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Colorado's attorney general on Wednesday announced a $4.5 million settlement with Westwood College Inc., over allegations that the for-profit higher education provider engaged in deceptive business practices. Westwood will pay $2 million to the state and credit $2.5 million toward restitution for students who used the college's tuition financing plan. The state's complaint had alleged that Westwood inflated its job placement rates and misled prospective students about the average wages of graduates, transferability of course credits and the total cost of Westwood degrees. It also alleged that the college failed to disclose the terms of its student financing program.
Westwood made no admission of liability as part of the settlement. In 2009 the college agreed to a $7 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice related to a complaint about filing false claims for federal student aid. It is also the subject of an investigation by the Illinois attorney general. Sen. Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, on Wednesday called for the college's accreditors and federal agencies to "immediately review whether the school has the sufficient institutional integrity and academic quality to continue receiving taxpayer-funded financial aid."
