It's a mad house here. During the transfer fair Fraude Clown called and fired the campus administrator. The students went crazy, began looting the building, rioting, vandalizing. Students blocking the fired admin from leaving the building.
Chaos!!!
Police are here, so are several news crews. Needless to say transfer fair cancelled.
I think we should take animation guy's attacks on the dean with a pillar of salt. HR investigations are private. AG sounds bitter and was most likely laid off, and is misdirecting his/her anger toward someone innocent. Faculty and staff went through s-xual harassment training every year at both campuses, and several instructors and a director were let go for doing it. It strains belief to think Our Dean ever did what AG claims. I've known him going way back to the Santa Monica campus. He was irreverent and iconoclastic, but never touched or harassed anyone as far as I know. And that's pretty far. The topic is the demise of Ai-Hollywood anyway, lay off the dean.
You are incorrect. No one at AI Hollywood has been given paid leave in years. The Dean is a stand up guy, stop badmouthing him. He has bent over backwards to help students. HIs hands were tied and he did the best he could.
"When students complained about lack of security on campus, he told them it wasn't his, or the school's, responsibility. When students complained about the lack of an on-site therapist, he told them it wasn't his problem." Not true- he said it was out of his hands. Which it was. But he did what he could including Cleaning toilets because the id--t receiver wouldn't pay for a janitor or security. The ones to blame are those above his pay grade. He was just stuck on the front line taking all the blows. At least put the blame in the right place. Lets start with Fraude Clown...
I can confirm that at Santa Monica -- back when he ran the film program -- he was accused four times for harassment -- three times from colleagues, once from a student. Each time he was reprimanded by HR and the accusers were given "benefits" -- two promotions, and the students was given "financial relief." In Hollywood, he was accused of s-xual harassment by a chair of a program who was promptly given paid leave for 6 months. This was not a well-kept secret, but again, nothing was done to him aside from a reprimand. And he held grudges. When faculty complained about anything, he screwed them over by changing their schedule, giving them morning and night classes on the same day. When students complained about lack of security on campus, he told them it wasn't his, or the school's, responsibility. When students complained about the lack of an on-site therapist, he told them it wasn't his problem. And on countless occasions, he used language that objectified and degraded women during faculty and staff meetings. I personally never had a problem with him, but I know many administrators, faculty and students who did. I don't believe they're all lying. For many years he benefitted from what he knew was a corrupt, predatory system, and misled both students and faculty many, many times. To call him "the glue" for suddenly growing a conscience after the ship had effectively sunk is laughable.
I taught at both campuses, and Our Dean was the glue that held things together. At the end, in Hollywood, he was the only one on the fourth floor to help students (except for a couple of dedicated instructors who were helping with the proficiencies). We lost our security and janitorial service the end of last year, and the Dean and the Culinary Director had to open the school at 6:00 a.m. and close the school at 11:00 p.m. Both also cleaned the bathrooms, emptied the trash; and Our Dean was sick as a dog that crazy Thursday, but he knew if he wasn't there to help the students get transcripts, grad forms and process proficiencies, it wouldn't happen. I know nothing about "s-xual harassment" allegations, but he was the hardest working dean I've seen at both campuses; and the faculty that have been at HW from the start, have been effusive about expressing their appreciation for him many times. The students were chanting, "Love you, Dean" over and over. If he was only doing for the money, who cares? Faculty and students benefitted from his efforts. He never quit.
He wasn’t shady. He really tried.
The Dean is anything but a standup guy. Trust me, I worked closely with him for several years -- mostly in Santa Monica, then for a bit in Hollywood. He couldn't care less about the students and is just putting up a front. He was a bottom-line corporate shill who looked the other way when he knew students were getting screwed just to maintain his six figure salary. No matter what rally-the-troops, isn't-this-horrible lines he spouts now that it's too late, he was, is and always will be nothing but a two-bit wh--e. He was also charged with s-xual harassment on more than five occasions between two campuses, but the school decided to back and then promote him, knowing they effectively owned him and that he would be the yes man they wanted.
https://ktla.com/2019/03/08/students-shocked-after-north-hollywood-art-school-abruptly-closes/
The Dean is a standup guy who stood up to the Studio School who worked a deal to fire him so he wouldn’t be in the way for them to steal Hollywood’s computers and equipment. He returned to the campus to calm things down and print transcripts. He wasn’t arrested or anything like that. Fraud C and his boy should be arrested as they are the one looting the school and magically this Studio school now has the same programs as AI so they can steal students as well. Bravo DCF for making college a memorable experience. Now how can I get my loans discharged?
Thank God I teach online!
Does anyone have a list of the transfer partners for Argosy students? I missed the webinar because I was at work. Thank you.
Yes, originally the school was supposed to be open Thursday and Friday with classes, plus "transfer fairs" around lunch and late afternoon.
There was indeed a transfer fair 11-1 which lots of students came to. They were definitely trying to help students with problem (lots just a quarter away from graduation). Some of the schools have decent reps (no financial puppetmasters in the background).
But many, perhaps 100s of the 800 students discovered for the first time today that the school was in trouble. Minimal communication (since many students don't read their email). Many students knew about the crisis because were lucky enough to have a teacher sharing messages.
It was clear that students were in two groups - one group was already ready, had set up their Plan B, and was out the door, others were just discovering the problem.
Interesting - "Studio School" was there to do transfers - they are in some strange way connected with the missing services that were supposed to be provided by 'studio' which the Receiver clawed back some $$$ from. It also seemed that some schools at the transfer fair had magically had conjured graphic design, web design, game design programs for the event. Don't know about culinary.
Students needing transcripts to, well, transfer, then went upstairs. The Dean was mobbed by 100s of students who needed transcripts.
Suddenly, the hammer came down. The Dean was abruptly fired and apparently escorted from building. But the Dean came back to try to help print out transcripts for the 100s of students trying to get their transcripts. At the same time, Instructors were signing equivalency forms for students so there's a chance that some may get more transferrable credits.
But then, LAPD showed up, along with Channel 5 news. Landlords? Rent wasn't being paid, and the landlord had openly brought potential renters into the school during the last 2 weeks to show the space.
Doors were locked at the ground level around 2pm, and the building was emptied. A report of a student arrested, but can't confirm. Cops did come up to 4th floor, but NOT SWAT (contrary to a student report).
When I left, I didn't see any riot, just a lot of students standing around the front of the building, with LAPD also standing around. But big trucks were rolling up to grab the computers and other equipment. Hope they were all legit!
So, in the space of a few days, the Ai-Hwyd went from "Open in Spring" to "Open to the end of quarter" to "Open until Friday" to GET OUT on Thursday.
Talked to someone who had been at the meetings with Receiver. Apparently, the plan was to close last week, but delayed - according to my source by F.C. F.C. was hugely upset - it probably wasn't his intent to close Ai-Hwyd. The goal might have been to fire up studio, then grab a subset of Ais under studio (???)
If so, things blew up when the financial sharks entered the room. Not even any chunks left after the feast.
So, NO evening "transfer fair", and NO Friday "transfer fair"...and problems for students trying to get their transcripts. Students can print out their info from the student portal (menu item).
The saddest part: some students weakly chanting in protest with an instructor, "they sold our school" when in fact the school fell to a complex financial scheme that went awry.
DCEH at it’s finest 🤣😆🤣
Students, you qualify for a closed school discharge of your federal loans
https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/closed-school
Don't sign anything the school gives you. Transferring disqualifies you for cancellation and most of your credits won't transfer
Dean was escorted out of building
Students.... contact Columbia college if you missed transfer fair.
Cannot confirm the looting/rioting.
However if you look up on AiCa -Hollywood on instagram there are posts regarding it.
"Insanity is currently ensuing at my school right now. We all received an email Wednesday night at 6:30Pm telling us that the school is closing Friday (tomorrow). Our dean was fired today. He has been staying to print out as many free transcripts for students as he can until security tries to take him. Security has been searching for him, but cannot find him. There is police crew, and people being arrested for standing outside the school."
Can anyone confirm this? Nothing in the news yet.