Alta Colleges is the parent company of Westwood College, which operates 17 campuses in six states. The Texas campuses are located in Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston.
In a letter to the college's faculty and staff, Alta chief executive officer George Burnett said the company believes it has acted lawfully but felt it necessary to settle with the government because of the time and expense associated with litigation. An Alta spokesman said the company would have no other comment.
The government's lawsuit included the allegation that Alta Colleges violated TWC requirements by falsely representing that more than 90 percent of its students received jobs after graduation. In truth, the figure was 54 percent, and only a third of the graduates were placed in jobs through the efforts of the school, according to the suit.
When it sued the company, the government intervened in a federal whistleblower suit. The plaintiffs who initiated the proceeding -- all former employees of the college -- will receive $1.9 million as part of the settlement, the government said.
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