There’s an update on an August story from the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism about a for-profit college in Wisconsin. Reporter Kate Golden, in For-profit college accused of operating illegally in Wisconsin, described the shady practices of Westwood College. (See, Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism: For-Profit College Accused of Operating Illegally in Wisconsin.)
In Westwood temporarily halts Wisconsin enrollments, reporter Kate Golden reports on new details about Westwood:
Westwood College Online has temporarily stopped enrolling Wisconsin students, but maintains it doesn’t need approval from the Wisconsin agency that sent it a cease-and-desist letter.
Westwood College Senior Vice President William Ojile said in his Sept. 30 response to the Wisconsin Educational Approval Board that Wisconsin has no authority over Westwood, which is owned by Denver-based Alta College Inc.
Despite Westwood’s position, the school has stopped enrolling new students anyway as “purely a good-faith precautionary measure,” Ojile wrote.
The EAB said in a Sept. 16 letter to Westwood that an article in the Wisconsin State Journal and the complaint of a Westwood student who withdrew after reading the article “make clear that the risk exposure to Wisconsin residents warrants our attention,” and ordered the school to stop enrolling Wisconsin students. The article was produced by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism.
With the letter, the EAB entered the national fray over for-profit higher education and became the second state to act against Westwood College Online.
There are sure to be additional developments about Westwood’s practices.