HCC offers aid to Art Institute students, faculty after closure
Houston Community College has offered help to former Art Institute of Houston students after Friday’s sudden closure of the forprofit institute.
The community college wrote on its website that it could offer assistance with financial aid and transcript evaluations to former art institute students. The website also said students can take credits at HCC to eventually transfer into a separate bachelor’s degree program.
HCC highlighted its similarities to the art institute.
“We offer high-quality degrees and certificates in a range of programs, including fashion design and merchandising, interior design, studio art, digital communication, filmmaking, culinary arts, digital gaming and simulation,” according to the HCC website. In addition, the college’s pitch says, “we are in the process of developing curriculum alignments of all Art Institute degree plans to HCC degree plans for those who wish to continue their education at HCC.”
An email announcement about the closure was posted Friday, letting students know how they will receive transcripts and information on student loans and tax forms, but it still unclear why the company closed all of its campuses across the country.
“We were just in shock,” Andrea Bonner, chair of consumer arts and sciences at HCC, told KHOU-TV. “We wanted (students) to know they are not alone, we are here to assist them.”
Students have been left to figure out what to do with their partial degrees and to learn about the implications on their student loans. The email said it would likely be the last communication received from the institute.
The closure comes after years of pandemic challenges as well as a $95 million settlement in 2015 tied to fraud. More campuses closed in 2018 after the system lost accreditation.
“A culmination of events over the past decade, both external and internal to the campus operations, has forced the closure of this system of colleges,” said an email to members of the institution. “The colleges, which already were dealing with the legacy challenges that arose under prior ownership, were unable to absorb the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on schools.”
The New York Times reported that around 1,700 students around the country will be impacted by the decision.
In addition to Houston, the Art Institutes locations and branches in Austin; Dallas; San Antonio;
Miami; Atlanta; Tampa, Fla.; and Virginia Beach, Va., are closing Sept. 30.
Anne Perry, who has been a faculty member of the Dallas Art Institute for 17 years, said she got no warning about the announcement and received it soon after talking with students about looking forward to the next quarter of school.
“I’m in a state of shock. … It has been such a creative, life-giving place to work, with such interesting students and colleagues, and such opportunities to engage in meaningful and fun extracurricular activities,” Perry posted on Facebook. “I will miss it terribly. I grieve over its fate.”