SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - Students at the Art Institute of California in San Diego say they feel betrayed by the institution after learning it's likely shutting down.
They were notified Wednesday that if the school isn't squired by a buyer it will shut down on Friday, March 8.
“We could see the cracks in the walls when a lot of the department heads were let go and they had one person running all the programs," said Tom Aleo, who studies game art and design.
Aleo had just one quarter left before graduation. He says despite problems in the last year they were hoping for the best.
"The emotions here are all over the place; shocked, confused, depressed," said Aleo.
In July the Art Institute in Mission Valley stopped enrolling new students. And this week court documents revealed the company which operates the school, Argosy University, is accused of misusing millions of federal dollars.
Students are frustrated they only got two days of warning that the school was closing, and are now scrambling to figure out their options.
A tuition fair was held on Thursday on campus.
10News reached out to the Art Institute and received this statement:
“We have been working day and night since the institution entered into receivership to find the best path forward for students at The Art Institute of California – San Diego and are doing everything that we can to save the campus. “We have been working day and night since the institution entered into receivership to find the best path forward for students at The Art Institute of California – San Diego and are doing everything that we can to save the campus. “If the campus is not acquired by another higher education institution, or another institution does not agree to teach out the programs, upon court approval, it will close on Friday, March 8, 2019. “We are working with students, accreditors, state regulators and the U.S. Department of Education to provide as many options as possible for students, to include transfer to another higher education institution or student loan discharge.”
