| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Private for-profit career college, health programs only; campus-based, with two hybrid associate degrees |
| Campus | 1: Vacaville, California (Solano County), about 35 miles southwest of Sacramento |
| Credentials | Diplomas (vocational nursing, clinical medical assisting) and Associate of Applied Science degrees (sonography, surgical technician) |
| Program length | About 12 months (vocational nursing) to about 17-19 months (associate degrees) |
| Accreditation | Council on Occupational Education (next visit 2029); approved by the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education |
| Federal aid | Yes (FAFSA code 040033) |
| Students | 373 enrolled in 2024 |
| Founded / owner | 1996, according to the catalog; formerly CSI Career College; sold to an Oklahoma-based education company in 2022 |
| Facts checked | October 2026 |
Blake Austin College: a one-campus health career college in Vacaville
Blake Austin College is a private, for-profit career college with one campus in Vacaville, a Solano County city about 35 miles southwest of Sacramento. It opened in 1996, according to its catalog, and has also operated as CSI Career College. It began with office and computer training and later moved into health care.
Today it teaches four health programs: vocational nursing, clinical medical assisting with phlebotomy, and two hybrid associate degrees in diagnostic medical sonography (first offered in February 2024) and surgical technician (first offered in October 2025). Its earlier billing and coding, dental assisting, cosmetology and nail programs have ended. The school was sold in 2022 to an Oklahoma-based education company. It enrolled 373 students in 2024, according to its annual report to the state.
Four programs, all at the Vacaville campus
| Program | Credential | Length | Delivery | Prepares for | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vocational Nursing | Diploma; 1,620 hours, 64 semester credits | About 12 months | On campus; day or evening | NCLEX-PN (LVN licence) | $37,035 total (2023 and 2024 cohorts) |
| Clinical Medical Assistant with Phlebotomy | Diploma; 920 hours, 38 semester credits | Four-week terms | On campus | CPT1 phlebotomy certificate (California) and RMA | $20,193 total (2023 and 2024 cohorts) |
| Diagnostic Medical Sonography | A.A.S.; 2,060 hours, 122.5 quarter credits | 17 months (day) | Hybrid | ARDMS or ARRT sonography exams (confirm eligibility) | See current fee schedule |
| Surgical Technician | A.A.S.; 1,290 hours, 92 quarter credits | About 19 months, per the school | Hybrid | CST exam (confirm eligibility) | See current fee schedule |
Vocational nursing received four years of continued approval from the state Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians in 2022, and the phlebotomy courses inside the medical assisting diploma are approved by the California Department of Public Health. The sonography and surgical technician degrees have no programmatic accreditation, and neither had graduates by June 2025.
What the main programs cover
Vocational Nursing
The program runs in three 16-week terms: Nursing Fundamentals, Medical-Surgical Nursing, and Nursing Specialties and Leadership. Each course has theory, skills-lab and clinical parts, and the catalog lists about 746 clinical hours in total. Students choose a day or an evening schedule, but clinicals usually run in the daytime, so evening students may have to attend some during the day. Applicants need minimum HESI scores (80 math, 60 reading, 60 vocabulary), a health screening and a professional interview. Graduates take the NCLEX-PN.
Clinical Medical Assistant with Phlebotomy
The diploma is built from four-week modules on body systems, plus phlebotomy and a medical front-office module that covers basic coding, insurance, fees and bookkeeping. It ends with two externships: 160 hours in a medical office and 40 hours of phlebotomy. Completers can take the exam for California’s Certified Phlebotomy Technician I certificate, issued by the Department of Public Health, and the Registered Medical Assistant exam from American Medical Technologists; exam fees are not included in tuition. Applicants need entrance scores of 80 math, 75 reading and 75 vocabulary.
Diagnostic Medical Sonography
The A.A.S. is a 17-month day program. Some coursework is online; labs and clinicals are in person. Courses include Ultrasound Physics I and II and abdominal, small-parts, gynecology, obstetrics and vascular sonography, each with scan labs, plus general education. Students then complete 800 hours in Clinical Rotations I to IV, and the catalog names the ARDMS physics exam (SPI) in one course. Applicants need HESI scores of 80 math, 70 reading and 70 vocabulary, a health screening and a program orientation.
Surgical Technician
The surgical technician A.A.S. started in October 2025, so it has no graduates or outcome figures yet. It is 1,290 hours (92 quarter credits), about 19 months according to the school, in a hybrid format, and includes 420 hours of surgical externships in two placements. It prepares students for the Certified Surgical Technologist (CST) exam. Applicants need entrance scores of 80 math, 75 reading and 75 vocabulary, a health screening and a program orientation. Because the program is not accredited by the surgical technology accreditor, confirm CST exam eligibility with the school.
Cost, federal aid and Cal Grants
The school charges one price per program, the same for day and evening students and with no in-state or out-of-state rates, and textbooks are included. Total charges for students who finished on time were $37,035 for vocational nursing and $20,193 for clinical medical assisting in both the 2023 and 2024 cohorts, according to the school’s state performance disclosures. Prices for the sonography and surgical technician degrees were not published in those disclosures.
Current prices for every program are in the Schedule of Fees in the 2025-2027 catalog, so check it before you apply.
The school takes federal student aid, including federal loans; 76% of its students had federal loans in 2024. It also accepts state workforce funding (WIOA, through California’s Eligible Training Provider List), Vocational Rehabilitation and VA education benefits, and posts information on military tuition assistance. Since 24 October 2025, Cal Grant A is limited to students in the associate-degree programs. The school has no grants or loans of its own and names no scholarships. Vocational nursing graduates in 2024 left with $14,078 in federal loans on average, according to the school’s disclosure.
Admissions and start dates
Applicants must have a high-school diploma, GED or recognized home-study equivalent; the school does not admit students without one. Every applicant completes entrance assessments and a general orientation, and immunizations, a background check and a drug screen are due by day 7 of enrollment. The school scheduled 16 cohort starts across its programs from January to November 2026.
Accreditation, licensing results and a 2024 state fine
Blake Austin is institutionally accredited by the Council on Occupational Education, which lists it as accredited with a next team visit in 2029, and it is approved to operate by the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE). The BPPE reported no accreditor disciplinary action in 2024.
On 8 October 2024 the BPPE cited the school and fined it $1,001 for a record-keeping violation found during an unannounced inspection in March 2024: its Student Tuition Recovery Fund enrollment reports for the second half of 2023 were not supported by records. The citation also ordered the school to correct the problem.
The vocational nursing program’s results on the licensing exam, as published by the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians:
| Year | Candidates | First-time NCLEX-PN pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 80 | 70% |
| 2022 | 114 | 52% |
| 2023 | 88 | 74% |
| 2024 | 111 | 87% |
| 2025 | 138 | 76% |
The school’s own disclosures and the accreditor’s report give different licensing figures; the accreditor’s 97% counts only students who completed during its reporting period. The board granted the program four years of continued approval from September 2022, so a renewal decision was due in 2026; check the program’s current status with the board.
Completion and placement figures also differ by source, because the state disclosure and the accreditor’s 2024-25 report measure different groups of students:
| Measure | Vocational Nursing | Clinical MA with Phlebotomy | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| On-time completion, 2024 cohort | 57.5% (80 of 139) | 86% (25 of 29) | State disclosure (BPPE rules) |
| Completion within 150% of program length, 2024 cohort | 81% | 96% | State disclosure |
| Job placement in the field, 2024 cohort | 46% (52 of 112) | 52% (14 of 27) | State disclosure |
| Completion, July 2024 to June 2025 | 90% | 72% | Accreditor (COE) report |
| Placement, July 2024 to June 2025 | 80% | 74% | COE report; excludes graduates unavailable for work |
Before you enroll
- The sonography and surgical technician degrees are not programmatically accredited. Before enrolling, ask the school in writing how its graduates qualify for the ARDMS or ARRT sonography exams and the CST exam.
- Vocational nursing results have been uneven: the first-time NCLEX-PN pass rate fell to 52% in 2022, rose to 87% in 2024 and was 76% in 2025. Only 57.5% of the 2024 cohort finished on time, and 46% of graduates were placed in the field.
- The evening vocational nursing schedule does not guarantee evening clinicals; clinical rotations usually run in the daytime.
- California does not license medical assistants. The medical assisting diploma leads to certification exams (CPT1 phlebotomy and RMA), whose fees are not included in tuition.
- Cal Grant A now covers only the associate-degree programs, not vocational nursing or medical assisting.
Career help, no housing
The school offers résumé help, interview preparation and job leads, and says it does not guarantee employment; help continues for eligible graduates. It has no student housing.
What students say
On Niche, Blake Austin College is rated 3.92 out of 5 from 76 reviews, with an overall grade of B (checked October 2026). Reviewers praise friendly, supportive staff, help with financial aid and NCLEX preparation, and labs set up like a hospital. Complaints include turnover among nursing directors and instructors, a very strict attendance policy, disorganization and missed clinical training, and cost. Treat the average as dated: most reviews are from 2014 to 2019, six short reviews were posted on a single day in December 2014, and the 2024 reviews are mostly one to three stars.
Facts checked October 2026.
Programs & Courses
Vocational Nursing
- Vocational Nursing (diploma, day or evening)
Allied Health
- Clinical Medical Assistant with Phlebotomy (diploma)
Associate Degrees (A.A.S.)
- Diagnostic Medical Sonography (hybrid)
- Surgical Technician (hybrid)
Continuing Education
- Non-credit continuing education courses
Campus Locations
Sacramento (Vacaville), CA 770 Mason Street, Suite 200, Vacaville, CA 95688