| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Private, for-profit career college; campus-based, with online parts in some programs |
| Campuses | 3, all in Northern Colorado: Fort Collins, Greeley and Longmont |
| Credentials | Certificates, diplomas and Associate of Occupational Studies (AOS) degrees |
| Typical length | About 5 months (Esthetician, day) to 19 months (AOS degrees) |
| Accreditation | ACCSC; approved by Colorado’s Division of Private Occupational Schools |
| Federal aid | Yes (federal school code 030063) |
| Owner | DVMD LLC, owner of IntelliTec College, since October 2023 |
| Founded | 1987, in Fort Collins, as Medical Careers Training Center |
| Students | 297 in fall 2024, all full-time |
| Facts checked | October 2026 |
IBMC College: a Northern Colorado career college under new ownership
IBMC College is a private, for-profit career college with campuses in Fort Collins, Greeley and Longmont. It opened in Fort Collins in 1987 as Medical Careers Training Center, became the Institute of Business and Medical Careers in 1995 and took the IBMC College name in 2013; the old name is still its legal name for federal aid. Its programs train medical and dental assistants, massage therapists, cosmetologists, estheticians, barbers and paralegals.
In October 2023 IBMC was sold to DVMD LLC, which also owns IntelliTec College, Asher College and Euphoria Institute. Colorado’s Private Occupational School Board approved the change of ownership for all three campuses, effective 28 November 2023, at an emergency meeting, according to its meeting minutes. IBMC had 297 students in fall 2024, all full-time, and a student-faculty ratio of 15 to 1, according to federal College Navigator data.
Programs at IBMC’s three campuses
All programs are taught on campus, some with online parts, in six-week terms; the next term starts on 2 November 2026. The table follows the 2026-28 student catalog and the program pages. Where the two disagree on clock hours, both figures are shown, so confirm the hours with the school.
| Program | Credential | Length | Schedule and hands-on part | Campuses | Prepares for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical Medical Assisting | Certificate, 59.5 credits | 12 months (48 weeks) | Day or evening; 6-week externship | Fort Collins, Greeley, Longmont | AMT RMA, Registered Phlebotomy Technician |
| Healthcare Administration: Medical Assisting | AOS degree, 93.5 credits | 19 months (72 weeks) | Day or evening; 6-week externship | Fort Collins, Greeley, Longmont | AMT RMA, Registered Phlebotomy Technician |
| Dental Assisting | Diploma (certificate in the catalog), 50.5 credits | 10 months (42 weeks) | Day; 6-week externship | Fort Collins | DANB NELDA |
| Therapeutic Massage | Diploma (750-clock-hour certificate in the catalog) | 12 months | Day or evening | Fort Collins | MBLEx, Colorado massage licence |
| Cosmetology | Diploma, 1,500 to 1,720 clock hours (sources differ) | About 50 weeks by day, 65 in the evening | Day; evening at Fort Collins | Fort Collins, Greeley, Longmont | Colorado cosmetologist licence |
| Esthetician | Certificate, 600 to 720 clock hours (sources differ) | About 20 weeks by day, 30 in the evening | Day; evening at some campuses | Fort Collins, Greeley, Longmont | Colorado esthetician licence |
| Barbering | Certificate, 1,720 clock hours | About 60 weeks | Day | Greeley, Longmont | Colorado barber licence |
| Paralegal Studies | AOS degree, 90 credits | About 19 months | Day; 5-week law-office externship | Greeley | No named exam |
IBMC claims no programmatic accreditation for any program: Dental Assisting is not CODA-accredited, Medical Assisting is not accredited by CAAHEP or ABHES, Massage is not COMTA-accredited and Paralegal Studies is not ABA-approved. Pharmacy Technician, Medical Billing and Coding, Dental Office Administration and Hairstyling are no longer offered, and the Computer Systems Technician program on the school’s website never started.
What the main programs cover
Medical Assisting
Both versions teach pharmacology, laboratory techniques, clinical skills, medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, and pathology. The Clinical Medical Assisting certificate takes 12 months (48 weeks); the Healthcare Administration: Medical Assisting AOS takes 19 months (72 weeks) and adds business, critical thinking, leadership and ethics courses. Despite its name, the degree is a clinical medical assisting program, not a healthcare management degree. Each ends in a six-week externship, arranged by the school, of up to eight hours a day. Graduates prepare for the AMT’s Registered Medical Assistant and Registered Phlebotomy Technician exams, and students prepare for BLS certification.
Dental Assisting
This 42-week, 50.5-credit program is taught only at Fort Collins. Coursework includes dental radiography, and students must be 18 by the time they reach it. The program ends with a six-week externship in a dental office, arranged by the school, after which graduates are eligible for the Dental Assisting National Board’s NELDA exam. The program is not accredited by CODA, so ask employers in your area how they view it. In 2023-24 the school reported only 7 starts at Fort Collins and 3 graduates.
Therapeutic Massage
The 12-month program at Fort Collins, 750 clock hours in the catalog, runs by day or evening. It teaches Swedish massage, neuromuscular and myofascial techniques, hydrotherapy and Eastern modalities. Students practise on members of the public in the campus Massage Clinic. Graduates take the MBLEx and then apply for a Colorado massage therapist licence. Of the program’s 17 eligible graduates in 2023-24, 13 were working in the field.
Cosmetology, Esthetician and Barbering
Cosmetology runs about 50 weeks by day or 65 weeks in the evening at Fort Collins, and includes TikTok Shop training; students work on clients in the campus salon. Esthetician covers facials, body treatments, makeup and hair removal in about 20 weeks by day or 30 weeks in the evening where offered. Barbering, at Greeley and Longmont only, is 1,720 clock hours over about 60 weeks, and both campuses have a virtual testing room for it. Each program prepares for the matching Colorado licence exam.
Paralegal Studies
The 90-credit AOS takes about 19 months and is taught only at Greeley, which has an onsite law library. Courses cover tort, family, contract and criminal law, legal research, and wills and estates, and the program ends with a five-week externship in a law office. It is not approved by the American Bar Association, and the school names no paralegal certification exam for graduates. The next start is 30 November 2026.
Cost and paying for it
IBMC publishes no 2026-27 tuition. Its catalog says prices are in tuition addenda, but none are posted. The latest published prices are the 2024-25 whole-program tuition and fees reported to the U.S. Department of Education, shown on College Navigator. We found no published price for Barbering or Paralegal Studies.
| Program (federal label) | Size and length as reported | 2024-25 tuition and fees, whole program |
|---|---|---|
| Esthetician | 600 clock hours, about 5 months | $12,600 |
| Cosmetology | 1,500 clock hours, about 13 months | $15,300 |
| Massage Therapy | 50 credits, 12 months | $16,775 |
| Medical Assisting certificate | 50 credits, 12 months | $23,877 |
| Dental Assisting | 50 credits, 12 months | $24,704 |
| Medical Assisting degree | 80 credits, 18 months | $34,290 |
There is one price per program for every student, with no in-state or out-of-state rates. The average net price after grants for full-time beginning students in the largest program was $34,590 in 2023-24, from the same federal source. Known fees include a $100 withdrawal fee and $250 or $500 to repeat a class.
IBMC takes federal student aid: Pell Grants, FSEOG, Direct Subsidized, Unsubsidized and PLUS loans and Federal Work-Study, plus a cash instalment plan. In 2023-24, 58% of students received grants averaging $2,435 and 55% took federal loans averaging $7,154. The three-year loan default rate was 0.0% for FY2021. Its scholarships page lists the IBMC College Advantage Scholarship (five $500 awards, eight times a year) and a Reentry Scholarship of up to $600 for returning students, and the catalog adds a Second Chance Scholarship of up to $1,000 for students who enrol within a year of high school. Most programs are approved for veteran training, and the catalog lists VA benefit chapters 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36 and 1606.
Admissions and schedule
Applicants need a high school diploma or GED, or an accepted alternative such as 24 passing college credits; students without one may qualify through the Accuplacer under the Ability to Benefit rules. The minimum age is 16, with a parent’s signature under 18, and Dental Assisting students must be 18 by radiography. Every applicant has an admissions interview, and some medical programs require a background check and immunizations. Terms last six weeks. Day classes run at every campus; evening classes are offered for Medical Assisting at all three campuses and for Massage and Cosmetology at Fort Collins. Lecture classes are capped at 30 students and labs at 24.
Accreditation and results
IBMC is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC). College Navigator gives December 2017 as the accreditation date and December 2027 for the next review; these dates may not reflect the branch arrangement below. IntelliTec’s accreditation page lists the three IBMC sites as branch campuses of IntelliTec College in Colorado Springs under its ACCSC accreditation. From 1996 until August 2022 IBMC was also accredited by ACICS, which is no longer recognized. The school is approved by Colorado’s Division of Private Occupational Schools.
Federal figures cover the whole school: 86% of first-time, full-time students who started in 2021-22 graduated within 150% of normal time, and 40% of full-time students returned from fall 2023 to fall 2024. Program results come from IBMC’s Performance Facts sheet, its July 2024 ACCSC annual report covering July 2023 to June 2024. Employment counts graduates working in the field out of those eligible; programs with fewer than 10 starts are left out below.
| Campus | Program | Graduation rate (as printed) | Graduates employed in the field |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Collins | Cosmetology | 59% | 19 of 30 (63%) |
| Fort Collins | Esthetician | 89% | 20 of 39 (51%) |
| Fort Collins | Therapeutic Massage | 67% | 13 of 17 (76%) |
| Fort Collins | Clinical Medical Assisting | 71% | 9 of 10 (90%) |
| Greeley | Cosmetology | 63% | 10 of 32 (31%) |
| Greeley | Esthetician | 95% | 12 of 35 (34%) |
| Greeley | Esthetician (12-month) | 100% | 2 of 12 (17%) |
| Greeley | Barbering | 47% | 1 of 8 (13%) |
| Greeley | Clinical Medical Assisting | 47% | 11 of 18 (61%) |
| Greeley | Paralegal Studies AOS | 54% | 5 of 7 (71%) |
| Longmont | Cosmetology | 59% | 10 of 33 (30%) |
| Longmont | Esthetician | 91% | 7 of 41 (17%) |
| Longmont | Barbering | 70% | 10 of 19 (53%) |
| Longmont | Clinical Medical Assisting | 58% | 7 of 7 (100%) |
IBMC publishes no licensing exam pass rates for any program.
Before you enroll
- Beauty programs at Greeley and Longmont placed few graduates in the field in 2023-24: 31% and 30% for cosmetology, 17% to 34% for esthetician and 13% for barbering at Greeley. Printed graduation rates ranged from 47% to 100% for programs with 10 or more starts. Ask for current figures for your campus.
- IBMC claims no programmatic accreditation. Medical Assisting prepares for the AMT’s RMA, not the AAMA’s CMA, and Dental Assisting is not CODA-accredited.
- There is no published 2026-27 tuition. Get the full program price in writing; in 2024-25 Medical Assisting cost $23,877 for the certificate and $34,290 for the degree.
- The catalog and program pages disagree on Cosmetology (1,500 or 1,720 clock hours) and Esthetician (600 or 720) hours, which affects how long you attend. Confirm the hours in your enrollment agreement.
- IBMC has had a new owner since late 2023, and its accreditation now runs through IntelliTec College’s Colorado Springs campus. Most of the reviews shown on Niche were written before the sale.
Three campuses: what each teaches
| Campus | Address | Programs |
|---|---|---|
| Fort Collins | 3842 S Mason Street, Suite 102, Fort Collins, CO 80525 | Medical Assisting (certificate and AOS), Dental Assisting, Therapeutic Massage, Cosmetology, Esthetician |
| Greeley | 2863 35th Avenue, Greeley, CO 80634 | Medical Assisting (certificate and AOS), Paralegal Studies AOS, Barbering, Cosmetology, Esthetician |
| Longmont | 2315 N. Main Street, Longmont, CO 80501 | Medical Assisting (certificate and AOS), Barbering, Cosmetology, Esthetician |
Fort Collins is the only campus for Dental Assisting and Massage, and Greeley the only one for Paralegal Studies. We found no student housing at any campus.
Externships, salons and career help
Medical Assisting and Dental Assisting end in six-week externships and Paralegal Studies in a five-week law-office externship, all arranged by the school. Beauty and massage students practise on members of the public in the campus salons and the Fort Collins Massage Clinic. The school has success coaches, a career services office and a “Hire a Graduate” form for employers, but names no employer partners.
What students say
On Niche, IBMC College is rated 4.11 out of 5 from 643 reviews, with an overall grade of C+ (checked October 2026); the profile covers all three campuses. Reviewers most often praise caring staff who go out of their way to help, a small, family-like campus, instructors with real-world experience and help finding jobs. The most common complaints are outdated equipment and too little hands-on practice in the former computer-support program, uneven instructor preparation and credits that are hard to transfer. Most of the reviews Niche shows are from 2021 to 2023, before the sale; the total is large for a school of about 300 students, and we could not tell how many recent reviews there are or whether the school invited them.
Facts checked October 2026.
Programs & Courses
Healthcare
- Clinical Medical Assisting (certificate)
- Healthcare Administration: Medical Assisting (AOS degree)
- Dental Assisting (Fort Collins)
Massage & Healing Arts
- Therapeutic Massage (Fort Collins)
Beauty & Barber
- Cosmetology (diploma)
- Esthetician (certificate)
- Barbering (Greeley, Longmont)
Paralegal
- Paralegal Studies (AOS degree, Greeley)
Campus Locations
Fort Collins, CO 3842 S Mason Street, Suite 102, Fort Collins, CO 80525
Greeley, CO 2863 35th Avenue, Greeley, CO 80634
Longmont, CO 2315 N. Main Street, Longmont, CO 80501