Art Institute of Jacksonville is closing

[ProjectMaximus]

Well it appears the days are numbered for the Art Institute here in Jax. I received an email today announcing that after much thought they've decided to no longer accept any new students. They are fully committed to completing the education of their current students and helping them post-graduation with job placement, etc, but they expect to only remain in the current location for approximately three more years.

Not sure the significance of this but just thought I'd share.

[pierre]

Maybe they had a hard time suckering kids, and their parents, into paying over 20k a year to go there.

[CityLife]

The for-profit management company that runs the "Art Institutes" around the country announced they are closing 15 and leaving 36 open. Jax is one of the closures.

I haven't followed the story that closely, but believe the government is finally cracking down on student loans at the for-profit diploma mills, which has lead to the closure of a lot of a lot of these types of schools. Corinthian Colleges shut down their entire system recently.

[Tacachale]

The Art Institutes are owned by Education Management Corp, who've been just hammered by the Feds and media over the last several years for their recruitment practices and taking so much in federal loans. It's a for-profit business, and profits are collapsing.

[Spitfire]

When I was exploring colleges after getting out of the military, I looked at The Art Institute and went for a visit. I, in no way, said that I was settled and made it clear that I was considering my options. The recruiter for their school was calling me, no less than, three or four times a week for a good number of months afterwards. That, alone, drove me from ever considering enrollment. It's one thing to keep potential students engaged, but this went way overboard.

I know quite a few people who went there and graduated from there, but they were just after my GI Bill and that was it.

[TheCat]

The Art Institute of Jacksonville, a private for-profit college, will be shutting down.
It's part of the financial restructuring of the parent company, Education Management Corp., that announced this month it will close 15 of its art institutes. While the school will be closing, it could take a few years before the campus at 8775 Baypine Road in the Bay Meadows area is completely shut down.

The Jacksonville school's website said, "This Art Institute school is no longer accepting new students."

Chris Hardman, vice president of communication for EDMC headquartered in Pittsburgh, Penn., said they are currently working to honor all commitments to current students.

"We're stopping enrollment of new students immediately," Hardman said. "Current students there, which there are approximately 375, are encouraged to stay in school and complete their degree in their field of study. The school will remain open as long as we have current students pursuing their degrees."

That could take another two to three years before all operations are ended at the Jacksonville location, Hardman said.

Education Management is one of many for-profit schools ensnared in financial difficulties in the past two years. While the company is closing 15 Art Institutes, it still has dozens of art schools that remain operational across North America.

Hardman said the company is engaging in a process known as a "teach out." By shutting down over time, the schools won't have to cancel student loans.

"As difficult as this decision has been to teach out these 15 Art Institute locations, it's clearly a step that's going to help us create a stronger company that is better positioned to provide the educational value our students expect and deserve," Hardman said. "With that, we will focus on in-demand programs that have solid outcomes and job prospects while lowering the cost of education and hopefully improving student affordability."

Tuition for the entire cost of programs at the Jacksonville site is about $23,000 for a diploma program, about $44,000 for an associate program and about $88,000 for a bachelor's program.

As of last June, Education Management operated 51 Art Institute campuses in 25 states and Canada. They accounted for almost two-thirds of the company's $2.27 billion in annual revenue.

EDMC also owns campuses for other colleges, including Brown Mackie colleges for mostly two-year programs, Argosy University and South University for a total of 110 institutional sites in North America.

The Education Department is monitoring the shutdowns at EDMC to ensure students' interests are protected, according to Denise Horn, a department spokeswoman.

Other Art Institutes closing as part of EDMC financial restructuring include Atlanta; Fort Worth, Tex.; Houston; Kansas City; Michigan in Novi, Mich.; New England in Brookline, Mass.; New York City, Cincinnati; Salt Lake City; Silicon Valley, Calif.; Tinley Park, Ill.; Washington D.C.; Wisconsin in Milwaukee, and York, Pa.

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2015-05-11/story/art-institute-jacksonville-close?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+JacksonvillecomBusiness+%28Business+news+from+Jacksonville+and+the+First+Coast+-+Jacksonville.com+and+The+Florida+Times-Union%29

[JaxNative68]

No loss. If you truly want a degree in one of the many fields of the arts, you should drive two hours north to the Savannah College of Art and Design, enroll there and get a respectable art based education.  I have yet to meet anyone worth hiring that has "graduated" from the Art Institute of Jacksonville.

[I-10east]

Yeezus AKA Kanye West received an honorary doctorate from the one in Chi-Town, so that has to mean something. AI is a rather distinguished & highly praised institution. 

http://wgntv.com/2015/05/12/kanye-west-receives-honorary-doctorate-from-school-of-art-institute-of-chicago/

[Tacachale]

Yeezus AKA Kanye West received an honorary doctorate from the one in Chi-Town, so that has to mean something. AI is a rather distinguished & highly praised institution. 

http://wgntv.com/2015/05/12/kanye-west-receives-honorary-doctorate-from-school-of-art-institute-of-chicago/

The Art Institute of Chicago and its school are actually not part of the Art Institutes chain. It really is distinguished, though perhaps not in their choices for awarding honorary doctorates.

[I-10east]

^^^My bad. That same 'AI' name got me.

[finehoe]

How Pricey For-Profit Colleges Target Vets' GI Bill Money

The GI Bill has long been veterans' ticket to the middle class. But it has also become a cash cow for corporate colleges.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/09/gi-bill-for-profit-colleges

[urbanlibertarian]

Advancements in information technology will continue to make higher education cheaper and easier to access at home.  Public and private colleges will dramatically change or just go away along with the government subsidies, grants and loans.

[Tacachale]

^^^My bad. That same 'AI' name got me.

You can definitely see why they picked the name. It makes it sound similar to legit Art Institutes like the ones in Chicago, Boston and Kansas City.

[Tacachale]

Advancements in information technology will continue to make higher education cheaper and easier to access at home.  Public and private colleges will dramatically change or just go away along with the government subsidies, grants and loans.

Schools are certainly changing dramatically. For-profit colleges will probably go away eventually, once the government seriously cracks down on issuing grants and loans to them, since that's their entire purpose for existing. However, government support for students and institutions will never go away, as long as we have education.

[menace1069]

No loss. If you truly want a degree in one of the many fields of the arts, you should drive two hours north to the Savannah College of Art and Design, enroll there and get a respectable art based education.  I have yet to meet anyone worth hiring that has "graduated" from the Art Institute of Jacksonville.

+100. Great school!