Illinois Attorney General sues for-profit Westwood College

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a lawsuit earlier this month against Westwood College, alleging the for-profit school misled criminal justice students at its four Chicago-area campuses with false promises of future job placement.

"We want this program shut down in Illinois, and we want students to get a refund of their money," Madigan said during the Jan. 18 news conference.

A news release issued by the Attorney General's office accused Westwood of falsely convincing students they could pursue law enforcement with the Chicago Police Department and Illinois State Police, even though those employers do not recognize degrees from Westwood because of the school's lack of regional accreditation.

Natalie Bauer, Madigan's communications director, told The Daily more than 100 students from Cook, DuPage, Kane and Ogle counties have complained to the attorney general's office and to the Better Business Bureau in Chicago.

"Our lawsuit seeks to... provide restitution to the students and basically help get their money back," Bauer said. "It seeks to shut down their criminal justice program."

Local students were left with up to $70,000 in debt for "worthless" degrees from Westwood, the release alleged.

Westwood spokesman Gil Rudawsky said the college will continue to cooperate with the Attorney General to resolve any issues.

"We are proud of our legacy of helping students obtain their educational goals," Rudawsky wrote in an email. "We have hundreds of successful graduates working in the private and public criminal justice field throughout the state."

Rudawksy gave The Daily a letter sent to Madigan by Westwood student Sharnice Bolling, 44, of Berkeley, Ill.

"I would like to invite you to come to Westwood O'Hare campus and see for yourself what Westwood has to offer," Bolling wrote in the letter. "Talk with the students and myself and hear what we have done and are doing. You only have one side of the story — let us tell you the other half."

Bolling is currently enrolled in Westwood's criminal justice program and is on track to graduate next year. She got a job as a security guard with Chicago-based Titan Security Group and hopes to have a future career as a corrections officer.

"It was because of Westwood that I got this job," Bolling told The Daily on Monday. "I was out of work for two years and my unemployment was just cut off, so I went to our career services center and they helped me get a job."

Bolling added agencies like the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Chicago Police Department regularly send representatives to career fairs to recruit Westwood students.

"If the degree is worthless, then why are so many people coming to us with job offers?" Bolling said.

Westwood has campuses in Chicago near the Loop and O'Hare International Airport, as well as a school in DuPage County and one near the Indiana border.

Unlike not-for-profit universities like Northwestern, for-profit schools are less mission-based academically and are instead geared towards vocational studies, narrowing the field of study based on career path. For-profit schools do not receive any federal funding or subsidies from state governments, Rudawsky said.

Westwood is owned by Denver-based Alta Colleges Inc. and also has locations in California, Colorado, Georgia, Texas and Virginia. Students can also take courses online.

The school was named in a similar lawsuit filed in federal court in 2010, alleging Westwood misrepresented the value of its degrees and used deceptive tactics to attract prospective students. However, that suit was ultimately dismissed, Rudawsky said.

Alexandria Johnson contributed reporting.

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