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The Art Institutes
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The Art Institutes
The Art Institutes (AI) were a private for-profit system of art schools in the United States.
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. 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. In 2022, South University separated from the Education Principle Foundation and, by extension, the Art Institutes.
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. 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.
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.
The Art Institutes system was created in 1969 when Education Management Corporation (EDMC) acquired The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, which was founded in 1921. Starting in 2000, The Art Institutes launched its distance education program, Art Institute Online, to allow students to work towards bachelor's degrees in graphic design and certificates in digital web design online. At that time, on-site bachelor's degrees were offered at 17 or 21 Institutes of which 30% of the students were enrolled. The Art Institutes expanded through the acquisition of existing art colleges and the establishment of new Art Institutes. In 2001, there were around 20 campuses of The Art Institutes; this grew to approximately 30 locations in 2006 when the school's parent company was acquired by Goldman Sachs, Providence Equity Partners, and Leeds Equity Partners. In 2009, EDMC became a publicly traded corporation, reaching 50 Art Institutes by 2012.
In 2011, Frontline released a documentary titled Educating Sergeant Pantzke. In the documentary, Iraq war veteran Chris Pantzke discussed the lack of disability services at the school. According to Pantzke, "Being a soldier, you don't want to quit, you don't want to give up or fail." After doing his own research, Pantzke concluded that the degree he was pursuing wasn't "worth much more than the paper is worth," and felt he was "throwing away taxpayer money" by using GI Bill funds.
In 2012, The Art Institute schools began to experience a decrease in the number of new students enrolling, seeing enrollment numbers drop by approximately 20 percent between the second quarter of the 2012 fiscal year and the start of 2013. EDMC attributed the drop in enrollment to limited access to Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students and the economic recession. In February 2013, EDMC announced plans for a three-year-old tuition freeze at The Art Institutes. Under this plan, the company pledged to maintain the current cost of tuition through 2015.
In June 2013, EDMC announced that its President John Mazzoni would resign effective July 14, 2013, after 27 years at the organization. Charles Restivo, Group Vice President, became the Interim President of The Art Institutes. In 2014, the US Department of Education reported that ten EDMC campuses, including several Art Institutes, were placed under heightened cash monitoring. The Art Institute of Pittsburgh was one of the schools listed.
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The Art Institutes
The Art Institutes (AI) were a private for-profit system of art schools in the United States.
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. 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. In 2022, South University separated from the Education Principle Foundation and, by extension, the Art Institutes.
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. 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.
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.
The Art Institutes system was created in 1969 when Education Management Corporation (EDMC) acquired The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, which was founded in 1921. Starting in 2000, The Art Institutes launched its distance education program, Art Institute Online, to allow students to work towards bachelor's degrees in graphic design and certificates in digital web design online. At that time, on-site bachelor's degrees were offered at 17 or 21 Institutes of which 30% of the students were enrolled. The Art Institutes expanded through the acquisition of existing art colleges and the establishment of new Art Institutes. In 2001, there were around 20 campuses of The Art Institutes; this grew to approximately 30 locations in 2006 when the school's parent company was acquired by Goldman Sachs, Providence Equity Partners, and Leeds Equity Partners. In 2009, EDMC became a publicly traded corporation, reaching 50 Art Institutes by 2012.
In 2011, Frontline released a documentary titled Educating Sergeant Pantzke. In the documentary, Iraq war veteran Chris Pantzke discussed the lack of disability services at the school. According to Pantzke, "Being a soldier, you don't want to quit, you don't want to give up or fail." After doing his own research, Pantzke concluded that the degree he was pursuing wasn't "worth much more than the paper is worth," and felt he was "throwing away taxpayer money" by using GI Bill funds.
In 2012, The Art Institute schools began to experience a decrease in the number of new students enrolling, seeing enrollment numbers drop by approximately 20 percent between the second quarter of the 2012 fiscal year and the start of 2013. EDMC attributed the drop in enrollment to limited access to Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students and the economic recession. In February 2013, EDMC announced plans for a three-year-old tuition freeze at The Art Institutes. Under this plan, the company pledged to maintain the current cost of tuition through 2015.
In June 2013, EDMC announced that its President John Mazzoni would resign effective July 14, 2013, after 27 years at the organization. Charles Restivo, Group Vice President, became the Interim President of The Art Institutes. In 2014, the US Department of Education reported that ten EDMC campuses, including several Art Institutes, were placed under heightened cash monitoring. The Art Institute of Pittsburgh was one of the schools listed.