In multiple campus visits, state higher education representatives also fielded concerns about students not receiving owed federal financial aid. Officials also determined that several admissions personnel had been laid off. Argosy and its affiliated schools long have been mired in financial and regulatory trouble.
The schools and their various owners have been lambasted by numerous legislators who have accused the institutions of financial mismanagement and predatory loan practices. A nonprofit based in Pittsburgh, Dream Center bought the schools under the Art Institute distinct from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago , Argosy University and South University names in , intending to transfer them from for-profit to not-for-profit status.
The schools had a troubled history under its previous owner, Education Management Corp. In , then-Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan joined other state top prosecutors in suing the company following a whistleblower lawsuit that alleged consumer fraud.
The company closed numerous schools under its umbrella following that settlement and began selling off the rest to various companies. He applauded the move to cut off Title IV funding, called the closing of the schools overdue, and joined with several other senators Friday in urging the Department of Education to assist students. The swift shutdown of Argosy comes just a few months after Dream Center also shut down 18 art schools, including two in Illinois.
The Chicago Argosy closure means there are no Dream Center institutions currently operating in Illinois. Skip to content. It offers tailored programs in various psychological, health and therapeutic professions, including clinical psychology, industrial organised psychology and marriage and family therapy.
The campus also hosts courses in education — specifically in education administration — and business. Other courses available include criminal justice, liberal arts and information technology. The Twin Cities campus provides students with an extensive library, extra support from tutors, a student counselling service and the opportunity to engage with various student organisations.
Skip to main content. Phone calls went unanswered. Hundreds of staff members at Argosy and its parent company, Dream Center Education Holdings, were fired after a court-appointed receiver took over the finances. The hits kept coming: The U. Department of Education said Argosy could no longer participate in federal aid programs. The receiver said it appeared Argosy had submitted altered documents to the department to get money.
On Wednesday, the school told students it would close by the end of the week if it couldn't secure a buyer. Instead, the school held classes in six rooms at Ottawa University. On Friday morning, a handful of other colleges set up tables at Ottawa to provide information to Argosy students seeking transfers to other universities. And some uncertainty still remains: A court in Ohio has yet to approve the receiver's motion to close the schools.
If the court denies the motion, it's unclear what would happen, as students are finding transfers to other schools and campuses are shutting down. The fates of other campuses could differ from Phoenix's. Some may have found buyers or secured teach-out plans with other universities.
So far, Phoenix does not have a teach-out in place. Ottawa University stepped in with classroom space. Those students put in thousands of hours of service in the community doing internships for mental-health-related fields like counseling, Spano said.
Those services are now gone from the community, at a time when mental-health care is much needed, he said. And he praised faculty and staff in Phoenix for helping students tirelessly amid great uncertainty.
Sweat isn't sure where he will go next.
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