The Art Institutes

This article is about the system of formerly for-profit art schools. For other uses, see Art Institute.
Not to be confused with Art Institute of Chicago, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Kansas City Art Institute, or San Francisco Art Institute.

The Art Institutes
The Art Institutes logo
MottoThe hardest thing you'll ever love.[1]
TypePrivate for-profit system of art schools
Active1969 (1969)–September 30, 2023 (2023-09-30)
Parent institution
Education Principle Foundation
Location
Atlanta
,
Georgia
,
United States
Websitewww.artinstitutes.edu

The Art Institutes (AI) were a private for-profit system of art schools in the United States.[2]

The Art Institutes offered programs at the certificate, associate's, bachelors, and master's levels. By 2012, there were 50 campuses with roughly 80,000 enrolled students.[3] Long owned by Education Management Corporation (EDMC), the Art Institutes were sold in 2017 to the Dream Center Foundation, a Los Angeles–based Pentecostal organization. From 2019 to 2023, the Art Institutes were owned by the Education Principle Foundation (formerly known as Colbeck Foundation), a non-profit that also owned South University.[4] In 2022, South University separated from the Education Principle Foundation and, by extension, the Art Institutes.[5]

The Art Institutes faced accreditation and legal issues and student loan debtors have appealed to the US Department of Education for debt cancellation through defense to repayment claims. These efforts are premised on allegations they were defrauded.[6][7][8] The student debt group "I Am Ai" has acted as a support group for students and former students of the Art Institutes, offering advice about debt cancellation.[9]

All remaining Art Institute schools closed on September 30, 2023. The announcement was made less than a week prior to the closure, providing little warning to the Art Institutes' 1,700 students.[10][11]

  1. ^ "Art Institutes". www.artinstitutes.edu. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  2. ^ Halperin, David. "The Art Institutes, Long-Time Career College Operation, Dead at 103". www.republicreport.org. Republic Report. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference fain-2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Halperin, David (January 23, 2019). "DeVos-Backed Deal Would Allow Secretive Non-Profit to Enrich Related For-Profit". www.republicreport.org. Republic Report. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  5. ^ Staff, Lou Phelps, SBJ (August 14, 2023). "Aug. 14 - South University announces it will return to being an independent, private institution". Savannah Business Journal. Retrieved September 28, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Nova, Annie (July 21, 2018). "His two year degree cost him $90,000. Now he's in a battle with the Education Department". CNBC.
  7. ^ Moore, Solomon. "More student borrowers may be eligible to cancel federal student loans than have applied for relief". EdSource.
  8. ^ Leingang, Rachel. "Art Institute's former students were supposed to have their debt erased. It's not happening". www.azcentral.com. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  9. ^ Vasquez, Michael (March 9, 2019). "The Nightmarish End of the Dream Center's Higher-Ed Empire". The Chronicle of Higher Education.
  10. ^ "Closed school information page". The Art Institutes. 2023. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  11. ^ Small, Zachary. "Sudden Closure of Art Institutes Leaves 1,700 Students Adrift". The New York Times. Retrieved September 25, 2023.