Saturday, August 21, 2010

Spotlight on Westwood College



Link to August 20 Wisconsin State Journal article, "For-profit colleges come under fire in Wisconsin".

Excerpt: State regulators confirm Westwood never applied for approval.

Other major for-profit online colleges, such as Capella University, are licensed in Wisconsin by the Educational Approval Board, which oversees for-profit colleges and technical schools, out-of-state nonprofits, and Wisconsin nonprofit colleges incorporated since 1992. Among those exempt from its oversight are the University of Wisconsin system and schools regulated by other agencies, such as cosmetology or real estate.

David Dies, executive secretary of the EAB, said that "technically speaking," thousands of schools like Westwood could violate state statute by signing up Wisconsin students without board approval. However, Dies said, the board doesn't have the means or the will to oversee them all.

In response to questions from the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, Westwood spokesman Gil Rudawsky didn't deny the college lacked official approval in Wisconsin but wrote in an e-mail that the "licensing of online colleges in individual states is an ongoing and developing issue across the country.
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But Westwood appears to have put some effort into developing a basic online library for its students.

Here's a list of research databases.  (Of course, it's not possible to determine if there are certain use restrictions for Westwood students.)

Westwood also provide subject content pages.  Many colleges provide these for specific courses.
But Retiring Guy is still a little bothered by the Noel Levitz reference in the first screenshot.

According to Noel Levitz®,"Westwood College students are significantly more satisfied with their educational experience than students at other colleges".

But then take a look at the highlighted portion of Eric Goodman's resume.
Just sayin'.

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