Texas Threatens For-Profit College with Closure

Austin, TX - A state regulatory agency is moving to revoke the licenses of three Texas campuses of for-profit Westwood College, citing reports of misleading admissions practices and other problems.

The school can either make corrections, appeal or shut down, said Ann Hatchitt, spokeswoman for the Texas Workforce Commission, which licenses career colleges.

The commission cited a recent Government Accountability Office investigation that found deceptive and in some cases possibly illegal actions at 15 for-profit schools. The GAO report said a Westwood representatives in Dallas coached an undercover investigator to not report $250,000 in savings to qualify for federal aid.

The Texas agency also says Denver-based Westwood did not give a refund to a student as directed, failed to disclose it had been sued and mislead students through deceptive advertising.

In a letter to faculty and staff released to the press Thursday, Westwood College CEO George Burnett said that while the college disagrees with commission's steps, it is working with the agency and confident its licenses will be renewed.

The campuses at issue are in Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston.

Hatchitt said the commission has shut down career colleges before.

"There are many reputable career schools and colleges, but there are some that charge a great deal of money, have students take out large student loans, and don't teach what is promised," she said in an e-mail.