Westwood College

In May 2009, Westwood settled a federal lawsuit over misrepresentation of its graduation statistics for $7 million, without admitting wrongdoing.[6]

Westwood faced a class action arbitration in 2009, challenging its admissions and financial aid practices. The suit against Westwood was dismissed after the court found that it did not warrant class action status. The court ruled that the student who led the class-action suit derived "most if not all, of his knowledge of the case from his attorneys" and appeared to be little more than a bystander to the suit.[7][8]

The Colorado Attorney General's office reached a settlement with the college in 2012, following a two-year investigation, in which the college did not admit any liability but agreed to pay $2 million in penalties, restitution, and attorneys fees and costs to the state. Westwood was also required to credit another $2.5 million in restitution directly to students who financed their tuition with the school's institutional financing program.[9]

In 2011, the Veterans Administration disqualified three Westwood College Campuses from the GI Bill Program. The VA took this step after finding, "erroneous, deceptive, and misleading advertising and enrollment practices at these institutions."[10] In late 2011, Westwood stopped enrolling students in their Texas campuses.

On January 18, 2012, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a lawsuit citing misleading job opportunities for Westwood's criminal justice program.[11] Westwood settled the suit in 2015 after failing to gain dismissal of the case. Westwood agreed to pay $15 million toward the loans of their criminal justice students.[12] Shortly thereafter the college ceased admitting new students[13] and announced that it would close in March 2016.[5] Westwood has acknowledged that in most cases its credits will not transfer to other colleges or universities.[14]

Westwood College operated on a term schedule. Degree programs started five times a year, and courses were offered year-round during the day, evening, and online. Depending on the degree program in which they were enrolled, students could earn an associate degree in as little as 20 months or a bachelor's degree in three years.

Westwood College's degree programs were organized under six schools: School of Business, School of Design, School of Justice, School of Technology, School of Healthcare and Automotive Technology. Each campus had a different program focus and some programs were not available at certain locations, depending on the regional economic variables and demand.

Students who graduated from Westwood could return for tuition-free retraining, which allowed them to evaluate and review courses that were within their degree program. Westwood alumni could audit a class they took during their tenure, take an updated course after graduation and continue to learn about new equipment and software.

New students were allowed to take classes for 30 days with no financial obligations. The school also offered an "Employment Pledge"[21] to help eligible graduates financially if they were unable to find employment after graduation.[22]

Westwood College's campus locations were nationally accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS).[23][24][25][26][27][28] Each campus was also approved to operate by the appropriate state regulatory bodies.[29][30][31]