148 losing jobs
The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale is part of 30 campuses being shut down.
The company that owns the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale has notified the state of Florida that it intends to lay off 148 workers through December amid a national phaseout of 30 campusbased programs.
The Fort Lauderdale layoffs will take place Sept. 11 through Dec. 31, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice filed with the state Department of Economic Opportunity by Dream Center Education Holdings of Los Angeles.
The layoffs are part of a broader phaseout of campus-based programs nationwide. Besides Fort Lauderdale, 17 other Art Institutes are winding down their campus operations, according to the Dream Center website.
Classes are still in session, the site says, and the company will work with its students to prepare “an instructional completion plan, outlining all credits remaining in the program, the sequence in which these courses should be taken, and the anticipated graduation date.”
The company also outlines options for transfers to Dream Center schools that remain open, as well as tuition reductions.
The Dream Center did not respond to several emailed questions sent by the Sun Sentinel about the Fort Lauderdale location.
Earlier this summer, the Dream Center announced that the Art Institute and 29 other of its institutions around the country stopped accepting new students. The schools are part of the company’s three educational networks: The Art Institutes, Argosy University and South University.
The Dream Center website says it is discontinuing campus-based programs at the following campuses:
The Art Institutes Arlington, Va.; Charleston, S.C.; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago, Ill.; Denver, Colo.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Nashville, Tenn.; Novi, Mich.; Philadelphia, Pa.; Phoenix, Ariz.; RaleighDurham, N.C.; Portland, Ore.; San Bernardino, Calif.; San Francisco, Calif.; Santa Ana, Calif.; Sacramento, Calif.; and Schaumburg, Ill.
Argosy University Alameda, Calif.; Dallas, Texas; Denver, Colo.;
Nashville, Tenn.; Ontario, Calif.; Salt Lake City, Utah; San Diego, Calif.; Sarasota, Fla.; and Schaumburg, Ill.
South University Novi, Mich.; High Point, N.C.; and Cleveland, Ohio
The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale website continues to advise current students to attend class as scheduled. Those with questions are advised to call 855-758-5661. A recording on Friday noted that the line was experiencing “high-call volume.”
The website also refers prospective students to two Florida affiliates — Miami International University of Art & Design and The Art Institute of Tampa — and to an online division of The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. The site advises would-be students to call 855-758-5665.
In June, the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale conferred more than 170 degrees in the arts for graduates at its 49th commencement ceremony.