The Art Institute of California – Orange County

The Art Institute of California - Orange County
Type	Private
President	Gregory J. Marick
Dean	Allan Price
Academic staff	85
Students	1,700
Undergraduates	1,700
Location	Santa Ana, California, U.S. 33°41′46″N 117°55′06″W / 33.696204°N 117.918234°W / 33.696204; -117.918234Coordinates: 33°41′46″N 117°55′06″W / 33.696204°N 117.918234°W / 33.696204; -117.918234
Colors	Red and Black
Affiliations	The Art Institutes EDMC ACICS WASC
Website	Design Schools, Fashion, Media Arts and Culinary - The Art Institute of California - Orange County in Santa Ana, California - The Art Institutes

The Art Institute of California, A College of Argosy University – Orange County ^[1] is a for-profit university owned by Education Management Corporation located in Santa Ana, California. Under Argosy University, it is affiliated with the The Art Institutes system of over 40 educational institutions. Argosy University's parent company is EDMC. The campus is composed of 13 art departments, two applied-art schools, The International Culinary School, the Fifty Forks restaurant and one dormitory complex. EDMC was founded in 1962 and in 2006 sold 41% ownership to private equity investor Goldman Sachs.

Campus

The Art Institute of California – Orange County campus is made up of two schools, a restaurant and one housing establishment. The main building at 3601 W Sunflower Ave., located at the southeast corner of Harbor Blvd. and W Sunflower Ave. intersection, is where a majority of classes are taught, The International Culinary School and Fifty Forks restaurant are situated there as well. The second building at 3501 W Sunflower Ave., houses the Administrative offices, the campus library and a number of classrooms. A third building, located at 3511 W Sunflower Ave., houses industrial design workshops, fashion design sewing rooms, the student affairs offices, human resources, and additional classrooms.

Areas of study

Art Degrees

The school offers B.S. and/or A.S. degrees in the following career-preparatory programs: Advertising, Bachelor of Science Digital Filmmaking & Video Production, Bachelor of Science Digital Photography, Associate of Science Fashion Design, Bachelor of Fine Arts Fashion Marketing & Management, Bachelor of Science Game Art & Design, Bachelor of Science Graphic Design, Bachelor of Science/Associate of Science Industrial Design, Bachelor of Science Interior Design, Bachelor of Science Media Arts & Animation, Bachelor of Science Visual Effects & Motion Graphics, Bachelor of Science Visual & Game Programming, Bachelor of Science Web Design & Interactive Media, Associate of Science/Bachelor of Science

Culinary degrees

Art of Cooking, Diploma Baking & Pastry, Associate of Science/Diploma Culinary Arts, Associate of Science Culinary Management, Bachelor of Science

Graduation Success Rates

According to the Student-Rights-to-Know Act, any school receiving Title IV funding from the US Government is required to calculate the number of actual students who graduate with a degree and disclose this information to current and perspective students. A sample of students fallowed from 2004 to 2010, revealed 320 out of 1021 students completed graduation. This gives The Art Institute of Orange County a success rate of 31 percent.

Top Employers

Students who have completed a full degree at Art Institute Schools have been hired by top employers including: The Home Depot Inc., Electronic Arts, Marriott International, Target, Best Buy, Sears, Nordstrom Inc., Restaurant Associates, Macy's Inc., Sodexo, Hilton Hotels Corporation, among others.

Student activities

Notable events

• The school's AIGA student chapter hosted a video conference lecture with designer Milton Glaser via Skype on May 12, 2010, the video conference followed a screening of the documentary chronicling Milton Glaser's career "To Inform And Delight".^[2][3]
• An annual fashion show titled "Rock The Runway" hosts fashion designer industry and media, as well as entertainment industry^[4]
• The school's AIGA student chapter hosted a premiere for the documentary feature film Art & Copy in November 2009, featuring a guest panel discussion by design industry professionals, including the film's producer, Jimmy Greenway.^[5][6]

Clubs and organizations

The school hosts student managed clubs and organizations for many majors, the clubs are sponsored and supported by the school's department of student affairs, and operate cooperatively with the school, students, and outside organizations:^[7]

Clubs

The college has a variety of art groups for students to participate in or become members of in; most of which respectively involve students and their particular field of study.

• Emerging Green Builders (EGB)
• Frame-by-Frame
• iNet
• Student Fashion Association (SFA)
• Game Developers Society (GDS)
• The Food Conspiracy
• The Bakers Dozen
• Gay Straight Alliance GSA
• VEC Club
• Ai+I International Club^[8]

Organizations

• AIGA - the professional association for design
• American Society of Interior Designers
• IIDA International Interior Design Association
• OC Ad Federation (OCAF)^[8]

Honor Society

Bachelors and associates degree students who graduate with honors may enlist in the Association of College Honor Societies, Alpha Beta Gamma-Delta Phi society.

Housing

Student housing is available, and consists of furnished apartments in a complex located 1.5 miles from campus. The student housing complexes feature laundry facilities, pools and spas and are adjacent to one of the largest shopping malls in North America, the South Coast Plaza.

Accreditation and licensing

Institutional accreditation

The Art Institute of California – Orange County is regionally accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), one of the six major regional accreditation commissions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education^[9] along with it's seven sister Art Institute of California schools under Argosy University. Formally accredited as The Art Institute of California, a college of Argosy University ^[10] Degree programs offered by The Art Institute of California - Orange County, are also accredited nationally by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS), recognized by the United States Department of Education, to award Bachelor of Science and Associate of Science degrees, as well as diplomas. The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools is listed as a nationally recognized accrediting agency by the U.S. Department of Education. The Art Institute is also an institutional member of the Career College Association (CCA)^[11] and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).^[12] Courses are taught by industry professionals.

Programmatic accreditation

The Bachelor of Science degree program offered by the Art Institute in Interior Design is accredited as a Professional Level Program by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (formerly "FIDER," the Foundation for Interior Design Education and Research).^[13]

State Licensing

The Art Institute of California – Orange County has been granted approval to operate by the California Bureau for Private Post-secondary and Vocational Education (California Department of Consumer Affairs)

US Government Sues The Art Institute for 11 Billion in Fraudulent Practices

The US Government Files Lawsuit Against The Art Institute

April 2011 The Art Institute and it's parent company Education Management Corporation or EDMC was investigated and sued by the United States Department of Justice and four states including California for illegal and fraudulent practices of $11 billion in federal and state financial aid money. A Press Release was issued by the Department of Justice on August 8, 2011 describing the allegations of violating the False Claims Act.

California Files Lawsuit Against The Art Institute

The State of California filed a Notice of Intervention against The Art Institute's parent company EDMC and joined the federal lawsuit according to California Watch The Art Institute of Orange County along with all the Art Institute campuses were named in the joint complaint.

The lawsuit alleges The Art Institute illegally targeted low-income and foreign students who qualify for government loans which generates 2.2 Billion or 89.3 percent of The Art Institute's net revenue in 2010. Recruiters were allegedly paid $800 for each student that enrolled during their frequent sales pitch events called Open House. The Justice Dept. Lawsuit alleges illegal recruiting took place by instructing recruiters to use high-pressure sales techniques like playing on an applicant's psychological vulnerabilities and inflating claims of career placement opportunities to enroll students regardless of their qualifications.

Predatory Lending

A second pending whistle-blower lawsuit against EDMC has also been filed by The Government Accountability Office (GAO) alleging the school used every incentive to maximize enrollment by recruiting unqualified students who will not be able to repay their loans. The suit alleges recruiters were trained to mislead students about the types of jobs they could expect to get after graduation. The GAO released undercover video to build their case against EDMC and other for-profit colleges.

Exploitation of Veterans Benefits

The HELP Committee, led by Sen. Tom Harkin has been holding hearings with EDMC and other for-profit schools for targeting veterans returning from service with aggressive and sometimes fraudulent recruiting tactics. The GI Bill dose not count against the law prohibiting the school funding not to exceed 90 percent of it's income from federal loans. As a result, military money going to for-profit schools spiked dramatically. At EDMC, funding from the Department of Defense and Veterans Administration climbed from $2.04 million in fiscal 2009 to $52.4 million in fiscal 2010 and noted in a Frontline Investigation

Complaints About The Art Institute Schools in California and Other States

For-Profit Art Institutes of California Accused of Swindle

On April 11, 2012, a class action lawsuit was filed against The Art Institutes of California. The Lead plaintiff who was seeking a bachelors in interior design alleges that admissions advisers as well as academic advisers mislead her into thinking that the full cost of her degree $89,000 would be covered by federal loans, grants and scholarships but failed to disclosing the maximum limit for her degree was approximately $57,500. She was not qualified for private loans to cover the difference and forced to drop out of school with a $52,162 debt. Six Art Institute of California campuses are named as defendants, including the Art Institute of California Orange County, Los Angeles, Inland Empire, Sacramento, along with San Diego and San Francisco.

A lawsuit filed in Texas state court by 145 students of The Art Institute of Houston alleges they were misled about the accreditation status of their program, diminishing their degrees’ value and leaving them with debts they can’t repay. The case was settled for an undisclosed amount.

A former graduate of The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale Carrianne Howard went public about her degree in a Bloomberg Article alleging it was worthless and turned to stripping just to pay off her student loan.

Instructors at The Art Institute of Seattle raised questions about EDMC when they tried to join the American Federation of Teachers. The attempt to unionize lost in a 48 to 64 vote. Instructors objected to high-pressure marketing to students to take out loans they couldn’t afford and felt like the quality of education was suffering, that because the emphasis on getting as many students as possible was the main goal.

See also

• The Art Institutes
• Education Management Corporation
• Council for Interior Design Accreditation

References

External links

Official websites

• The Art Institute of California – Orange County Homepage
• The Art Institutes official website
• The Art Institutes on Ai Insite
• Education Management Corporation official website

Other Websites

• AIGA Art Institute of California - Orange County Student Chapter Homepage

Maps

• Map of The Art Institute of California – Orange County