| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Private for-profit career college; campus programs, an associate degree taught partly online and a fully online bachelor’s completion degree |
| Campuses | 3, all in Virginia: Chesapeake, Newport News and Norfolk |
| Credentials | Certificate, diplomas, Associate of Occupational Science, Bachelor of Science |
| Typical length | 15 weeks (Electrical Lineworker) to 15 months; most trade and medical diplomas 8 to 12 months |
| Accreditation | Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC) |
| Federal aid | Yes (Title IV); cohort default rate 0% for the 2020, 2021 and 2022 cohorts |
| Owner | Cotulla Education, which also runs Aviation Institute of Maintenance, Tidewater Tech and American Lineman College |
| Facts checked | October 2026 |
Centura College: three Virginia campuses for health, beauty and trade careers
Centura College is a private, for-profit career college with three Virginia campuses, in Chesapeake, Newport News and Norfolk. It trains students for health and beauty jobs (medical assisting and esthetics) and for the skilled trades (HVAC, welding, construction electrical work and, since January 2026, electrical line work), mostly in diploma programs of 7 to 15 months with day and night classes. Centura is owned by Cotulla Education, whose four brands run 21 campuses. In a September 2026 notice, Centura said it expects Maverick Tech LLC to join as a new investor on or after 10 December 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. Centura’s site no longer lists its former Virginia Beach and Richmond-area campuses, and its Columbia, South Carolina campus finished its teach-out on 28 May 2019. Centura says it has trained students for over 35 years.
Programs at Centura’s three campuses
Each campus teaches a different mix of programs, so check the campus before you apply. Lengths and schedules come from Centura’s program pages.
| Program | Credential | Length | Schedule | Where taught | Prepares for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional Esthetician | Diploma | 27 weeks (7 months) | Day, afternoon or night | Chesapeake | Virginia esthetician licence exam |
| Master Esthetician | Diploma | 27 weeks (7 months) | Day, afternoon or night | Chesapeake | Virginia master esthetician licence |
| Medical Assistant | Diploma | 12 months (48 weeks, 36 credits) | Day or night; externship | Chesapeake, Newport News; Norfolk listed on the program page only | CMA (AAMA) or RMA (AMT) |
| Medical Assistant with Limited Scope Radiologic Technology | Diploma | 15 months | Day or night | Chesapeake, Newport News; Norfolk listed on the program page only | MA certification; Virginia radiologic technologist-limited licence |
| Medical Assisting | Associate of Occupational Science | 15 months (65 weeks, 60 credits) | Partly online, with campus labs | Chesapeake | Industry certification |
| HVAC | Diploma | 12 months (48 weeks, 36 credits) | Day or night | Newport News | EPA 608, OSHA 10, DPOR registration |
| Combination Welding | Diploma | 8 months (33 weeks, 24 credits) | Day or night | Newport News | AWS qualification (SMAW) |
| Construction Electrician | Diploma | 48 weeks (36 credits) | Day or night | Norfolk, Newport News | OSHA 10 |
| Electrical Lineworker | Certificate | 15 weeks (15 credits) | Day only, in person | Norfolk | OSHA 10, CPR/First Aid |
| Business (Allied Health Management or Operations Management) | Bachelor of Science | 120 credits; up to 60 transfer credits accepted | Fully online | Run from Chesapeake | – |
The two medical assistant diplomas are a special case: their program pages say they run at all three campuses, but the Norfolk campus page and the site menu list only Construction Electrician and Electrical Lineworker there. Confirm with Centura before planning on medical assisting in Norfolk. The bachelor’s degree is a completion program that accepts up to 60 transfer credits toward its 120, so ask how earlier college study counts. Programs that Centura no longer lists on its site include Massage Therapy, Dental Assistant, Carpentry, Medical Billing and Coding, Wind Turbine Technician and Solar Technician.
What the main programs cover
Medical Assistant programs
The Medical Assistant Diploma is 12 courses over 48 weeks, combining on-campus labs with an externship; Centura does not state the externship hours, and it names no billing or coding course. Day classes run 8:30 to 4:30 and night classes 4:30 to 11:30. The longer diploma adds limited-scope X-ray training, which prepares students for radiologic technologist-limited licensure with the Virginia Board of Medicine; it does not qualify graduates as full radiographers. The associate degree has 17 courses and moves some coursework online.
Professional and Master Esthetician
Both esthetics programs are taught only at Chesapeake, in three shifts: 8:30 to 1:30, 1:00 to 6:00, or 5:30 to 10:30 at night. The Professional program leads to the Virginia Board for Barbers and Cosmetology exams; Centura’s 2022 catalog gave it 33 weeks, while the current page says 27. The Master program is meant to follow it: its page names Professional Esthetician or equivalent training as the prerequisite, yet also says no prior experience is required, so ask admissions which applies to you.
HVAC
The Newport News HVAC program is nine courses and 36 credits over about a year. Alongside heating, cooling and refrigeration work, students take OSHA 10 safety training and prepare for the EPA Section 608 exam needed to handle refrigerants. The program page says students are registered with the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation, toward a journeyman HVAC licence. The program page calls it a diploma, while the 2026 outcomes report lists it as a certificate.
Combination Welding
The welding diploma’s six courses cover the four main arc processes (SMAW, GMAW, FCAW and GTAW) and carbon-arc and plasma-arc cutting. The SMAW (stick) course prepares students for an American Welding Society qualification test. Day classes run 8:30 to 2:30 and night classes 4:30 to 10:30, and the program is taught only at Newport News. Students who want other AWS tests should ask how the school arranges them.
Construction Electrician
The electrician diploma’s nine courses move from the National Electrical Code to motors, programmable logic controllers and life-safety systems, with OSHA 10 safety training. Day classes run 8:30 to 2:30; the program page gives night classes as 4:30 to 10:30 while the campus pages say 5:30 to 11:30, so check the times at your campus. Centura’s 2022 catalog listed the program as an approved tradesman training provider with the Virginia Board for Contractors. The 2026 disclosure has no Newport News row for this program.
Electrical Lineworker
The lineworker certificate is Centura’s shortest program: three courses over 15 weeks, fully in person and by day only, from 8:30 to 4:00. Training centers on climbing poles and towers, rigging and aerial framing, with OSHA 10 and CPR/First Aid. The program does not include commercial driver’s license (CDL) training, so students who need a CDL must arrange it separately. Centura says the program comes with career placement assistance.
Cost and paying for it
The cost chart linked on Centura’s site is for 2023-24, so ask Centura for current costs. Its Tuition + Fees page says books, tool kits and exam costs are listed in each program’s enrollment agreement. Ask for the current catalog and cost sheet, in writing, before you enroll. The only current price we found is for the Electrical Lineworker certificate: $8,417 in tuition and fees (December 2025). Ask the financial aid office which funding applies to it.
Centura takes federal student aid, including Pell Grants, FSEOG and Direct Loans, and its financial aid guide (revised September 2026) lists GI Bill chapters 30, 33, 1606, 35 and 31. Yellow Ribbon is listed for the Chesapeake campus, and the Newport News page also lists Military Tuition Assistance, Vocational Rehabilitation and WIOA funding through the Peninsula Council of Workforce Development. A Scholarship Match Grant matches outside scholarships dollar for dollar, up to 10% of program charges. An institutional extended payment plan, with autopay, is offered only after PLUS or private-loan applications.
Admissions and schedule
Applicants must be 18 or older, or have an approved cosigner if younger, and need a high school diploma, GED or equivalent and a government photo ID. Centura’s program pages say acceptance is not guaranteed. Programs start several times a year, and the pages advertise upcoming start dates with the application fee waived for early applicants. Most programs have day and night classes; esthetics adds an afternoon shift, and the lineworker certificate runs by day only.
ACCSC accreditation and 2026 graduation and job rates
Centura College is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC). It takes part in the federal Title IV aid programs, and its cohort default rate was 0% for the 2020, 2021 and 2022 cohorts at all three campuses. Centura’s 2026-27 consumer guide lists all three campuses as exempt from certification by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV).
The table shows the rates in Centura’s 2026 ACCSC student achievement disclosure. Graduation counts students who finished within 150% of the program’s length, out of those available to graduate; employment counts graduates working in the field, out of those available for work. The disclosure gives no ACCSC benchmarks, and the lineworker program is too new to appear.
| Campus | Program | Cohort (start dates) | Graduation | In-field employment | Licensure pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chesapeake | Professional Esthetician | Jun 2024–May 2025 | 88% | 71% | 85% (117 tested) |
| Chesapeake | Master Esthetician | Jun 2024–May 2025 | 98% | 76% | 89% (44 tested) |
| Chesapeake | Medical Assistant | Oct 2023–Sep 2024 | 71% | 73% | – |
| Chesapeake | MA with Limited Scope Radiologic Technology | Jun 2023–May 2024 | 86% | 88% | – |
| Chesapeake | AOS Medical Assisting | Jun 2023–May 2024 | 89% | 79% | – |
| Chesapeake | BS Business | Dec 2022–Nov 2023 | 71% | 100% | – |
| Newport News | HVAC | Oct 2023–Sep 2024 | 70% | 75% | – |
| Newport News | Combination Welding | Apr 2024–Mar 2025 | 76% | 71% | – |
| Newport News | Medical Assistant | Oct 2023–Sep 2024 | 75% | 71% | – |
| Newport News | MA with Limited Scope Radiologic Technology | Jun 2023–May 2024 | 83% | 72% | – |
| Norfolk | Construction Electrician | Oct 2023–Sep 2024 | 59% | 72% | – |
| Norfolk | Medical Assistant | Oct 2023–Sep 2024 | 49% | 70% | – |
| Norfolk | MA with Limited Scope Radiologic Technology | Jun 2023–May 2024 | 82% | 71% | – |
Federal graduation rates published elsewhere use a different definition, so don’t compare them with these figures.
Before you enroll
- The cost chart linked on Centura’s site is for 2023-24, so ask for current costs and get the cost sheet for your program before signing an enrollment agreement.
- Results differ by campus. Only 49% of Norfolk’s 2023-24 Medical Assistant starters graduated, against 71% at Chesapeake and 75% at Newport News, and Norfolk’s Construction Electrician graduation rate was 59%.
- Norfolk’s medical assisting status is unclear: the program pages list it, the campus page does not. Ask before you apply there.
- The limited-scope X-ray diploma leads to a Virginia limited licence, not to full radiologic technologist (ARRT) certification.
- The bachelor’s degree is a completion program that accepts up to 60 transfer credits toward its 120, but its page also mentions 39 credit hours in 13 courses, so ask how many credits you would take at Centura.
Centura’s campuses and what each teaches
| Campus | Address | Programs |
|---|---|---|
| Chesapeake | 1150 Greenbrier Parkway, Chesapeake, VA 23320 | Professional and Master Esthetician, Medical Assistant, MA with Limited Scope Radiologic Technology, AOS Medical Assisting; online BS Business run from here |
| Newport News | 616 Denbigh Blvd, Newport News, VA 23608 | HVAC, Combination Welding, Construction Electrician, Medical Assistant, MA with Limited Scope Radiologic Technology |
| Norfolk | 7020 N Military Hwy, Norfolk, VA 23518 | Construction Electrician, Electrical Lineworker; medical assisting listed on the program pages but not the campus page |
Transcript and records requests go to the Corporate Registrar at Centura’s administrative office, 4455 South Blvd., Virginia Beach, which holds no classes.
Career help and housing
The Chesapeake campus has a Career Services center, and Newport News has a Veterans Affairs Center and a Campus Life Center. Centura says the Electrical Lineworker program includes career placement assistance. There is no student housing.
What students say on Niche
On Niche, Centura’s three campus pages average about 4.0 out of 5 across 234 reviews (checked 10 October 2026): Chesapeake 4.14 from 91 reviews, Norfolk 3.86 from 74 and Newport News 4.0 from 69. Reviewers most often praise caring, helpful staff and instructors, small classes with hands-on lab training in esthetics, HVAC and medical assisting, and help from tutoring, career services and financial aid. The most common complaints are administrative and financial aid paperwork delays that led to billing problems, unclear fees and loan worries, credits that don’t transfer, and training or materials that didn’t match what was promised, along with staff turnover. We could not see when the reviews were posted, so we can’t say whether they cluster in time or were invited by the school.
Sources
Checked October 2026: Centura College · Consumer documentation · 2026 student achievement rates · 2026-27 consumer information guide · Ownership change notice · Tuition + Fees · Financial aid guide · Lineworker program announcement
Programs & Courses
Esthetics
- Professional Esthetician (Diploma)
- Master Esthetician (Diploma)
Healthcare
- Medical Assistant (Diploma)
- Medical Assistant with Limited Scope Radiologic Technology (Diploma)
- Medical Assisting (Associate of Occupational Science)
Skilled Trades
- HVAC (Diploma)
- Combination Welding (Diploma)
- Construction Electrician (Diploma)
- Electrical Lineworker (Certificate)
Business
- BS in Business: Allied Health Management or Operations Management (online degree completion)
Campus Locations
Chesapeake, VA 1150 Greenbrier Parkway, Chesapeake, VA 23320
Newport News, VA 616 Denbigh Blvd, Newport News, VA 23608
Norfolk, VA 7020 N Military Hwy, Norfolk, VA 23518