The Art Institute of California - Orange County, A campus of Argosy University is a for-profit college located in Santa Ana, California. Under Argosy University, it is affiliated with the The Art Institute of California system of 8 campuses collectively known as The Art Institute of California--a college of Argosy University. Argosy University is owned by EDMC. The campus is composed of 13 art departments, two applied-art schools, The International Culinary School, the Fifty Forks restaurant, The AUSSI Art Gallery, and one dormitory complex. The Art Institute of California campuses are regionally accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).
Maps, Directions, and Place Reviews
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, as well as an art gallery 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.
Art Institute Fashion Show Video
Areas of study
The school offers B.S., B.F.A., and A.S. degrees in several career-preparatory programs, including culinary programs.
Student restaurant
Fifty Forks restaurant, is the public campus restaurant, operated by the students and faculty of The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of California - Orange County, opened in August 2003. Guests awaiting their meals can watch their dishes be prepared, and ultimately served, by the staff in the kitchens surrounding the dining area.
Graduation rate
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 prospective students. A sample of students followed from 2004 to 2010, revealed 320 out of 1021 students completed graduation. This gives The Art Institute of Orange County a graduation rate of 31 percent.
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".
- An annual fashion show titled "Rock The Runway" hosts fashion designer industry and media, as well as entertainment industry
- 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.
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:
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.
- Ai+I International Club
- Emerging Green Builders (EGB)
- Frame-by-Frame
- Game Developers Society (GDS)
- Gay Straight Alliance
- iNet
- Student Fashion Association (SFA)
- The Bakers Dozen
- The Food Conspiracy
- VEC Club
Organizations
- AIGA - the professional association for design
- American Society of Interior Designers
- IIDA International Interior Design Association
- OC Ad Federation (OCAF)
Honor Society
Bachelors and associate 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
The Art Institute of Orange County is WASC accredited.
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 along with its seven sister Art Institute of California schools under Argosy University. Formally accredited as The Art Institute of California, a college of Argosy University The Art Institute is also an institutional member of the Career College Association (CCA) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). 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).
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)
Federal and state lawsuits filed against The Art Institutes
The US Government Files 11 Billion Lawsuit Against The Art Institute
April 2011 The Art Institute and its 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. The case is pending.
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.
EDMC predatory lending
A second pending whistle-blower lawsuit against EDMC has also been filed by The Government Accountability Office (GAO) alleging recruiters for South University used incentives to maximize enrollment allegedly by recruiting unqualified students who will not be able to repay their loans.
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 does not count against the law prohibiting the school funding not to exceed 90 percent of its 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
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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