Westwood College was a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

for-profit college Proprietary colleges are for-profit colleges and universities. They are operated by their owners or investors, rather than a not-for-profit institution, religious organization, or government. Because they are not funded by tax money, their long ...

owned by Alta Colleges Inc. with 15 campus locations in five states and

online learning Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, edtech, it often refer ...

options. Westwood was nationally

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by the

Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) is a non-profit education corporation that was recognized until 2021 by the United States Department of Education as an independent and autonomous national accrediting body. ...

(ACICS). Since its inception in 1986, Westwood graduated more than 37,000 students. The college closed in March 2016.

History

Westwood College was founded in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, in 1953. For many years, the school was known as Denver Institute of Technology, offering

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...

and

degree programs An academic degree is a qualification awarded to students upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions commonly offer degrees at various levels, usually including unde ...

in a variety of technical fields. As the school expanded into other industries, the name was changed to Westwood College in 1997. Westwood College became part of Alta Colleges Inc. (Alta), a system of for-profit

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

institutions that also included Westwood College Online and Redstone College (formerly known as Colorado Aero Tech in Denver). Prior to ceasing operations, there were 15 Westwood College campuses located in five states.

Issues and controversies

2009 class action suit

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

Colorado Attorney General The Attorney General of the State of Colorado is the chief legal officer for the U.S. state of Colorado and the head of the Colorado Department of Law, a principal department of the Colorado state government. It is an elected position with a four- ...

'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.

2011 disqualification by Veterans administration

In 2011, the

Veterans Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers and ...

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." In late 2011, Westwood stopped enrolling students in their Texas campuses. On January 18, 2012, Illinois Attorney General

Lisa Madigan Lisa Murray Madigan (born July 30, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as Attorney General of the U.S. state of Illinois from 2003 to 2019, being the first woman to hold that position. She is t ...

filed a lawsuit citing misleading job opportunities for Westwood's criminal justice program. 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. Shortly thereafter the college ceased admitting new students and announced that it would close in March 2016. Westwood has acknowledged that in most cases its credits will not transfer to other colleges or universities.

Academics

Westwood College Online offered 25 degree programs. Coursework was completed entirely over the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

via audio/visual technology designed to mimic an actual classroom. The virtual classrooms were supplemented with real textbooks. Westwood College established partnerships with several public school districts to provide technology, support and money. The partnerships include

Atlanta Public Schools Atlanta Public Schools (APS) is a school district based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is run by the Atlanta Board of Education with superintendent Dr. Lisa Herring. The system has an active enrollment of 54,956 students, attending a t ...

, "A Better Chicago" and the Crushers Club in Chicago, and the KidsTek program at

Denver Public Schools The Denver County School District No. 1, more commonly known as the Denver Public Schools (DPS), is the public school system in the City and County of Denver, Colorado, United States. History In 1859, Owen J. Goldrick established the Union Scho ...

Curriculum

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 An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

in as little as 20 months or a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

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" to help eligible graduates financially if they were unable to find employment after graduation.

Accreditation

Westwood College's campus locations were nationally accredited by the

(ACICS). Each campus was also approved to operate by the appropriate state regulatory bodies.

Locations

In addition to its Westwood College Online program, Westwood College had locations in: *

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

, Upland,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

(

Mid-Wilshire Mid-Wilshire is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. It is known for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Petersen Automotive Museum, and the Miracle Mile shopping district. Geography City of Los Angeles bounda ...

), and Los Angeles ( South Bay). *

North (unincorporated Adams County) and Denver South. *

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

( Midtown) and Northlake (unincorporated

DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johan DeKalb: * DeKalb County, Alabama * DeKalb County, Georgia * DeKalb County, Illinois * DeKalb County, Indiana * DeKalb County, Missouri ...

). *

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Chicago Loop The Loop, one of Chicago's 77 designated community areas, is the central business district of the city and is the main section of Downtown Chicago. Home to Chicago's commercial core, it is the second largest commercial business district in Nort ...

, Woodridge (DuPage),

Chicago O'Hare Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop business ...

, and

Calumet City Calumet City ( ) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 36,033 at the 2020 census, a decline of 2.7% from 37,042 in 2010. The ZIP code is 60409. Etymology The word ''Calumet'' is the Miꞌkmaq and French word for ...

(River Oaks). *

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

(

Arena Place Arena Place is a complex including two office towers and a theater located in Sharpstown, Southwest Management District, Houston, Texas.Southwest Management District Southwest Management District, formerly Greater Sharpstown Management District, is a district in Houston, Texas, United States. The district is split into 6 neighborhoods: Sharpstown, Chinatown, Mahatma Gandhi District/Little India, Westwood, ...

) *

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

: Annandale (unincorporated

Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

) and Arlington (unincorporated

Arlington County Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...

Admissions and financial aid

Prior to December 2015, Westwood had an open admissions policy. Applicants were eligible for both

Pell grant A Pell Grant is a subsidy the U.S. federal government provides for students who need it to pay for college. Federal Pell Grants are limited to students with financial need, who have not earned their first bachelor's degree, or who are enrolled ...

s and

federal student loans Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

. In an August 4, 2010 report from the

Government Accountability Office The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is a legislative branch government agency that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the supreme audit institution of the federal govern ...

, Westwood College was named as one of 15 institutions that "encouraged fraudulent practices" when meeting with undercover investigators posing as applicants. Fraudulent practices cited in this report included encouraging applicants to overstate financial need and hide assets. During a congressional hearing to present the report, testimony by a former Westwood admissions representative provided a descriptive account of a "boiler-room" sales atmosphere that enrolled students who "would end up with a mountain of debt and little or nothing to show for it.".

Closure in 2016

On November 12, 2015, Westwood suspended all enrollment citing poor enrollment and new government regulations. On January 25, 2016, the school sent email to current and former students advising them that Westwood College would be closing its doors in March after the conclusion of the January 2016 term. The email also informed students of their options for transferring credits to partner schools as well as student loan information. On March 29, 2016, Westwood officially acknowledged the closing of all 15 campuses, effective on March 8, 2016.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control 1953 establishments in Colorado 2016 disestablishments in Colorado Defunct education companies of the United States Defunct private universities and colleges in California Defunct private universities and colleges in Colorado Defunct private universities and colleges in Georgia (U.S. state) Defunct private universities and colleges in Illinois Defunct private universities and colleges in Texas Defunct private universities and colleges in Virginia Educational institutions established in 1953 Educational institutions disestablished in 2016 Former for-profit universities and colleges in the United States