"You can bad mouth the last EDMC board and the current DCEH owners for sure but our campus had decades of creative students who found productive careers because of the care and support of dedicated faculty and staff. We had many faculty there 10, 20 and even 30+ years. The campus was a creative hub of professionals supporting each other and guiding thousands of grads toward their dreams. And that wasn't easy considering their were little or no requirements to be accepted at AI schools. But maybe that was what made AI unique, it was home to students who were left behind, who were unique, misunderstood or even struggled in a traditional college environment. Not all of them succeeded because the career arts are tough, low paying at start and require real commitment and some talent.
But AI was an a great place to experience and I am proud of our campus that recently closed. The fall came for EDMC and the AI brand came when the EDMC boards were filled with U of Phoenix and Goldman Sacs members who pushed the company toward excessive growth and profits over quality programs. So many of the things that made AI successful have been squeezed out of the mix. The days of 2 or 3 support staff per student are long gone and replaced with one department head for 5 or 6 departments, student workers covering classrooms and no full time faculty. Add to that the elimination of career services, portfolio reviews, student clubs and student services and you have little left. As long as DCEH owns AI, it has no future"