalog and enrollment forms.

Westlawn has also arranged for active Westlawn students to be able to download AutoCAD online directly from Autodesk. This is a full version of AutoCAD Mechanical student release, not a trial version. Active Westlawn students can log into the designated sign-up page through the Westlawn student forum on the Westlawn web site, www.westlawn.edu. The commercial price of AutoCAD Mechanical is $3,999 and Westlawn students can download and us it for free.

Additionally, Westlawn has worked with the DRS C3 Advanced Technology Center to receive deep discounts for Westlawn students on the following software:

“Orca Level 1 is all that’s required to complete Westlawn studies, but it makes sense to take advantage of this student discount to get Level 2,” said Westlawn Director Dave Gerr. “Having both will make the advanced classwork go more quickly, and it will serve students well in their careers.”

Westlawn students also need the general-purpose Rhino (Rhinoceros) 3D modeling program to run Orca3D. If students don’t already own Rhino, Westlawn and the DRS C3 Advanced Technology Center has arranged a special Westlawn discount package price for Orca3D plus Rhino as follows:

Savings over the full commercial prices range from $2,907 to $3,804 depending on the package.

“All that is required to complete the Westlawn program is AutoCAD plus Orca3D Level 1 and Rhino,” explained Gerr. “Technically, the total cost of the necessary AutoCAD software to complete all the Westlawn coursework is now just $288. However, students looking to further enhance their skills and do more advanced work will find the additional software (Orca3D Level 2, Flamingo, Penguin and Bongo) to be a worthwhile long-term investment.” 

Flamingo is a photorealistic rendering plug-in for Rhino, Penguin is a sketch/cartoon/illustration plug-in for Rhino and Bongo is a design animation plug-in for Rhino. To take advantage of these discounts, Westlawn students must follow the student-purchase procedure on the Westlawn online student forum at www.westlawn.edu, and they must currently be an active student.

Finally, Westlawn said it has arranged for special student pricing for the new Wave Systems ProSurf ($295), which is an alternative hull fairing programs that may be used. This program is sold directly to active students by contacting the Westlawn office at 860-572-7900, ext. 41.  Students may also download a free 3-surface version of MaxSurf at www.formsys.com, as well as get student discounts on more complete versions of MaxSurf.

“We understand that things are hard for many people right now – including Westlawn students. We want to do as much as we can to give our students the ability to continue their Westlawn education at the lowest cost possible, and encourage new students to enroll with us,” stated Gerr.

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