An email appeared in students’ inboxes on Jan. 23: “I am writing to share some very exciting news with you,” wrote Daniel C. Snyder, director of student services for The Art Institute of Colorado.
The Denver school — one of 31 Art Institute schools sold last year by Pittsburgh-based Education Management Corp. in a $60 million deal — would now be operated by Dream Center Education Holdings, a California-based nonprofit.
Dream Center’s “focus is to provide students with an accessible, affordable, relevant and purposeful education,” Mr. Snyder wrote, adding, “I will share more information about this important transition as it is available.”
But the three-paragraph email omitted an important development — one that could jeopardize the future of the school and leave students in limbo.
Three days earlier, the Higher Learning Commission had temporarily removed the school’s institutional accreditation, a move that reflects concerns by higher education experts about the viability of the deal and the direction of the schools.
The Chicago-based accreditation agency also removed institutional accreditation at The Art Institute of Michigan near Detroit and The Illinois Art Institute locations in Chicago and Schaumburg, Ill.
The four Art Institute schools failed to communicate that change to students, as the Higher Learning Commission had instructed in its Jan. 20 letter to Dream Center.
“Students taking classes or graduating during the candidacy period should know that their courses or degrees are not accredited by HLC and may not be accepted in transfer to other colleges and universities or recognized by prospective employers,” the commission wrote.
“HLC requires that the institutes provide proper advisement and accommodations to students in light of this action, which may include, if necessary, assisting students with financial accommodations or transfer arrangements, if requested.”
Dream Center continued to post statements online and in school catalogs that the schools “remain accredited.”
Reached last week, a spokesman with the HLC said the agency is “looking into this and is in communication with the Institutes.”
Shortly after the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette inquired, Dream Center changed the language on its website to say it is a “candidate school” for accreditation. As of Monday, the catalogs claimed the schools are accredited.
Spokespeople for Dream Center did not answer requests for comment over the last week. Mr. Snyder, the student services director, also did not return calls.
In separate actions, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, a Philadelphia-based regional accreditation agency, has placed the Art Institute of Pittsburgh on probation — an action prompted by “noncompliance (that) is sufficiently serious, extensive or substantial that it raises concern” about the institution’s capacity to educate students and sustain itself in the long term, the agency said.
Among other things, Middle States cited concerns over violations of its “Ethics and Integrity” standard, which regulates a school’s mission.
Both The Art Institute of Pittsburgh and The Art Institute of Philadelphia remain accredited as Middle States examines the schools’ finances, strategic plan and other measures.
The commission is scheduled to review the accreditation status of The Art Institute of Pittsburgh this week. It will also review the status of The Art Institute of Philadelphia, which the commission last summer placed on “warning,” a designation less severe than probation and one that acknowledges the school is working to improve, according to the commission’s guidelines.
Taken together, the actions suggest that regional accreditation agencies are struggling to sift through a complicated education deal that has few, if any, precedents.
A quality control standard
The sale of the EDMC operations, announced in March 2017 and approved by the U.S. Department of Education in October, involved 31 Art Institute schools, as well as the South University and Argosy University educational systems.
The deal transferred for-profit schools — with about 60,000 students and 15,000 faculty and staff — to a Los Angeles nonprofit foundation that funds programs across the country for underprivileged people.
Accreditation — higher education's way of enforcing quality control measures — is coveted by schools as a stamp of approval. Committees at the six major accreditation agencies occasionally drop in on college campuses to review finances, academics, policies and other measures to ensure schools are meeting minimum standards.
The committees governed by the U.S. Department of Education post public statements on actions they have taken.
Accreditation is typically a requirement to receive federal student loan money. Student loan funding is still available at the four Art Institutes that the Higher Learning Commission is concerned about because the education department considers the schools in a “preaccreditation” stage.
The commission described the move as a temporary loss of accreditation that could last up to four years.
The removal is unusual, according to Paul Gaston, who reviewed hundreds of accreditation actions while writing his 2014 book, “Higher Education Accreditation: How It’s Changing, Why It Must.”
“If there is a withdrawal of regional accreditation, that is a fairly dramatic and decisive action — it’s really a question of institutional survival,” said Mr. Gaston, a Kent State University professor.
A spokesman with the Higher Learning Commission declined to comment beyond the public statements. The commission has approved large education deals while keeping accreditation. Last year, it approved the $1.1 billion sale of the Apollo Education Group Inc. to a group of investors and immediately accredited Apollo-owned schools.
“These are not high bars, but where it becomes difficult is if certain things get out of whack with the standards,” said James Antony, senior lecturer on education at Harvard University.
The impact on students
Any loss of accreditation could be problematic for students, in particular for those who graduated this spring.
“Accreditation is a form of quality control,” said Yasmin Purohit, a professor of human resource management at Robert Morris University. “I believe, as a [job] candidate from an institution that has been in the media for some reason, it’s almost incumbent on the individual to be ready to answer questions if they’re asked.”
Hiring managers care about whether a job applicant’s degree is accredited, said Andrew Sassaman, Pittsburgh branch manager for Robert Half, a staffing agency.
“The recommendation [to students] is to transfer — as quickly as you can — to an accredited school because that is going to impact them on their job search,” Mr. Sassaman said.
At the same time, he said, students who have graduated should not panic. The Art Institutes are a recognizable brand and have a large alumni network, both of which can support a job candidate, he said.
Daniel Moore: dmoore@post-gazette.com, 412-263-2743 and Twitter @PGdanielmoore
First Published: June 19, 2018, 12:15 p.m.
