HOUSTON — The Art Institute is shutting its doors, but not just at the Houston campus. They’re shutting down all of their schools across Texas and the U.S. This is effective immediately, leaving many students lost.
Students we spoke with say they have no idea where to turn.
It all came down in an unexpected email that has flipped the world of students at the Art Institute of Houston as well as other Art Institute campuses across the country. That includes Miami International University of Art & Design (FL), its global online programs, and its branches, The Art Institute of Tampa (FL), The Art Institute of Dallas (TX), the Art Institute of Atlanta (GA), the Art Institute of Virginia Beach (VA), the Art Institute of Austin (TX) and The Art Institute of San Antonio (TX).
“Campuses will close permanently. I stopped reading there,” student Priscilla Villarreal told KHOU 11 about the email she received.
Villareal is one of the thousands of students affected across the country.
“I definitely cried, something that I love," she said. "A dream school. It now comes to an end. What is next?”
Students are left with so many questions.
“A lot of things going through my mind," student Victor Gaytan said. "Did I waste my money? It's a lot of time wasted and what can I do after that?”
Gaytan was set to graduate in December with an associate’s degree in graphic design. Now he's crushed.
“Shocked," he said. "I was so close and they decided to close down. I’m trying to grasp my mind around that."
But why the closure? In an email sent to the students the school said the following.
"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. Most notably, 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 teaching hands-on and equipment-intensive programs such as culinary arts and fashion design."
But these students say they wish they would have told them in advance and they don't know who or where to turn for help.
“We’re kind of dumbfounded," Gaytan said. "Some of us cried, including myself. We are still processing.”
“I really hope they can do something and not leave us hanging,” Villarreal said.
These students say they spoke to their professors who say they were also caught off guard and are now out of a job as well.
We took a closer look at the school’s website. It explains how to get your transfer papers and the school says they're working with partners to help with possible transfers. There's also a link to student loan help from the government. One program has already stopped accepting new cases. The other will only let students pause loan repayments. It won't forgive loans when a school abruptly closes like this.