Update on Westwood College Class Actions

Hi Everyone,

As you can see, it’s been a very busy couple of weeks for our investigation into Westwood College.  Let me fill you in on what’s been going on.

On November 11, we submitted our first brief for the class action arbitration that was filed in May.  I’ll attach it to the Documents page for anyone who is interested in reading it.  This brief is for a phase called Clause Construction where the arbitrator determines whether the arbitration agreement permits us to proceed as a class action.  Westwood’s response is due on December 2.  We then have an opportunity to respond to anything they say, and that’s due by December 9.  Our arbitrator will then have as much time as he needs to make his decision, but the arbitrators tend to be pretty efficient.  I’ll post all of the briefs and the decision as soon as they are available.  Remember, this is your case, so it’s always a good idea to check out what both sides are saying.  If you have any questions about it, you can always send us an email with your questions.

On Monday, November 9th, the James Hoyer firm filed a second class action against Westwood College on behalf of Westwood College Online students living in Texas.  Westwood has been operating Westwood College Online without a certificate of approval that is needed to operate a distance learning program in the state of Texas.  The suit was filed in Travis County, TX and was covered by TV stations KHOU  in Houston and KTVT in Dallas.  So far, Westwood has said: (1) the law is antiquated – even though it was modified in 2005, (2) they didn’t know they were supposed to be registered – even though their website said they weren’t allowed to operate in Texas and they did anyway, and (3) the law doesn’t apply to them because they have a ground campus in Texas – even though the online school is not owned or operated by any of the Texas schools and the law requires each campus or program to be registered.

You can see the letter that the Texas Workforce Commission sent to Westwood College advising them that they are operating illegally in the state on the documents page.  Westwood has been granted an extension until November 28 to respond to the letter, and their deadline to file a response to our suit is December 7.

Please see the FAQ page to understand if you are included in either or both of the proposed classes for the two lawsuits that have been filed.  If you still have questions after checking the page, email us with your specific questions, and we’ll return your email as soon as possible.

While we continue working every single day on your cases, please continue sending in your stories and information, as they are making a huge difference!  We’ve already heard from more than 500 students through our website and Facebook, and each story is so important.  Former employees have also continued to come forward and confirm everything students are saying and to provide invaluable evidence and insight.  You are your own best advocate, and telling your story is the first step to holding Westwood accountable for what they have done to your lives.

Westwood has also set up a site now for them to gather student stories.  They want to hear good things so they can try to convince more students to ignore all the negative publicity, but it’s very important for you to tell your stories too! By sharing your story there, you’ll be able to see whether Westwood is posting truthful responses, or only picking out the good stories to continue using deceptive practices to lure in new students.  If you want to tell Westwood and potential students what has happened to you, go to this site: http://www.westwood.edu/your-story/

As always, if you have any comments, questions or concerns, please email me.  It may take me a little while to get back to you because of how many emails I have coming in, but I’ll get back to you as soon as I possibly can.

Warm regards,

Jillian