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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. Provided by Wikipedia