The Department of Education recently proposed a rule that would require for-profit schools to prove students are getting jobs that make it possible for them to pay off their loans.  The proposed “gainful employment” rule is a good start, but many student advocates don’t think it goes far enough. Not surprisingly, the for-profit college lobbyists are trying to weaken the rules.

Here’s where you come in.  You can go to this website to make sure your voice is heard.  The site, operated by a non-profit student advocacy organization called The Institute for College Access and Success, has a form that makes it easy for you to send in your comments.  Public comments are being accepted until September 9th, so time is running short.  Click here if you’d like to send in your comment.

You can also submit your comments at www.regulations.gov.

We will use this site to provide you with updates about our class action suit.  Any legal action is a long, slow process, but we’ll give you updates as frequently as we get them.  For basic information about the suit, including what we’ve alleged and who is included, please see our FAQ Page.  You’ll be able to find anything that is filed in the case on the Documents Page.  Case updates will be posted on the blog as they are available, and they will be archived in the category “Case Updates.”

Most people’s first question is, “What do I do now?“  The most important thing is to start fighting back!  Tell your family and friends about your experience, talk to potential students about what they might go through, post your stories on consumer sites like Rip-Off Report or Complaints Board, reach out to your local newspapers and tv stations – any way you can think of to stand up and say, “Enough!”  Literally hundreds of students have come forward and told us their stories as their first step is fighting back.  If you want to add your story to our database, click here for the template that we recommend.

We take our jobs very seriously and are committed to holding Westwood College accountable to all of you who have been victimized by their misleading and deceptive practices.  Even if some time goes by without an update on here, we assure you that we are working every single day on ways to ensure that Westwood College repairs the situations they have put you all in.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us any time if you have questions, concerns or comments – we want to hear from you all and will do whatever we can to help.