Westwood College
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| Type | Private, for-profit |
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| Active | 1953–2016 |
| Location | Southern California, Denver, Atlanta, Chicago, Westwood College Online, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, and Virginia, United States |
| Website | Westwood College |
Westwood College, owned by Alta Colleges Inc., was an American for-profit institution of higher learning with 15 campus locations in five states and online learning options. Westwood was nationally accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS). Since its inception in 1986, Westwood graduated more than 37,000 students. The college closed in March 2016.
Westwood College was founded in Denver, Colorado, in 1953. For many years, the school was known as Denver Institute of Technology, offering diploma and degree programs in a variety of technical fields. As the school expanded into other industries, the name was changed to Westwood College.
Westwood College became part of Alta Colleges Inc. (Alta), a system of for-profit higher education institutions that also included Westwood College Online and Redstone College (formerly known as Colorado Aero Tech in Denver). Prior to ceasing operations, there were 15 Westwood College campuses located in five states.
In May 2009, Westwood settled a federal lawsuit over misrepresentation of its graduation statistics for $7 million, without admitting wrongdoing.
Westwood faced a class action arbitration in 2009, challenging its admissions and financial aid practices. The suit against Westwood was dismissed after the court found that it did not warrant class action status. The court ruled that the student who led the class-action suit derived "most if not all, of his knowledge of the case from his attorneys" and appeared to be little more than a bystander to the suit.
The Colorado Attorney General's office reached a settlement with the college in 2012, following a two-year investigation, in which the college did not admit any liability but agreed to pay $2 million in penalties, restitution, and attorneys fees and costs to the state. Westwood was also required to credit another $2.5 million in restitution directly to students who financed their tuition with the school’s institutional financing program.
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