Westwood College Los Angeles Lawsuit Against Westwood College Los Angeles, California
I studied at Westwood College Los Angeles Campus for 4 years to get a bachelors degree in criminal justice. I was told that I would be able to work in the Law Enforcement field only to find out after 3 years of study that I do not qualify for any job in law enforcement due to my age. I was too old to get any job worth while. I wish I was told this before I started my studies there. I was also told that it would cost me around $29.000.00 I now come to find out I owe Sallie Mae over $90.000.00. How the heck am I going to pay this if I can't even get a job in this profession.
I would like to start a class action law suite here in Los Angeles because I know there are hundreds of other students in the same boat as me. It is a shame that the college tells you one thing just so they can make money without taking into consideration the students and the debt.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Anonymous
Los Angeles,California,
Deceptive
#3Consumer Comment
Fri, August 02, 2013
I attended Westwood College and received a BS degree, I was optimistic about my future. The career advisor, criminal justice advisor and directors assured me that I would gain employment. To my dismay all incurred from attending Westwood College is debt. My degree was not accepted by potential employers. In fact Westwood isn't properly accredited. I didn't know that at all. I should have researched the school I was attending instead of trusting administrators to be honest and forthcoming. I am over 70,000 in debt. I even tried to apply for graduate school but guess what? My bachelors isn't accepted at universities. I honestly believe that for profit schools need to be shut down. They are guilty of unethical business practices and Sallie Mae should not be allowed by the government to work with such schools.
Leroy
Covina,California,
U.S.A.
Welcome Aboard
#3Consumer Suggestion
Thu, February 14, 2013
Christian,
You have joined a unique class of students who have fallen victim to what is now being called The Westwood Scam. If you have browsed through the other reports listed on this website and on others, you will notice a trend.
The admission counselors are not really counselors. They are salesmen. They make their money off of commission and the have a quota that they need to meet (Glassdoor Website). The salesmen will tell the prospective student everything and everything they need to hear to make the sell. The paperwork you
have to fill out and the tests they make you take are for distraction only. They are not interested in your educational success but are more interested in if you qualify for student loans financing.
To quote Wikipedia, 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." 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 its criminal justice program. She intends to get students their money back and shut down Westwood's criminal justice program in Illinois.
The class action lawsuit idea has been tried. Westwood College is consistently being sued but unfortunately, those admission papers you signed have an arbitration clause in it. There have been several lawsuits that were not successful for the students as it is rumored that the attorneys who were suing Westwood College were paid off quietly to end the matter. This is not an unusual tactic. Here are some examples from Wiki:
In recent years Westwood College has been the subject of controversy related to a series of lawsuits and some students' inability to transfer credits to other colleges and universities. 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 filed by the firm James, Hoyer, Newcomer, Smiljanich & Yanchunis in 2009, challenging its admissions and financial aid practices. The suit against Westwood was dismissed because a judge found that it did not warrant class action status, but the court is allowing students to bring individual claims before the court. The Hoyer firm's use of social media to connect with Westwood students was reported in The Wall Street Journal, which also reported that Westwood filed a suit against James Hoyer, alleging defamation through "new media Internet weapons.
The Colorado Attorney General's office reached a settlement with the college in 2012, following a two-year investigation. As part of the agreement, the college did not admit any liability and agreed to pay the state $2 million in penalties, restitution and attorneys fees and costs. Westwood also will credit another $2.5 million in restitution directly to students who financed their tuition with the schools institutional financing program.
As you can see, this is a for-profit business under the disguise of Higher Learning. Westwood College has taken the opportunity to take money from adult learners, promise everything and deliver nothing. The numbers show the results. "Westwood College is a for-profit Institution of Higher learning and ranks in the top 10 of having the highest student loan default rate nationally".
Ivy League price for a worthless degree.
Good Luck