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Art Institute Of Charlotte Among 3 For-Profit Schools In North Carolina Expected To Close

The Art Institute of Charlotte  (pictured here) is expected to close soon, along with its campus in Durham.
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The Art Institute of Charlotte (pictured here) is expected to close soon, along with its campus in Durham.

A for-profit company expects to shut down three college campuses in North Carolina before the end of the year. They include South University in High Point and the Art Institutes in Charlotte and Durham.

Email obtained by The News & Observer of Raleigh show that Dream Center Education Holdings this week notified University of North Carolina officials the company will close those three locations, which enroll a total of 3,000 students. 

UNC officials said in an email that the company will stop enrolling students for the upcoming term.

A company spokeswoman declined comment about closing plans.

South University offers programs in pharmacy, business, nursing, theology and arts and sciences. Art Institute campuses offer classes in animation, design, film and audio production and fashion.

Dream Center Education Holdings, a nonprofit based in California, acquired South University and the Art Institute schools earlier this year, according to the News & Observer. They were owned by for-profit school operator Education Management Corp. 

The plan was that the schools would change status from for-profit to nonprofit. But a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education told the newspaper that hasn’t happened. That means those schools could have a hard time receiving federal student loan money. 

There are about 30 Art Institute campuses throughout the country. Several have run into accreditation problems this year.