Art Institute of Charleston closing

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The Art Institute of Charleston is no longer accepting new students and will close its physical location on North Market Street at the end of the year.

The school opened in the Holy City in 2007, offering classes in visual design, culinary arts, fashion, film and production, and interior design.

The Art Institute system, which includes 31 locations across the country and an online program, was acquired by the nonprofit Dream Center Education Holdings in late 2017 from the for-profit Education Management Corp. Dream Center Education also acquired the Argosy University and South University systems from Education Management.

In addition to the Charleston campus, Dream Center Education Holdings is closing 29 other campuses across the country, including Art Institutes in Charlotte and Raleigh; Argosy Universities in Nashville, Tenn., and Sarasota, Fla.; and South Universities in High Point, N.C., and Cleveland.

According to a statement, Dream Center Education Holdings has been evaluating its campus-based programs since it acquired the three education systems, and it decided it did not see a growth in demand at the campuses it is closing.

Spokeswoman Anne Dean said, “This decision was made for a number of reasons, including a shift in the demand for online programs in higher education and in student populations at the campuses, which have resulted in declining, unsustainable enrollment levels for campus-based programs in these markets.”

The nonprofit will be working one-on-one with students to decide their next course of action, Dean said, including outlining the credits and courses remaining and an anticipated graduation date.

“We will then determine with the student, based on that plan, what the best option is for them to complete their education,” she said.

Options include completing their studies at the Art Institute of Charleston, if they are able to graduate by December; transitioning to an online program and receiving a 50% reduction in tuition; transitioning to another campus within the Dream Center Education system and receiving a 50% reduction in tuition; or transferring to an outside institution and receiving a $5,000 tuition grant.

The nearest Art Institute campus that will remain open is in Atlanta. South University has locations in Columbia and Savannah.

Dean said Education Management Corp.’s recent bankruptcy filing was not associated with Dream Center Education Holdings.

Education Management Corp. settled a federal false claims lawsuit with the Department of Justice in 2015 for $95.5 million — the largest False Claims Act settlement with a for-profit educational institution in U.S. history at the time.