Tell It To Al

The leadership team at Westwood College firmly believes that these allegations are without merit, and we intend to set the record straight. It’s unfortunate that this very small, but very vocal group of students is attempting to speak for the thousands of other students — and thousands of other graduates — who are trying to better their lives through a strong, career-based college education. The individuals involved in this class-action arbitration represent a small and disgruntled population of former Westwood students, not the majority of the more than 20,000 Westwood College graduates who completed their degrees. In fact, 76% of the Westwood graduates from 2007 and 2008 are currently employed in their field of study.

We operate in a highly regulated industry and are committed to complying with the rules and regulations that govern our industry. For example, we have the following in place:
-Compliance Department with the position of Chief Compliance Officer
-Ongoing audits to ensure compliance and integrity
-Compliance training for all employees
-Code of Conduct
-Student Resolution Hotline to address all student problems and concerns

When the leadership team determines that any of our policies have been violated, we take it very seriously and respond quickly and appropriately. Westwood is an institution of higher learning that is committed to operating with integrity to enable our mission – to provide students with the skills, knowledge and credentials to launch, enhance or change careers. As one example, every admissions representative is put through rigorous training and periodic refresher training that includes an emphasis on ethics; they are specifically instructed to follow our policies and procedures and our code of conduct.

We are not perfect, but we do strive to continuously improve to meet our past, current and future students’ needs. If any students, current or past, have any unresolved issues, we want to hear from them so we can address their specific concerns. Our Student Resolution Hotline number is 888-331-3036.

Russ Natoce
Westwood College

Al – I know the Alta founders well. They’re fantastic guys. I actually am a small investor in the company. I also know a couple other executives in the for-profit education industry. Every company in that business faces similar challenges – and as you can imagine, as with many class action lawsuits ginned up by bottom-feeding trial lawyers, you … Read Morecan’t believe everything you read. The coverage, with the “gangsta” picture and especially the innuendo about Burnett, actually, in my opinion, isn’t reflective of the whole truth about the company and the industry.

I attended Westwood Online college for about a year. It was the worst decision I have made in my life. I take some of the responsiblity for getting myself into this mess and not thoroughly researching the school before I signed up. Originally when I enrolled I was ever informed by my student advisor( telemarketer) that the bachelor degree program would cost 64000 dollars. I was only told to take out an 8500 loan. About a year into the program they said I owed them another fifteen thousand to cover what the loan didn’t. I decided to drop out because there was no way I was going to pay such an outrageous price for a degree which holds very little value. My cousin recently graduated from U.C Davis (far superior education) with a bachelor’s degree and only owes about 20,000. Westwood definitely preys on students and families who are not to knowledgeable in the school system or are not able to go back to school full time and see the online program as the only way to obtain a degree. I have re-visited their site and I did notice they now have a link to the tuition page. I’m sure since they’re coming under so much scrutiny they are changing their ways. I am currently 26000 dollars in debt for a few semesters at Westwood and the amount keeps growing every month with interest. I would like to hold a organized picketed protest to make sure no other students attend Westwood. There is a facebook website for former students who have fell victim to Westwood. If we don’t succeed in winning the lawsuit the least we can do is make sure other people do not enroll.

Thanks for the laugh Russ.

Westwood has crippled tens of thousands of students with unmanageable debt for a degree that wouldn’t be recognized by any respectable campus. Westwood prays on the dreams of kids and those down on their luck to make a small group of people rich…. And they do it by lying, lying and more lying.

Even Russ’s response is filled with lies – take his “76% of Westwood graduates” stat. For starters, “employed in their field of study” means you could be an Assistant Manager at Burger King but you’re using your Business Administration degree. It could probably pass for employment in your field of study if you had a Computer Networking degree as well. Here’s a little bit more about Westwood and how it likes to fudge its graduation numbers. http://www.nextstudent.com/student-loan-blog/blogs/sample_weblog/archive/2009/04/24/18213.aspx

And student resolution hotline number… wasn’t that started in response to the mentioned lawsuit? And the purpose of it is to keep students in school so you can continue to collect guaranteed federal loans at the cost of loading a student with crippling debt.

Why doesn’t he give us his number so we can speak to him directly? So he can know that pain and agony that his students in past years are enduring due to the fact that we have credit card bills, car payments, rent, kids and oh yeah $35000 loan that we cannot pay for because, you know an $8 dollar an hour job as a medical assistant just does not cut it!

I was a student at Westwood and I can tell you that my story is very similar to the ones told. I was misinformed about transferability of credits (by the dean over the phone while he was attempting to butter me up prior to enrollment), the advisors did not care about you whatsoever once you enrolled, the teachers and their curriculum were a joke, they took my electronic signature from a document I had signed back in July to put on loan documents after I had unenrolled (without notifying me whatsoever), they barred me from classes until I had signed a “cash contract”, and every other school I inquired to about this school stated that “they didn’t view Westwood College as an institution”. This school needs to be taken down before they ruin more kids’ lives.

Al,

Your Twitter account has been suspended.

Are you under a reputation-management spam-attack to freeze your account because of your articles?

Oh, a big Westwood banner-ad greeted me at DenverPost.com.

Interesting.

It isn’t just Westwood folks! Tech Skills does the same thing. I found better led classes for IT at a local Vo-tech school at one tenth the price. I’m on the hook for a nice piece of change and TechSkills gets to keep it by being manipulative, and out right lying to Sallie Mae. SLM dosen’t care who pays it back and they will sell your loan to collection agencies who will hound you to the grave. Check out studentloanjustice.org As a great man once said, “trust, but verify” read your contract and have an attorney check it over BEFORE signing. These schools are suckering a lot of good people who are trying to better themselves. They are no better than a street thug.

In response to Dave M. who says Alta is a great company I want to see you send your kids there and pay the big bucks for a Westwood bachelor’s degree then I’ll believe your telling the truth.

Jeff: Looks like just another typical night of Twitter. Don’t know why you got a message saying I was suspended or why I could not access my account for hours on end, but I’m chalking it up to the fact to the usual. Thanks for the heads up on this, though.

My husband and I both attended Westwood and we are extremely disappointed with the quality of education we received for the outrageous price we paid. We both ended up graduating from there because we couldn’t afford to go somewhere else, take out more student loans, and then be saddled with more debt. But, we’re drowning in it anyway. My biggest complaints with Westwood are:

1. Their admission reps flat out lie about the things you will learn and the equipment they have available for you. Example, they told us they had a green room and all needed equipment for video production. That was a lie. They had no green room and no applicable equipment.

2. Unlike other, REPUTABLE, colleges, you are not locked in to the catalog under which you signed up for. There was at least once, and I think if I go back and check my records, twice, that they forced me to take out additional student loans because they RAISED THE TUITION! At any other school I’ve been to, the tuition rate that is in place when you sign up is the rate that you pay for your entire college career there, regardless if they raise the rates.

3. They had very few teachers who actually knew what they were teaching. They often had teachers from other department teaching a course. Teachers who don’t know much, if anything, about the subject.

4. They continued to put beginning level students in the advanced level classes – they NEVER followed the prerequisite rules. Why does this matter, you ask? Because when you have a novice in an advanced class, that person holds back the entire class because they have no idea what’s going on and the teacher has to devote their time to explaining it to them, rather than teaching the advanced students the more complex stuff.

5. We both worked as work-studies at the school, and saw what went on in the registrar’s office.

6. I have heard from numerous people that when they try to go get their Master’s degree from another school, their Bachelor degrees from Westwood are not accepted. I am hoping that is not really the case, because then our $120,000+ debt really is FOR NOTHING! I will be contacting some schools in the next week to talk to them and find out if that is true.

7. And yes, you read that correctly. Combined, my husband and I have over $120,000 in student loans because of Westwood. Imagine how difficult those are to pay down, especially when your monthly payments ARE LESS than your mortgage payment. Oh, and the combined debt IS MORE than your mortgage too!

8. I was told that I was virtually guaranteed to get a job in my field after graduation that started at between $40k and $50k a year. Guess where I ended up working? FedEx Kinkos. And when I did find a job at a marketing firm, I started out at $25k a year.

Lies, lies, lies … I could go on for hours.

I have been trying to get resolutions to so many problems at Westwood. I have been ruffling feathers after about 2 months of attending Westwood. I had had enough when I found out my teachers were not certified in any programs they were teaching. On the general education classes, teachers did not have degrees in those subjects and several of them could not even speak english enough to communicate with the students.

I have been trying to get resolutions to so many problems at Westwood. I have been ruffling feathers after about 2 months of attending Westwood. I had had enough when I found out my teachers were not certified in any programs they were teaching. On the general education classes, teachers did not have degrees in those subjects and several of them could not even speak english enough to communicate with the students.
I take full reponsibility for being ignorant to the financial aid process at Westwood college, but when the Chief Financial Officer tells me he will have to give me a summary of my finances and “his” breakdown, what does that say about Westwood trying to really explain what they are charging. I would walk in to Financial aid, they would tell me I was a fulltime student so I needed to take out this much for a loan. When I looked at loan papers for Sallie Mae and the requests they put down on time was for $999,999. They say they shoot high so you can get a smaller loan. Then I was told that I could not get a breakdown by class. The Director of Education told me if I re-took a math class (I wanted to withdrawal because the teacher spoke little english), the class would cost me $1500. A college algebra class for $1500 is obsurd! If I knew how much that class was I would have taken it at any local community college.
Westwood is a scam. I had to do an interview to get into the school like they do not let everyone in that is will to sign their “enrollment sgreement”. Which this “enrollment agreement” has been held against me anytime I have had a complaint.
I found a job on my own, have not heard from Westwood even though I called the Career Services dept several times to help find a job (with no returned phone calls). The only time they contacted me was when they wanted me to sign up for their bachelors degree (I only received an Associates if you can call it that). I also just received a notice from Sallie Mae that I applied for a loan and was denied which is funny because I “graduated” in December 2008. I am looking into it to see if Sallie Mae is just that behind on sending out denial letters or if Westwood was putting another loan in my name without my permission!
I have heard from the Business Department in the corporate office when I posted on a complaint forum on Facebook. I wish anyone the best of luck and especially James, Hoyer, Newcomer, Smiljanich & Yanchunis, P.A. who is taking up for all of us who have been wronged, mislead, scammed and are now broke and in debt. The school should be ashamed, but who I am kidding when we are taking big bucks and corporate business!

-Jessica-

I attended Westwood College and had a great experience. I have been out for a year; I have a successful job with an excellent salary. I feel that attending Westwood College was one of the best decisions I have ever made. If I didn’t have Westwood, I would probably still be working at Wal-Mart.
My degree has never been frowned upon by any organization. Plus, we are about to obtain HLC accreditation. You know like Harvard has; if we sucked so badly I doubt we would even be eligible.

I know nothing about Westwood per se. However, I have taken graduate and undergraduate courses at 7 or 8 universities over the years. I don’t recall any colleges or univesities being traded publicly on stock exchanges.

Then about 4-5 years ago I came across a number of new schools being traded on stock exchanges. I’m a little dubious of any institution proclaiming to offer an education and then is publicly traded on a stock exchange. Are they really wanting to provide an “education” or just another wall street scam?

Just a follow up on my message that I posted on Sunday. I have been calling around to different colleges and universities to inquire about enrolling in their Master’s degree programs with a Bachelor’s degree from Westwood. Every single one that I have spoken to today has told me that they will not accept transfer credits OR a Bachelor’s degree from Westwood to enroll in their Graduate degree programs. They have even sent me documentation to prove it.

What does this mean for me (and my husband)? We have to start over. We have to go get ANOTHER Bachelor’s degree from an ACCREDITED school in order to continue on with our higher education. But, with the debt from Westwood, we cannot afford to do that.

I am beyond livid at this point. I am stuck with a worthless piece of paper and over $120k in debt.

Bitter Student,

I just wanted you to know that Westwood College may in the very near future get HLC Accreditation. Keep an eye out for this and when it happens get a copy of it. Show the other schools you want to attend and let them know about this accreditation. I have no doubt this will help you get into a master’s program.

Anonymous232 – Please explain to me the difference between HLC Accreditation, Regional, and National Accreditation.

Ashley K.
June 1, 2009

I attended Westwood College and had a great experience. I have been out for a year; I have a successful job with an excellent salary. I feel that attending Westwood College was one of the best decisions I have ever made. If I didn’t have Westwood, I would probably still be working at Wal-Mart.
My degree has never been frowned upon by any organization. Plus, we are about to obtain HLC accreditation. You know like Harvard has; if we sucked so badly I doubt we would even be eligible.

Hey Ashley , what do you mean we are about to receive accreditation , do you work for Westwood or something?

I’m glad this has been put on the spot again.
I imagine my self being in that huge debt which is just wrong… I hope everything will come out good and justice to give everyone their money back.

Bitter student

Thanks for mentioning accreditation because I had meant to mention it in my previous post.

Also, just because a school that is accredited from say the NCA, doesn’t mean another school with the same accreditations will accept all your credit hours. I know from experience.

I wish I had some advice for you because it’s tough to think of everything in advance, particularly if you want to get into a graduate program. But as a rule of thumb, if one is interested in grad school. I’d be talking to school reps of the schools I was interested in – as soon as I knew it was something I wanted to pursue to understand all the requirements one will need. Course work, Letters of recommendation, entrance tests such as the GRE, etc.

Here’s an example of accreditations from the University of Colorado Boulder’s School of Engineering.

http://ecadw.colorado.edu/engineering/collegeassessment/index.htm

CU-Boulder units report on outcomes assessment related to education and research goals in the Academic Program Review and Planning self studies that are developed every seven years. This serves as the basis of our reporting to the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Schools and Colleges

Eight of the college’s 12 undergraduate programs are currently accredited by ABET and two more are seeking accreditation in 2009. Each accredited program has its educational programs reviewed by ABET every six years

It is obvious Miss Ashley works for Westwood with her Freudian slip of ‘we are about to get HLC accreditation’. Gaining HLC accreditation is a multi-year process. It is not easily obtained. It is obvious, again, that Miss Ashley has been brain washed by WW on this account. WW does not have the facilities, the faculty, or the equipment and resources to pull off this feat. WW doesn’t even teach MAYA – why? They tell the students it’s not industry standard (which is an out and out lie) when the reason is they have neither the equipment nor the instructors to utilize it. Can you find any MAC computers at WW? Doubtful. But again, according to WW, they aren’t industry standard. Right?

If the HLC would investigate WW’s financial aid practices they would run away from the school without looking back. WW’s dubious FA officers (and I hesitate in calling them that) wouldn’t know a federal regulation if it hit them in the face.

These FAO’s have completed FAFSA’s and loan requests ‘on behalf’ of students without students knowledge or consent. I have had former WW students tell me that ‘they’ (meaning a WW employee) did their FAFSA and signed it for the student. In the real world this is called forgery because using a students information and PIN number on the FAFSA is a felony and a federal offense.

Students have also had loans acquired that they never applied for. Again, forgery.

I have seen FAFSA’s done that ‘they’ did. They are completed in such a way that the student (read school here) gets the maximum in grant monies. The student doesn’t get much out of it other than credits that won’t transfer to any regionally accredited school.

The FAO’s as well as the sales reps revolve through a turnstile faster than you can say ‘bob’s your uncle’.

The sales reps, and let’s call a spade a spade here, work on a monthly and sometimes weekly basis for fear of losing their job.

How do I know this? I’m a former employee. That’s right, I sold snake oil. While I firmly believe in education, I learned that the product I was selling was nothing more than smoke and mirrors.

I would have students come visit me that should have been in class tell me they just signed in but their instructors said they didn’t need to be there.

Sales reps do have a weekly interview/application goal they must meet as well as a goal for ’sitting students in class’. Once classes start, the student must sit for 14 days – otherwise the school will lose their financial aid payouts.

Directors and sales reps use any and all tactics to make this happen. Sales reps get bonuses, trips, and other perks if they tow the line.

Students, in the end, get the short end of the stick. Worthless degrees and massive debt.

There may indeed be some people who feel they are getting a good education, and there may indeed be some employees who believe in what they are doing. In the end, you can’t compare apples and oranges and reality shows us that Westwood is a rotten apple.

Joan – I am very happy to hear your side of the story. Hopefully more faculty will come forward to help validate student’s claims. I appreciate you sharing your story.

Hello Joan,
Miss Ashley does indeed work for Westwood. I am a graduate and an employee. Westwood obviously feels confident enough in their grads to hire us. I have not been brain washed by Westwood…where does that statement even come from? Do you know me?
I made a simple statement. I enjoyed my experience. I made the most of my education. And today I am successful and living a very happy life.
Oh, and yes there are MAC’s at WW.

Hello all,
I am a former financial aid counselor at WW and can tell you first hand that WW is EXPENSIVE! It is a for-profit institution that is concerned only with collecting students federal stafford loans and pell grant along with private student loans. The financial aid process that students go through is misleading, (thanks to admissions reps who are willing to blatantly lie to students about the cost of attendance) and if a student cannot qualify for a private student loan with a 6% interest rate, they then must go on student supplemental financing (SSF) through westwood. Now the student is completely … ! There is an 18% interest rate associated with ssf that goes into effect 90 days after graduation or 90 days after the last date of attendance. When i worked for WW it felt like my entire job was to inform the students that their admissions rep had straight up lied to them about their federal funding financing 100% of their crummy and laughable education. Then i would tell them that they would need to become approved for a private student loan to cover the gap between federal funding and the unconscionable, exorbitant tuition. WW sucks, good riddance!

Miss Ashley,

You can wave your ‘I love Westwood’ flag until the cows come home. You are the minority. it is clear that WW and their business practices are under scrutinty for a reason. Where there is smoke, there is fire. Are my words too big? I could use words with less than two syllables if necessary.

One more thing Ashley, are you aware that it is a violation for you to talk publicly about HLC accreditation? Further, as a WW employee you can be terminated for participating in this news piece? Employees are never allowed to speak to the press, which is what all you good little WW employees are doing.

Since my initial comment on Mr. Lewis’ article, I have been interested to read the ongoing dialogue. While we at Westwood College realize that each person’s experience and comment is unique, we have put together a fact check site to address some questions we have received about our school. Click here to get to the site: http://www.westwood.edu/facts

In addition to setting the record straight, you will find a link to our Student Resolution Hotline (888-331-3036) so we can speak with you personally. If you have tried unsuccessfully to get an issue resolved, we really encourage you to call this hotline.

Russ Natoce
Westwood College

For those of you who are interested in reading the formal complaint that was filed in May, it’s posted on the law firm’s site:

http://www.jameshoyer.com/docs/westwood-complaint.pdf

Dear Russ,

I don’t know how much pull you have with the school but if you have some kind of dignity lets get some refunds going for the students who are stuck with an exuberant amount of debt and nothing to show for. There is mounting evidence that shows the school misled and deceived many students. Not only are students speaking out on the lies but your former employees are spilling the beans on how the school scammed many people.

Thanks for continuing to share your thoughts about Westwood College. While we realize each experience and comment is unique, we have put together a fact check site to address questions we receive about our school. Click here to get to the site: http://www.westwood.edu/facts

In addition to setting the record straight, you will find a link to our Student Resolution Hotline so we can speak with you personally. If you have tried unsuccessfully to get an issue resolved, we really encourage you to call this hotline.

Russ Natoce
Westwood College

It’s always the same crap. The head of the institution wil come on here or wherever and tout all the fine qualities of said institution, and then it’s the student left holding the bag in the end. I feel it in my bones that all these for profit places are borderline scams. Shame on all of you like Mr. Natoce and the lying sales people who will say anyhting to make the sale.

I to am a WestWood fan. I am currently a student at Westwood Denver-North Campus. Before signing up at Westwood I did a lot of research. Westwood has been in the Denver Metro area for 50 years. If this school was ripping students off and leaving them with mounting student loans do you really think that the school would have lasted this long?
I have never had the problems that these other people have had. I am an advocate for my own education, therefore, I make sure that I get a log every term to show the money that I have received and what it is being used for. My student loans are at 6%.
I was told what the pay potential could be and what the ranges are. Not once was I ever told that with my degree I would start out at the top of the pay scale. If you were told that and you believed that then that is on you.
As for the accredation with the HLC I know first hand that it is happening, I was present at the HLC meetings to help the school get the accredation. In my program we are accredited through CAAHEP. The other programs are accredited through the commisions for there programs.
So if Westwood is not the school for you then go to the school that will make you happy. Just make sure that you check everything out totally. Perhaps if there is one thing wrong you can then start to blog that school or complain about having to pay back a debt that you feel is not your responsibility to pay.
In that case I know a lot of people that could say that they are not paying their credit card bills because the interest rate was way to high. If you use a credit card you are responsible for that debt, If you attend a school where you have taken out loans then you are responsible for paying those loans back.

Tonya

My main problem with Westwood was that my admissions representative did not inform me the total cost of the bachelor degree program when we initially spoke. I was only told to take out an 8500 loan with Sallie Mae. They recently did send me a copy of the enrollment where there is a section in fine print stating the cost. Either I was very careless and did not see that section or the document was altered. When I found out the total cost of the school I decided not to continue because I felt 64000 dollars was too much to pay for a degree from Westwood. Unfortunately for me I was already 23000 dollars in the hole. Let’s be realistic , the majority of employers out there are not going to look at a potential job candidate with a Westwood degree as they would a graduate from a traditional university.

After countless of hours of research on the internet I discovered many students felt either deceived and misled by the school. There are also former employees spilling the beans on the deceptive tactics they used to sign up students.

I do hope you find a good job after you graduate because you will be in a great amount of debt when you finish your program unless your receiving some kind of grant or assistance from your parents.

Tonya – Good luck when you try to pursue higher education (if you want to pursue your Master’s or PhD). I’ve been turned down by numerous colleges/universities when I tried to enroll in a graduate program (and I have written proof from those schools). They all say the same thing. Westwood credits and degrees are not accepted because they are not regionally accredited.

Maybe you have no dreams of pursuing your education further than an Associates or Masters, but I do. And I’m furious that I am not going to be able to do that. The only option I have is to go back to a regionally accredited school and get ANOTHER Bachelor’s degree before I can move on. And with over $100k in debt from Westwood, I can’t afford to do that.

Oh, and I saw that Westwood is now offering a Master’s degree program … What a joke! You know why they are offering that? Because NONE OF THEIR GRADUATES CAN GET ACCEPTED ANYWHERE ELSE! What an insult!

I will tell you guys like it is. Westwood College preys on and lures in the idiots straight out of high school who never did good enough to get into a “REAL” University or College. Tuition is about $60,000 for a 3 year all-year around education. Given the fact the I’m trying to attain my Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice I only hope this damn school gets it HLC accreditation. Lucky for me, most police departments actually recognize Westwood’s Degree as being of some “worth”. You would think that getting a 4 year degree in 3 full years would seem fair although there has been so much bullshit that has been circulating around that I’ve been embarrassed to say that I even go to Westwood College.

Please do yourself a favor, when you graduate high school go to Community College, work hard, and then transfer to your dream University and get an education that is worth 100% of your time and money.

At least I can vouch for the Instructors, who for the most part are experienced and knowledgeable within the courses they teach here in Illinois at my campus.

I was so much better than this as well, I could have just simply switched my major while in Community College and transfer over to Illinois State or Western afterwards. Would have been much cheaper as well.

Not to mention schools like the University of Phoenix and Kaplan University are even worse. All these “Online Degrees” that people attain are worth bullshit!!

On that note, remember that EVERY “For-Profit” College and or University that exists is NOT worth a damn penny when it comes to getting an education.

Ashley K,

Don’t even try to compare such an institution like Harvard University and their accreditation because you are not even close.

Harvard University is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges(NEASC-CIHE), Commission on Institutions of Higher Education. Not the HLC….

Not to mention, if ONLY I were President of the United States. I would reign down upon ALL these damn “For-Profit” Colleges and burn them straight out of the ground if I could.

And to think that Sallie Mae has contracts with such schools to deprive students of a real education and put them in overwhelming debt.

Someone has to put an END to this. America is already known for it’s poor comprehension of Mathematics and Science. This is the last thing we need….

Hey Russ

Westwood is like the cheating husband that got caught and still won’t come clean. There is mounting evidence that Westwood deceived and misled students. The Department of Justice recently settled a lawsuit with Westwood which was brought upon by ex-Westwood employees. Westwood may not have to pay anything back in the long run but everday I read that more and more students are either dropping out or not attending whatsoever because of all the negative publicity. This will hopefully end up putting Westwood out of business and not ruining anymore lives.

Good David, Let’s hope TechSkills is next to fall.

Yeah just this week I read that three students bailed out at the last minute after they read all the negative stories. That’s about 100k WW just lost!

What I can’t believe is all the complaints even the University of Phoenix has against themselves. And to think BS Colleges like this actually have Regional Accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission. What a joke….

Westwood doesn’t have HLC accreditation YET. The goal is to make sure they don’t receive it at all. Can anyone honestly hold Westwood in the same esteem as CU, CSU or Colorado School of Mines? Seriously.

I am relieved to see that Westwood is being put under pressure for what they have done to their students. I enrolled in 2005, under high pressure from a sales rep, and during 2 and a half years of my enrollment, I questioned their education, financial aid and even care of their students interests and got nowhere. When I realized I was right about the education, I copied every email from my account over to my personal email account, along with actual complaints posted inside my discussions area in my classes online from other students whom had felt the same. They have now left me in 80,000 worth of debt, with no degree, 2 and a half years of hardship at their so called online education and now trying to get into another college they are refusing to let go of my transcripts unless I pay 21,000. I would LOVE to be added to any class action lawsuit going on. You can email me at serena_65@hotmail.com with any information.

I worked with the company for some time and once I started to see how things worked there I thought to myself “What a rip-off”. Then again. PEOPLE PLEASE do research on schools; check out different colleges, prices on courses, books, living expenses, quality of education, MAKE SURE IT IS A ACCREDITED COLLEGE!!! Yes I admit that the school is a scam and they prey on youths ignorance, and I also feel that Colleges should have to tell students certain things, but they do not are are not required too. So bottom line watch your ass I make sure you know what your getting in to (AND HAVE DOCUMENTION TO SUPPORT IT) you cannot take anyone’s word for it. Especially those admissions reps. They get commission so they will tell you whatever you want to here. That company lacks providing students more personal services for their individual needs. That company also lacks a soul and I am truly happy to not be employed/associated with them anymore. I left on bad terms and I hope they get what coming to them. (They do not treat employee’s any better then future student’s)

When I attended Westwood College in Fort Worth, TX in 2006, I expressed my displeasure with the lack of education I and my fellow classmates were receiving. Everyone there understood my concerns but assured me that things would get better. I held out only to find that I couldn’t get a job in my field of study because potential employers had harder employment tests that what Westwood administered, besides the fact that they helped us with the answeres since they knew we didn’t cover everything in our classes. I should have known something was wrong when they went through four deans in the nine months I was a student there. I didn’t even complete my externship and still passed the class. The site they sent me to, all I did was sit around all day in a doctor’s office. The doctors there didn’t trust anyone to code or bill so why was this chosen as my externship site?? I’m now an unemployed single Mom due to lay offs at the company I was working for and would sure like to be able to get a job in my field of study at Westwood College, but that is not at all possible. I couldn’t get one after I graduated so I let my certification expire because in all reality, it was totally worthless then and now. I’m beginning to truly believe that the Medical Community in the Dallas/Fort Worth area knew how worthless a certification from Westwood College was before I did.

For those of you who may not have seen it, here is the interview that ABC World News did on the Westwood lawsuit: http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=8337546

As a former employee, I have to agree with many of the negative comments made by former students of Westwood College. As an admissions representative I cared very much for my students but when after a year I started to gain more and more in site on how it all works I wanted to be sick! I am so glad that I am no longer there and can finally sleep at night! I wish I could let all of my former students know what it is really like.

MaggieW – I really encourage you to contact Jillian Estes at the James Hoyer law firm – they are handling the class action suit against Westwood. They really appreciate the stories from former faculty, so if you feel comfortable, contact them and tell them your story. Speaking up is the best way that you can help your former students. Westwood must be brought down!

You can contact her through this website: http://westwoodscammed.me/

Current Westwood students, PLEASE RECONSIDER your status with Westwood College and find a reputable Community College or State University that falls under stricter standards and iS affordable. The unethical practices became more obvious to me the longer I was at Westwood. As a new hire-employee, I was under the understanding that I was to assist students with enrolled and be supportive while attending school at Westwood. Instead, I was pressured and micro-managed to enroll, enroll, enroll! Help a student???, don’t let that be heard over the recorded phone lines by a manager because you will be reprimanded. I was a telemarketer and nothing more needs to be said!

Someone mentioned bonuses, the only one I know of is the $100 retention bonus when a student would come back for a second academic year. Coupons to earn time-off were at one time given to employee’s for a job well done and then not honored when Westwood was being scrutenized because of the class action lawsuits and accreditation rules. There is a lot of unprofessional ‘whooping and hollering’ when reps gets an enrollments (Yes,sale) which to many of us was embarrassing and disruptive when trying to hold a conversation with a prospective student. Interesting enough, when the accreditation counsel was coming for a review, all awards, props, sales quotes of individuals and teams, etc. where to be put away and not be seen. Erase that white board!

As an employee; I was harassed by my manager, known to most of us as one of many of our ‘Director of Admissions’ – aka God; even though I was an excellent (sad to say now) employee at enrolling students. I was told by co-workers to report this person to HR and when I finally did, it was never acknowledged even after contacting them a second time. I know for a fact this same person was reported repeatedly and is still employed at Westwood. Can we say… law-suit?

Mr. Notace, do you ever get down in the dirt with your soldiers and see how things really work in the trenches? It is a very unhealthy, stressful environment and not how a ’school’ should be run. Thankfully, I finally gave up and quit when student after student was contacting me because they could get no support or help with issues they were having, disappearing after they found out what the cost would be after the first year and unable to get a timely if any response from their instructor(s).

My conscience still bothers me about the position I held at Westwood College but only time will tell and I pray the truth will be told.

School should be a wonderful experience and please pursue it, but not at Westwood – Alta Colleges.

Lydia – Like I told MaggieW, I strongly encourage you to contact Jillian Estes at the James Hoyer law firm – they are handling the class action suit against Westwood.

While they have many students and former facualty who ahve come forward to tell thier stories, they are still looking for and appreciating any new stories that need to be told.

If you feel comfortable, contact them and tell them your story. Speaking up is the best way that you can help your former students. You’re voice can be one that helps the future of the victims of Westwood College. Take comfort in the fact that nothing will change without people like you speaking up. Westwood must be brought down!

You can contact her through this website: http://westwoodscammed.me/

Lets’ throw out one more jab at TechSkills. Anyone here have any of the same experiences with them? I got stuck for 6K for 1 day of school. There is a class action lawsuit forming at a law firm in FL. They are gathering evidence that will involve westwood, ITT Tech and Sallie Mae. Lets all pray for them to be triumphiant.

When I worked at WOL they had a money machine filled with play and real money. The more people you signed up the more time you got in the machine to grab the cash blowing around. Do you think the admission people at CU get to do that?