Reviews of The Art Institute Online of Pittsburgh | Tips for Designing Websites

133 Responses to “Pros and Cons of The Art Institute Online”  

1. 1 Ronen Aug 10th, 2006 at 10:23 am

   Everything you said here in the cons is true. These are things that I been complaining about for a very long time, and they keep saying that things are being done… but they aren’t. I been here for 3 years with growing aggravation.

   If I can add a few more cons
   - Bad class information: the material in the class is not just outdated, sometimes it is just plain wrong. Sometimes it makes no sense, and sometimes its just not there.

   - Staff that changes faster than you change socks. I already been through about 5 academic advisor in 3 years. No, it is not me, they simply keep firing them. Same goes for financial advisers.

   - Odd choices of software: The school insists on using 3D max. While North American companies uses Maya mostly.

   - 5.5 weeks: is not enough time to do anything. Sure it is improvement over the overlapping week (anyone remembers that, now that was hell). But it still bad. 11 weeks courses with less assignment everyday would get people much further.

   - 5.5 week: not enough time to build portfolio quality work. You want portfolio work? You will have to do it on your own time extra.

   - No live connection with teacher. Never do you really get to chat with them and get real guidance.

   - No audio or video lecture. Seriously, how hard would it be to add?

   - Courses have wrong assignments: Some courses have simply the wrong assignments that are imported from other places and are not double checked.

   - Courses that are built for ground base schools: yup, many are just taken from AIP. They do not fit online environment.

   - Teacher that are unprofessional and in many cases simply refuse to help or listen.

   - Won’t let you transfer a lot of credits.

   - Small selection of General Education classes.

   OK, this list can go forever so I will stop. very cool you managed to find pros because I can’t. The only reason I am here is because I have no choice and spent to much money already hoping things will get better.

2. 2 Jennifer Janke Aug 30th, 2006 at 7:15 am

   One thing that I find frustrating is the notice date of the classes that we are enrolled in for the next session. This is only my first session with AIO so I don’t know if this is typical or not, but I was not notified of the classes I was taking until 1 week before the session started. When I tried to purchase my books for the classes (the same day that I received the notification) I found that they were out of stock almost everywhere. Needless to say, I muddled through week 1 with no textbook for one of my classes. We should be given a minimum of 3 weeks notice so we don’t have to scramble and end up paying an arm and a leg for expedited shipping just to get our books on time!

3. 3 Brad Sep 21st, 2006 at 8:35 am

   Hmmm, I’m a little surprised. I think the 5.5 week thing is one of the best parts. The Thursday start thing sucks though. Bumping that up to Monday would make things wonderful.

   I’ve had a lot of those problems at a regular school before, too. That’s no excuse not to fix things though.

4. 4 Michele R Scott - Academic Advisor BGRE J-Z Oct 11th, 2006 at 8:51 am

   Shane stated “No connection with most of the classmates! I mean yeah, we have bios on the first day of class but other than that, the postings are just blah and it’s easy to disconnect with people. It would be nice if we had a section in each class for more personal topics if someone wants to post what’s new with them, life, and pictures, to share what they did over the weekend, whatever. There is a student lounge for such posts, but the “newâ€? classroom format makes it easy for cobwebs to form in that section of the forums.”

   Michele’s feedback:

   The connection is here at AIOSTUDENTS.COM. I had 3 students that all lived in the Boston area. They got together to have lunch, dinner, discussions and just to connect. They ended up meeting another classmate that had an art gallery, and did a showing of their work. They now have a bond that goes beyond AIO.

   As an online student myself for the past 5 years I have to say that I now have friendships from around the world. We talk often, and travel to see each other.

   You have the opportunity with AIOSTUDENTS.COM to put up an employment guide for students to offer, and apply for job positions. This is the place where change can take place, and AIO students need to be involved.

   I urge my students to take “ownership� of their education here at AIO.

5. 5 Shane Eubanks Oct 11th, 2006 at 9:20 am

   Thanks for the reply, Michele. I should mention that the pros & cons were mentioned by other students…I simply compiled them.. I don’t want it to seem like one voice shouting out.

   You’re right about the things that I could add to help students such as an employment guide. I had early intentions of doing just that. I still might. The problem, though, is that it is something that should be provided by AiO themselves. I do this in my spare time, so I can’t put as much effort into it as the students deserve…not as much as someone at AiO who would get paid to do the same thing. I think AiO Connections that the school is touting may be the key that gets everything going. I’m a graduate now, so I don’t know if I’ll have access to that, but it sounds exciting.

   I intend to keep this site alive as long as students use it and can definitely see myself adding info to it that will help students succeed and network with others.

6. 6 anonymous Jan 10th, 2007 at 7:51 pm

   I’m so glad I found this site. I’m just beginning my third quarter here. After 2 quarters of doing really well and being very excited about attending AIO, I’m beginning to wonder.

   I wonder if anyone else has had this experience. When I applied to attend and went through the financial aid procedure,I was told by my financial advisor when he went over the plan with me that I could make payments for the amount not covered by student loans. He explained the payments would be $70 per month until I completed school. I have just found out that is not the case and that the balance is payable in 3 installments only, my next two payments will amount to over $3000 (this is within the next 2 months). I tried speaking to someone in the financial aid department. They told me to apply for a clep loan. This won’t be possible, since I have very poor credit. I explained this to them and was told I could get a cosigner. The person I spoke with acted concerned but that was all they could do.

   I really feel I was deceived. I hope this is not the case and that the Art Institutes is the respectable school I thought it was. If there are others with a similar experience, I would appreciate hearing their stories. I don’t want to waste anymore time or money on a school that practices deception to get student enrollment.

7. 7 Edward Feb 3rd, 2007 at 10:54 am

   I”m in my third semester of the online learning and I have a bad feeling about the whole thing. I’m really hoping things will get better. I’m REALLY hoping that the classes will become more challenging and that the student work will get better and that I might actually learn something. But I don’t think any of that wil happenl. I’m starting to think I should just quit AIO and learn this stuff on my own. I don’t think there is enough feedback, in quantity let alone quality, from students or instructors. I don’t think things are set up in a way to really learn this stuff.

   My advice to those considering the Art Institute Online: DON’T SIGN UP. If you are motivated enough, you can learn this stuff on your own.

8. 8 Peter Feb 7th, 2007 at 4:49 pm

   Im a 36 year old alumni of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh – VC 1991 – and was thinking about joining / attending the BS Media Art & Animation program offered by AiOnline. Have been pretty excited about the prospect quite honestly, that is up until I stumbled across this article. After reading it through,as well as all the comments/posts, I am now very hesitant to shell out my $70K.
   I very much enjoyed the graphic design program at the AIP back when I went- I learned a lot and feel it was money well spent. I figured the Online program would be up to snuff as well, but I am reading here that it is not the case. Does anyone know if its just the online program, or is the “on-ground” program for Media Art & Animation at AIP all screwed up too?
   If any one has any feed back at all about either the program or the school, or any advice about the field what-so-ever, I would be grateful…
   Thx.

9. 9 Jace Mar 6th, 2007 at 11:55 am

   I’m glad that I found this site, first of all, so thank you. I am (was) a prospective student for AIO, and just spoke with an advisor on the phone yesterday. The whole thing sounded a bit off while talking to him. He had the tone of a prescripted phone salesman, which doesn’t help to build any confidence with this program. I did not finish with him, because I didn’t want to waste 50 bucks just applying for the place that I am unsure about. So I told him I’d call him back later when I had time. The guy had me on my phone for about 2 hours, and I only own a cell phone mind you, so that’s a big hit on my minutes. I wanted to hang up on him, but I really would like to get into an online degree program.

   I’ve been told some advice: before you buy into something, go to Google, and type the name of the company, and the word “SUCKS” after it, and check out the results. That’s what I did for AIO and came up with this. Thank goodness too, I don’t think I can shell out that much money for such a shoddy-sounding program.

   I think I am going to look into some other online degree programs. (Looking for my Bachelors in a Game Art and Design program, 3d modeling, etc) Hopefully there’s something out there that’s worth looking into. If not, I guess I’ll just build some models for Half-Life 2 and see where it leads me.

10. 10 Jennifer Janke Jun 5th, 2007 at 5:52 am

    It’s really a shame that people are using small amount of posts on this site as the deciding factor regarding AIO. I am just about to start my 2nd year with AIO and couldn’t be happier. After being in the ID industry (I’m an Interior Design major) for 15 years, I have learned more than I thought I would over the past year. I think that people should look at the good AND the bad before making a final decision. I would (and have) recommended AIO to family and friends in a heartbeat. No one, no school, no place of employment, etc. is going to make 100% of the people 100% happy 100% of the time. Just keep that in mind.

    Jennifer Janke

11. 11 Shane Eubanks Jun 5th, 2007 at 8:15 pm

    Good points, Jennifer, and thank you for the positive reinforcement. Hopefully The Art Institute Online has taken points from this post (and comments) and addressed them since this has been written. I graduated in Sep of ’06, so I’m not sure how it is now. In the fields that most of us are in, it’s important to do two things if going to college. Learn AS MUCH as you can inside and outside of classes…and network with as many people as possible. It’s highly possible that your classmates, facilitators, and people you come across will be valuable colleagues in the future. Learning a ton and making friends will make any education worthwhile. Sure, it’s easy to “just get by” and make the grades, but the real deal is the extra steps a student takes beyond the classroom. Make that time count and you’ll be well-rewarded.

12. 12 Natalie Jul 2nd, 2007 at 4:45 pm

    Hey! well im going to start AIO right now on this semester well now on July 9!
    Im so excited and i hope everything goes great and that i dont have a downfall of my expectives.
    Take Care everyonee

    Im off to check out that site of students.

13. 13 Christian Dec 21st, 2007 at 8:55 pm

    I currently attend the Art Institute of Philadelphia and was thinking of possibly switching to AIO. This article has answered a lot of concerns I have. So, I’d like to thank Shane for taking time to put this together.

    Anyway, the reason I’ve been thinking about AIO, is because I feel my grades have been suffering due to all the group projects I’m forced to do. It seems that every single class I take, the instructors kick back and force everyone to work together. I’m 22 and most of my classmates are straight out of high school, kids who seem to be there for all the wrong reasons, dragging there feet to every class. It’s always the same too, there’s one mule and the rest just jump on the wagon. So, I thought if I were to switch to AIO, the work would be more individualized and my true abilities would come through.

    I also thought AIO would be more challenging, since you’re doing it all on your own. I almost thought that you’d learn more that way. But, from everyone’s bitter feedback it seems like the opposite.

    So, I’m pretty torn. It’s either, sit through four hour classes with these 18 year old brats who chose an art school because they felt it’d be easier than a traditional college or take a chance at AIO, which seems to have a lot of dissatisfied alumni/current students.

    If anyone could exchange thoughts with me and my current situation, it’d be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks and regards,
    Christian

14. 14 David Feb 18th, 2008 at 12:05 am

    I think the views of individuals from this site reflect a small portion of students who have had negative experiences. It’s important to realize that most people who don’t attend a 4 year degree directly after high school have limited academic potential as their lives progress and online gives an opportunity to these individuals. Although many students seeking a successful online learning experience are out there, I feel it’s important to take into consideration a lot of negative comments about AIO are coming from the other end of the spectrum. People who have a history of procrastination and obvious lacking of past educational prosperity are often another tier of individuals seeking online as a learning platform. I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of negative comments come from those lacking work ethic as well as creative attributes to offer within their program. Ultimately, I guess what I am getting at is that a lot of potential online students don’t really have that much room to talk about when it comes to the concept of competencies. It’s their lacking in the past which has forced them to be left with an online source of education as their option.

15. 15 Shane Eubanks Feb 18th, 2008 at 4:36 pm

    Thanks for your thoughts, David. If you have some positive things that you’d like to share about your experience with AIO, I’m sure other prospective students would love to see them. As for thinking the negative opinions come from a certain type of people “who have a history of procrastination and obvious lacking of past educational prosperity” I can speak for myself and many of those that provided the majority of the opinions posted. Actually, the majority of the comments came from people who have been working in the industry or have sought a higher (or alternative) education. I haven’t logged into an AIO class since I graduated in September of 2006 and these opinions were collected in the month prior to my graduation. I passed the information along to various faculty at AIO in hopes to improve the curriculum and experience for students that followed. If you’re currently in a class at AIO, I’d love to know if any of the negative comments have been addressed. I had a sincere hope that AIO would grow into “the” school for online education of the arts.

16. 16 Juan Mar 28th, 2008 at 7:58 am

    As a recent student at AIO I would like to add my take. There are positive aspects to the Art Institute, however after a year and half of classes, most fall WELL short of the standards I came to expect at a normal college. Facilitators were hit and miss, some very interested and engaged, others barely there. As is most things in life, you get out of it what you put into it, however I think AIO misses the mark regardless. Antiquated platform, “facilitators” instead of teachers, classes that are too short (I’m sorry, but 5.5 weeks is not long enough for depth of certain subjects), etc… Some may have a good experience, but in the end you’ll end up with a massive student loan debt and still not learn what you need to know. Go to the library, it’s free and you can get the same info.

17. 17 Sonia May 9th, 2008 at 10:09 am

    I agrre with Jace, they are sales people and will tell you anything . It did sound like a script, when i asked a question i could never get a straight answer . Mostly with the finacial person. I f i asked a specific question they answer with a word for word repeat of what they already read me. I also tried e-mails and they will never answer the questions straight forward. It’s almost as if they do not know the answers or they just don’t want it to be documented. I have been told that the start is may 8th. 2008 but yet i still see nothing online for the classes , i have no idea what is going on. Everytime they need me fill something out, i do it and then get another from to fil out. They need to get it together and give it to me all @ once. I feel like i have been lied to on many occasions, too much detail for that. But yes , i am very scared right now and feel i am about to owe a bunch of money and get screwed out of an education. I’m tempted to just call it all off and find another school but i don’t even know how to do that.
    Any suggestions on some good online schools? I have 0 freetime two hours late at light is the most because I work full time and have twins. And live on my own.
    Maybe everything will come together and it will be ok, but I am not feeling that right now.
    Thanks
    Sonia

18. 18 Sonia May 16th, 2008 at 7:17 am

    DON’T DO IT!!
    I would sugggest doing your research first. I learned my lesson a little too late. They late enrolled me, enrolled me in a class that was never mentioned or even asked if I had the time to take it, which I don’t .It is not in the finacial plan . I have been e-mailing and calling and no-one will give me a straight answer. So I basically got a terrible grade for that class because by the time I was able to even read it the assignment due date had come and gone.
    I was concerned about it two weeks before the classes even started because I could not log on to get a head start. They kept assureing me that everything was ok , and it’s not. Don’t waist your time. Or at the very least don’t let them talk you into enrolling right away. The pressured me into starting ASAP even though they could not get there paper work together in time. I still don’t think it is straightned out. Take your time make sure all the paper work financial aid and everything is set in stone (and good luck with getting that) well before your start date.
    DON’T LET THEM TALK YOU INTO IT!. They sugar coat everything, they are lying to you .
    It’s too late for me , but save yourselves!!!!!!

19. 19 Jonathan Sep 4th, 2008 at 11:44 am

    The Art Institute online is a “for profit” company. There are company meetings about profit margine and when enrollment is low tuition goes up. I would suggest going to a ground campus or learn a trade. Online school is a scam. Take a few business classes and get a Photoshop book and you will be fine.

20. 20 dismayed and tired Sep 16th, 2008 at 7:16 am

    I have been at the AIO online for approx. 5-6 years. I enjoyed the flexibility because with no family, friends nearby, and kids I could work crazy hours and feel productive toward my academic goals. I would say I was 98% satisfied until the last 3 years. My GI Bill assistance ran out, I had more academic advisors than I can count. I am a hard worker in fact I used to be disappointed with myself if my GPA was lower than a 4.0.For a while it was way up there and I had no complaints about AIO, with the exception of online students who harassed other online course students. This was done with racial slurs or sexual nature. I was one of the few students who reported these issues and made sure they were resolved.

    What has changed my perspective is the last 2.5 to three years my financial aid plan has snowballed. It started when my tuition payment plan went from a $249 monthly tuition to a lump $12,000 bill. I went thru weeks and many people telling me different scenarios that may or may not have caused the problem. The one clear message was “we need you to pay it”. Who in their right mind would pay a bill that high without a viable reason?

    I lost sleep the phone and letters came in but no explanation. Until I pressed them and then there was four different scenarios; the last one was that my subsidized and un-subsidized loans were changed. I didn’t even know hat the term meant and I was sure “I” never changed them. So supposedly, I wasn’t receiving enough aid to cover my tuition hence the deficit. No attempt to hold a financial aid person accountable was made. I can’t count how many times I was put on hold or got a vague email. I was told “you did go to school” when I said so if you guys mace the mistake then you can fix it right. They wouldn’t in words take the blame and I asked can’t you track down the user, id number, or name of the person who messed with my finances. I had an emotional break down one day because this person was so rude he acted as if it was a little bill. My husband and I paid what we could with threats of me being dropped from class; I thought what an insult to injury. Therefore, we trudged along being late here and there after all a mortgage and my kids eating had to take precedence.

    As I got closer to my original graduation date I asked if I could extend my payments till after my graduation date of which I already canceled plans to walk down the stage with my family from out of town. I was told this was impossible I would technically graduate but not get my diploma and receive phone calls daily until it would be paid; even though I explained we had a hardship issue financially. To make the excruciatingly long story shorter we took a hardship personal loan, which took a lot of red tape to get with no help of the school.

    I paid them in full to the penny. Clincher, I don’t get a receipt with the exception of my campus common reflecting a zero balance for maybe a day or so. I called to get a hard copy receipt because of the agony I went thru and I wanted to make sure I’d graduate on time. I just found out last week It was back to a balance f $1000 , and that my graduation date was changed to three months further. At this point, my positive feelings and memories are tarnished with disgust and how the heck am I going to pay for another three months we just took a loan for the supposed total amount. Even worse I haven’t been able t concentrate on my classes so Miss A is now do I have to get this done. I feel like three more months at AIO will be punishment no disrespect to the facilitators I have had two bad apples in 5-6 years. It comes down to the lack of communication, lack of responsibility on the part of financial aid and the “jus pay the bill” attitude.

    So now what? I found this blog looking for answers but if don’t get any leads on what to do next, at last someone else can be on the lookout for financial aid woes’. I say don’t attend this school unless you have enough money or have a relative/friend who can police financial aid at AIO.

21. 21 shane Sep 16th, 2008 at 5:33 pm

    Dismayed & Tired,

    Wow…I’m sorry to hear about your financial aid issues. Mine were similar in that they offered me no “aid” at all…more like “financial burden”. Their financial “aid” at the time (around 2004-2005) was just to make sure they got their money. I see it hasn’t changed much. My high school guidance counselor offered more financial assistance than anyone at the art institute online offered me. Needless to say, I’ve got about $40k in student loans to pay off.

    I don’t know if you have any lawyer friends, but it may be worth looking into. That’s really odd how they changed your payments like that.

    I’d suggest talking to someone other than a financial adviser at aio. If that doesn’t work…perhaps find a lawyer….or since you’ve gone this far, just dish out the $1,000 and be done with it. I hate that they left a sour taste in your mouth. It was 2 years before I had my diploma framed…I kept it in my desk and didn’t even want to see it. ha

    Congrats on graduating soon!

22. 22 dismayed and tired Sep 18th, 2008 at 5:58 am

    Thanks Shane,

    I put in my FAFSA and I was told I didn’t qualify for any additional aid anymore there is a limit to how much aid you can receive. I don’t think we can afford a lawyer and I just received the first annoying call yesterday telling me I have a balance.The thing is with 3 months left I would need to shell out 3,000 all together.I wish I would have seen this blog sooner in my studies.

    I’m sorry you had your diploma sitting in a desk but I completely understand how you feel I wanted a masters after this degree and I squashed those plans.If I do pursue it in the future it sure won’t be with AIO.

    Take care

    R.Red

23. 23 amy Oct 2nd, 2008 at 7:20 pm

    Hi, I just found this website while looking for someone to complain to with AIO and I was wondering if anyone has had the same problem that I am having with getting questions answered by staff.

    Has anyone had problems getting a return phone call or email from the Academic Adviser’s or Financial Aid people at the school? So far I have received one email response from my “adviser” (since the beginning of September) to a question out off like 5 and one call back after I was told by student support to leave a message for his supervisor.
    As for financial aid, well I gave up on them and now I just talk to student support. I left one voice mail for my financial aid “adviser” and sent 2 emails. When I never got a response student support said to leave a message for her supervisor, I did that and he didn’t even call me back.
    Then, I referred my friend to the school and she can’t even get a return call from the enrollment person, who’s missed 2 phone call appointments that she set up with my friend. I think that’s pretty bad when you can’t even get the sales people to call you.

    I am not a complainer or anything like that, I am just worried because it is quite a bit of money that I am going to owe and I’d like to be treated like I am wanted there. ={

    Thanks, any response will be helpful!

24. 24 Web Design Diploma Dec 9th, 2008 at 2:04 am

    I am currently enrolled at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online for Web Design. When I first did the research I thought that AiO was a great choice to start my education back up. I was wrong.

    I feel like I could have learned most of this stuff on my own. 5.5 weeks is definitely not enough time to learn anything significant and really get a good grasp of the concept (PHP, Actionscript 3.0, etc.). It’s now time for me to create my portfolio and I don’t really have anything (that I am happy with) to put into it.

    All throughout my time at AiO I’ve had the chance to look at others’ work and the general quality is horrendous. Some of the portfolios are so amateurish it’s unbelievable. A few of the sites look like something I made when I was 12 years old. I can’t imagine a professional company hiring one of these people based on their digital portfolios. In all of the classes I have taken, I’ve seen 1 or 2 people who are actually good at web design/development. If it weren’t for the fact that I’m already about $15,000 into this program I would have dropped out by now and moved on to something else.

    I don’t feel I have acquired the necessary skills to put “Web Design” on my resume and feel proud and confident about it. I will not continue on to get an Interactive Media Design degree, nor will I ever enroll in another program at AiO ever again. It’s really sad because so much was promised, but after looking at just about everyone else’s lackluster works even in the highest level classes, there is so much left to be desired.

    Now I’m just looking for a job to pay for all of this sub-par education I’ve received from the Art Institute Online. I doubt it’s going to be in the web design field.

    Learn from my mistakes, and do your research! I hope others had a better experience with AiO than I have. If only I could turn back the hands of time….

25. 25 Sam Jan 7th, 2009 at 4:54 am

    When I first started at the Art Institute Online it was a very positive experience; I had a great advisor who kept in touch with me and got to know me, every term my most of my teachers would call before class started to introduce themselves, I basically felt like I was getting an outstanding education. About half way though my degree things began to change; the personal interaction began to decline. I was assigned a new advisor who only contacts me at the beginning of each term to inform me that the term is starting, and then at the end of the term to inform me that it is ending. This advisor can not remember my name or what state I live in. When ever I speak to my advisor I am talked down to and treated like I am a bother. The calls from my instructors stopped. The instructor interaction online became slower. I have looked in to changing to another school but many of my credits would not transfer over. AIO sucks you in, treats you great until you reach the point of no return, then you are just a pay check to them.

26. 26 PoeticG Feb 2nd, 2009 at 5:06 pm

    I went to the Art Institute of Phoenix following my graduation from High School. Previously I was Artist of the Year and designed the graduation pamphlet…now I’m just nineteen thousand dollars in dept and counting…I can’t believe I wasted my life

27. 27 Michele R Scott - Academic Advisor BGRE J-Z Feb 28th, 2009 at 11:32 am

    Michelle,Hi,
    I am 47. Artist,Writer,Painting Contractor.I don’t know your background. .It is irrelevant to me any way.I am currently enrolled in AIO course Winter 09.Graphic Arts,I have had nothing but problems since day one,Orientation Course,such as accessibility,down loading upgrades,not to mention my software not being compatible with AIO,which would have been considerate if someone had informed me of this necessity.A little crash online course VIA E mail for any of this would have been nice.Not to mention the fact that I am out of high school since 1979.made staff aware of this,took my computer skills test,(2 weeks ago) no response yet.You know as well as any person who works in a higher education environment,that these younger students have been operating computer since grammar school.I could go on forever.

    MY POINT IS THIS!!!! THIS IS NOTHING LIKE WHAT THE BROCHURE SAID IT TO WOULD BE!!!

    I still haven’t received my school catalog in the mail,3 weeks waiting,not to mention contacting AIO for assistance.Waiting for RSVP,etc.
    Also I shouldn’t have to organize any social gatherings to meet with people in person,
    Hence the term; AIO course,this comment speaks for itself.

    My real point is this,sad but true I find,that when someone works for an establishment,
    they are trained to specifications by their employer.If you don’t adhere,or fit their format,you know as well as I do ( at will clause ) you may be terminated for any reason and any time,with no chance of legal recourse. I know this from personal experience.
    I am not saying by any means this holds true to all I have spoken with on this subject.
    Some of your colleagues were very helpful to say the least.

    What I am saying is this,instead of dropping the “How important Higher Education” is “BOMB” on us students.And various other “hooks”.Which I do believe that education is essential and very important .
    My suggestion is this,instead of treating us all as “Text Book” formatted candidates,like some of you are reading straight froma cue card,or have the routine down so well,it’s like talking to “Robo-Trons”such as some of the people I have spoken to from many Institutions over the last 3 weeks,before deciding to enroll with AIO. ( for various personal reasons)
    Drop the sales pitch!!Are you people just having membership drives,or making commission??? I can get that from Christians,and Jehovah’s etc. Yeah I said that,because I believe in God,and Jesus Christ,not man made things.I noticed my phone doesn’t ring of the line as it did before i officially signed my promissory note for payment of loan,and officially enrolled in AIO.
    Hmmmm… Makes one wonder about what higher education really is about?
    Any time you want to further this topic, I am [email protected]
    Sambo,Samuel Michael Kurus,
    your feed back is very welcome,and I will RSVP,ASAP

    PS. since you like giving your opinion as much as I do in something you believe in,let me know what you think of this piece I wrote

    Written by Samuel Michael Kurus
    06/1997

    “The Devil’s Dilemma”

    Oh my God!!!
    What have I done?
    To deserve such a fate…
    I realize now that You are my mentor,
    and I am only here by Your grace…
    Once I was a mighty hunter,
    and now I am just prey…
    Demons chasing after me,
    every night and ever day…
    And now I am lost inside this nightmare,
    running scared through the chasms of hell…
    And only You and You alone Lord ,
    can break this Satan’s spell…
    You are my judge and jury,
    though I feel I have comitted no crime…
    As I look to the heavens above,
    from the depths of hell…
    I realize now,
    that I can not turn back the hands of time!!!

    Sambo!!! the Psychic?Burnout,Comedian…

28. 28 Juan Mar 3rd, 2009 at 1:48 pm

    I left AIO almost a year ago now and just decided to check back in here to see how other people experiences have been. I did not graduate, so I get the monthly call from an AIO “readmissions” person asking me if I would like to continue my education. “Sure, when you lower your tuition!” I respond. I feel sick about the student loans I took out to attend that farce of a school. As I said before in my above post…go to the library, it’s free and you’ll get the same level of education. And no, AIO classes aren’t good anywhere but at an art institute, which I knew going in, but now just chaps my hide. Don’t do it. If you have a love of the arts, get a business degree and buy some photoshop books, you’ll go alot farther. As I said before, some of the people there are wonderful people, however in the end, it’s not worth it.

29. 29 STACIE Mar 11th, 2009 at 6:00 pm

    DO NOT ENROLL IN AIO!!!! Let me add my story to anyone who cares to read it. Please do not fall for their tactics. I did and it got me absolutely nowhere.

    I signed up for AIO class in 2007 after I was looking to change my career field to interior design. I had spent several years in the medical field with the military and was trying to explore my creative side a little more. I enquired via email to AIO to which I recieved immediate response from one of their representatives. I swear I must have recieved a call every other day about my interest in their program so I started checking with the VA to see if my GI bill would cover this school. It did, so I responded to the representative as to how I would go about signing up. I had never attended online schools so I asked alot of questions. I asked them if it would be an issue if I used my GI bill and I was told that they had a VA rep. that could assist me in getting that arranged. I also expressed that I did not want to start until I was finished with the classes I was enrolled in at a local university. Well, needless to say they contiually called me and tried to talk me into enrolling in their upcoming 5.5 week semester. I eventuall was suckered into it and enrolled into 2 classes. Mind you, they classes had already started so I was going to start off behind and I had no books. Stupid me believed my advisor when she said that I would be able to catch up and I could use the online library until my books arrived.

    So, I contacted the VA rep that they told me to call. Ha….what a joke!!! He tells me to contact my local VA to initiate the paperwork. So, long story short…I ended up having to take out some loans because of course they can’t wait for the money from the VA and I subsequently never filed through the VA because I never got the chance.

    So, now I’m enrolled in these stupid classes….yes, they were stupid. Some basic microsoft class and how to take online classes or some crap like that. I thought, what the heck…I’ll trudge through it and if it doesn’t work out I will just withraw from the classes and start again when my time became a little more managable. At the time I was a single parent and had a full time job, was taking a night class at another school, and had not even had my internet service hooked up on my computer yet. As you may have already guessed, I could never get “caught up”. So I emailed the school to ask them how I need to withraw from the classes. No response…..FOR DAYS!!!! So, I called…NO RETURN phone calls. All the people that were riding my butt to sign up mysteriously were too BUSY to take my calls. So, when I finally got ahold of my advisor, she informed me that the drop date had already passed. I told her that I still needed to drop and she said she needed a statement emailed to her to confirm that I wanted to drop and that she would “tansfer” me to the financial aid department.

    I made sure that the payments to AIO were returned and that I was not charged for the loans. This was probably the easiest part about this whole process. So months go by and I recieve a form from AIO with a balance of $101 for an unpaid enrollment fee. Now it is 2008 and I recieve a phone call saying that I owe$1400.00 to AIO for the dropped classes. I called to enquire about it and got some really strange advise but we won’t go into that. After one phone call I recieved a statement from their institution that looked to me like the balance on my account was $0.00. I had several other people look at it and they agreed that it looked like the balance was $0.00. So, anyhow…a couple of months later I get another email from AIO telling me that I have an overdue amount of $1400.00 and that my “immediate response” is neccesary. So, I emailed this person back and told them that I recieved this statement and that I was disgusted as to the way I was treated and so on and so on.

    Several conversations and emails later, I get nowhere. They put me in collections because they said I failed to respond to there “many attempts” to contact me. Not that my credit was that great anyways but still…this school has caused more than a little damage. I can’t even get my freakin transcripts so that I can enroll in another college unitl I pay them in full. All of this because I stupidly wanted to explore my artistic side. I should have just stuck with my medical career which I now cannot persue unless I pay this stupid debt. I have other student loans that I pay every month for classes that I actually completed and recieved a grade for and that is my priority right now so AIO will just have to wait.

    I don’t consider myself a stupid person but I should have researched this school and I sure wish that I would have googled this site back then. Maybe my story will help some of you all out when making your decision to persue your online education. Research the school and, for Jake sake….DO NOT let these people pressure you into anything!!!! If the cost of the courses are not covered under student loans or grants or GI bill then don’t waist your money. AIO is only trying to make money off you….they are not looking out for your best interest. They don’t care if you ever graduate. If you graduate you no longer owe them money and how is that beneficial for them?

    I may take this to a lawyer. Hey “Dismayed and tired”…we should seriously look into having AIO taken off the school listings at the VA. They should be made aware of the problems they have caused us. I have a feeling we are not the only veterans they have screwed.

30. 30 AnneZ Mar 16th, 2009 at 5:05 pm

    So I just graduated from AIO this past September after five years of slowly obtaining my AS degree.

    I hadn’t received my actual diploma by the end of January, so I called the school to figure out why.

    I was told I owed a balance of $4700 to AIO, because, according to Financial Aid, I was not covered for my final three classes.

    Obviously, this hit me hard… I’d applied for the FAFSA for fall quarter like every other year and had NEVER been told that I would not be covered for my final classes.

    Upon learning this, I spoke to financial aid and forwarded my FAFSA info, and they told me I should have been covered. and that “they’d look into if they could still apply the funds”.

    Weeks went by with no word.

    Today I wrote yet again asking about the status of the issue and saying I would be speaking to Sallie Mae to figure out where the funds with, and amazingly, someone wrote me right back!

    He said if you aren’t taking a minimum of 6 classes, AIO is “required to change your status to withdrawn” and those classes would not be covered.

    No one EVER told me my final classes would not be covered prior to taking them.

    So, all in all, with my awesome AS degree (the diploma for which I still do not have, since they are holding it based on the supposed $4700 I owe them) from AIO in graphic design, I am $50K in debt to Sallie Mae and in a fight with AIO regarding why exactly I owe them for my final classes.

    AIO, KMA.

    Anyone who can verify what AIO’s financial aid department told me, or who has a similar story, please email me at [email protected].

31. 31 Lulu Mar 24th, 2009 at 7:59 pm

    Hey,everyone.. I’m 18 and I’m currently enrolled into AIO. I was supposed to actually start my classes in Winter ’08 but because of my financial aid I started in Jan ’09 instead.
    My admissions adviser was very nice and cared about how I was progressing. Then,I get my NEW student adviser (He’s new at this job too)and he obviously sounds like he doesn’t care about whether I call him or not. The first time I spoke to him on the phone,he didn’t even try to carry on the conversation and was like,”Yeah,whatever.”THIS is supposed to be the person that I discuss with on everything? They also are REALLY bad when it comes to emails. Are they not another dependent way to communicate? My financial adviser hasn’t even replied back to mine for more than a week. I’m well aware that I’m not the only student attending but that is still no excuse..this isn’t the first time either.
    And when they DO respond,like Student Support for example..they don’t even bother answering everything! What an easy job that must be. :/ I’m currently in ‘Computer Literacy’ and I can say I’ve learned a bit BUT…I realize that these are things that I could’ve learned myself if I’ve put my mind to it. Assignments: Just pretty much 2 discussion questions,re size this,scan this. It’s not like a super detailed tutorial with tons of awesome information. It’s pretty much you ‘go and find a dependable source from freaking google’ and find out from that. This class just tells you that if you put your mind to it,you could’ve just searched and learned this all yourself. BUT..because you didn’t, you chose the ‘Have someone tell me to do it’ 1k option.6 weeks of that only gets you to just scratch the surface. I enrolled into this school because it looked very promising but now I’m just starting to question whether it really is worth it. I don’t have a car (or a good means of transportation) and I wanted more than that community college around where I live. I was also under pressure of wanting to go to school and not staying behind my other classmates. I just didn’t want to be left not doing anything. Nobody else was helping at all,no one ever never said ‘Hey,let’s go to that college now.Let’s check it out!’ Seriously think about it, the costs of this school are really not worth it. 80K for 4 years online?! I just got a good wakeup call,I had seen the amount when I was in the enrollment process but because it was so quick(and I was so stupid),I just brushed it aside. I could have just went to a community college for much more less. To think that I’ll have to pay that amount back for an online university that ‘participation’ is done at the minimum is nuts. Everyone replies to each other because they have to,barely because they want to. It’s pretty much a drop by and submit place with weekly readings. I don’t know..I’m confused now.I just looked at my Sallie Mae online account and it says Total amount outstanding: $2,510.43. If that’s all I owe then I should just quit that school now. I consider myself an individual that loves art and I really do put effort into my work. I feel that I put more effort than some others and the instructor doesn’t give a shit. It’s just ‘Okay.’ What’s even worse is that he’ll ask,”What is that?” sometimes when I’ve well explained it into my post already.I’m a good student but one who is lower middle class..great jobs these days are even scarcer to get so where do we begin? Many say ‘experience required’ but where can I start without making such sacrifices? All in all,very little communication,no advice,and lots of money required. If AIO was as cheap as my community college then I wouldn’t mind these blemishes but it ISN’T. So much money.. for what?Even with the convenience from home,it’s still too much. I’m aware that other universities are around that much and I just don’t understand it. All they want is your freaking money..why can’t you get a good education for much less? Okay..I’m just frustrated..

32. 32 Derik Mar 26th, 2009 at 7:36 pm

    My advise is stay away from this school. They are out to get you. Stay away from the advisor Michelle Scott, She ruined my career. This school lost my transcripts and then would not except them and no one would help me and mr or ms Scott, whatever he or she is said it was up to me to get this resolved. I resent them, what else they want, me to drive up there and file them for them. And then I am told by Scott that its best if I withdraw, how helpful is that. Then they come up with this imaginary number I owe them and hold my credits for hostage from other colleges. I get a letter saying to pay 1000 and I will be clear, after that, they say I owe an additional 200, I ask why and emailed them a copy of the letter stating 1000, they say oh it was a mistake and theres nothing they can do until they have the extra 200, I tell them I will show this letter to a lawyer, and the next week I get transcripts I fishy is that? Now I am happily at the American Intercontinental University and will graduate next month yay!!!!

33. 33 Jason Mar 28th, 2009 at 7:14 am

    Thank you for this site I just enrolled and now I know I need to get out.
    Thanks

34. 34 Tarsha Apr 7th, 2009 at 8:53 pm

    I can not believe all the press I am reading on AIO.

    I enrolled a the Art Institute in October 2007. I was so excited to be returning to college and getting a degree. I am a single parent and need a degree to advance my career. I enrolled in the Residential Design Program. I started off with A’s and B’s my first year. I was then enrolled in AutoCAD which should be an 11 week course. It is hard to learn the program teaching yourself in such a short time. The teachers expect you to teach yourself. Needless to say I did not pass the course the first time around.

    The next semester I was enrolled in AutoCAD and Residential Design. AutoCAD is a pre-requisite to Residential Design. Maybe it is me, but the drop/add period is not mentioned in the campus common. The last day was on a Sunday and when I called on Monday I was told that I had to withdraw.

    I am now approaching my last semester. The school sent me a letter stating that I am no longer enrolled and would have to appeal the decision. They say I am not showing academic progress although I have a B average (GPA), and two classes before finishing. I passed my last class. They said I have too many Withdrawals. I have withdrawn from two classes due to missing the drop/add period. They were still paid for the classes. I now do not know what I am going to do. I am waiting for the appeals process to be over.

    Last week the school contacted me about enrolling in the Interior Design BA program. I have been hesitant because I would like to complete my BA on ground. All my financial aid grants and loan money is going to the school. I have no extra money to buy books. My money would go further on ground. I have no clue why the school is doing this to me. Perhaps it is because I am not re-enrolling.

    To anyone thinking about going to school here, consider on ground school first. I checked into my local college and they are going to consider credit for some of my courses. The admissions person for the Interior Design program said I might be able to test out, but she doubts I learned enough to do so. In order to get my bachelors I am probably going to have to take all those classes over. I still have to pay the loans back and might not be able to get my degree. On top of that not very many courses transfer.

    I hope I wasn’t too long winded. Anyone have any questions, feel free to email me [email protected].

35. 35 Matthew Apr 26th, 2009 at 10:02 am

    I started taking classes in April of 07,and was told that financial aid would cover everything, and needless to say once classes started that was not true.. I had to pay for my books out of pocket, which didn’t seem right, and then they had set up a book store account, which was all screwed up. Something told me, to stop attending AIO, for the cost was way too high, and the unprofessional, with the school. I Stop attending, this past winter, after being fed up, the observation of the school. They had sent my aid back without me knowing anything about it, so i had no other choice to, withdraw, since classes would be over with by the time i get my refund. to buy supplies with.. I am still fighting with the school, about a balance they say i owe, cuz i withdraw after the third week of classes, b/c they Screwed up my account!! Now my case is being transferred to the Department of Education and hope some legal action can finally be done, about how the school treats its students, only caring about charging outrageous tuition and fess, along with a weak educational experience and messed up class schedule.

    If any one else has had troubles with the financial aid office at this school, contact me, to see if we can take this school to court, and get some income relief, since we went in serious debt and loads of getting the run around. Here is my email: [email protected]

    Do not attend this online school, for it is simply a rip off, and unprofessional..

36. 36 jason May 13th, 2009 at 1:28 pm

    Art Institute of Pittsburg Online is a complete joke. I was in the Web Design program (until today). I withdrew from the school today as it is the last day of the quarter. My so called instructor was a joke. She didn’t even know what .php was. She never taught anything, she was only a moderator not a teacher.

    SAVE YOUR MONEY and go to a state school and take up computer science or computer information systems. Will cost you 1/4 of what this sad excuse of a school cost.

    YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

37. 37 Stefanie May 19th, 2009 at 10:20 am

    I am just starting with my 3rd class at AIO. I really enjoy taking classes online and so far, have learned a lot….but as others have said, you get out of it what you put into it. Even though I enjoy the school, this will be my last class at AIO. The tuition is absolutely outragous! I am enrolled for a digital design diploma and if I were to stay in to get the diploma, I would end up leaving with $16,000 debt. I don’t even want a diploma, I want a graphic design bachelor’s. If I did that, it would cost around 72K once it’s said and done. I’m not trying to be a doctor for god’s sake….and I’m not going to Harvard! If the school went down to average tuition prices, I would stay, but I’m not rich and far from it.

38. 38 Joy Randolff Jul 2nd, 2009 at 12:10 pm

    Wow! I am glad that I didn’t choose AIO when I had the opportunity! I had enrolled at Westwood Onil=ne in the Game Art and Design program, then saw some crap coming up about it on Utube, and looked into AIO. AIO was more expensive, and the administration at Westwood was really jumping through hoops to make sure I had everything I needed to enroll in the next term (which was just three weeks from the day I called Westwood for information!), so I chose to stick with Westwood, at least for the first term, to see if it was worth continuing. I am so glad I did! I have never had any of the complaints that I see on this site for AIO! AS far as financial aid is concerned, my North Carolina grant covered a great amount, and the financial aid advisor vcalled me on a regualer basis (every day, in fact!) To walk me though the process until I had all the funding that i needed. After the grants and student loans were recieved, I still ahad a gap of about $2,000. I didn’t qualify for the clep loan, either, because of my bad credit. There was no problem there – Westwood has a program set up for students who do not qualify for other forms of student aid, where they will finance it – regardles of credit, for no more than $150 a month. I went this route for the remainder of my gap, and everything they have said has been right on the money!
    As far as the classes, I am learning way more than i ever did in other four year schools – including University of Georgia and East Carolina University! (I have been married to a soldier, so it until now, it has been difficult to go to school, due to changes of duty stations!) Obviously, there are some guys in the program who think that they can take a class and become instant designers with no talent or effort, but those folks get weeded out pretty quickly, as they come to realize that this program is no joke! As far as career counseling goes, Westwood is second to none! I have an adivsor that calls me every couple of weeks to check on me – and she sees all of my grades, and knows what is going on at all times! I feel confident that I am getting the attention that I need and then some! Not only do I have this education advisor, but I also have a career counselor assigned to me that also calls me on a bi-weekly basis, to make sure that I am doing well, and to help me look into the future as far as internships, career goals, every question I have ever had has been answered quickly and efficiently, and these folks have gone out of their way to make sure that I am being well prepared, not just to take the next class, or to get that degree, but they are preparing me for a career way beyond undergrad! Westwood online also has a great program where Westwood grads can update their skills any time with free tuition (they have to buy books and software) so their skills are never out of date – unless hey choose to not take advantage of this program! So if there is anyone who is worried about their education there at AIO, I would recommend whole heartedly that they check out Westwood OnlineThey wuill be glad they did!

39. 39 Jodi Scyphers Jul 9th, 2009 at 12:25 pm

    THE ART INSTITUTE OF PITTSBURGH – ONLINE IS RUNNING A BUSINESS THAT PREYS ON THE HOPES AND DREAMS OF PEOPLE THAT ARE TRYING TO BECOME PRODUCTIVE MEMBERS OF SOCIETY!

    When I went back to college in the fall of 2006 I was so excited about my future career. I researched the on-line programs and the Art Institute of Pittsburgh – Online had many good reviews. I called to get more information about their programs and talked to the nicest gentleman. He assured me that they were accredited, that they had a fantastic financial aid department that would bend over backwards to make sure that I got the funding needed to pay for my education. He told me that the instructors were all at the top of their field, and would be in close contact with me during each course. I would be assigned an advisor to guide me during my time at AIO and would always be there for me if I had any concerns or issues. He personally guaranteed me that I would receive the best education possible.

    I have to admit, when I started at the Art Institute Online, everything he said was true; I had a wonderful advisor that I developed a one on one relationship with. She kept in consistent contact with me and was very approachable. I had a cont in the financial aid department that was familiar with me. Each and every one of my instructors would call to introduce themselves before the term would start, and would keep in touch with me thought each course.

    The first class I took at AIO required me to develop a 5 year plan, mapping out my goals educationally and professionally. The major part of my 5 year plan was that after graduation from AIO, I would continue my education and earn my Masters. My instructor was very supportive of my goals and my advisor seemed to share the same enthusiasm for my plans for my future. I was never informed that the credits that I earned at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh – Online would not transfer to and institutions offering a masters degree, even though I made if very clear that was my intention.

    For over a year I was content with my education, and maintained a 3.65 gpa. Then things began to change. I was assigned a new academic advisor. At first I thought that I was just missing the connection I had with my previous advisor, but then I realized it was more than that. My new advisor only called me at the very beginning of a term to remind me that the term was starting, and then at the end of the term to tell me it was ending. He rarely returned my phone calls, and when he did return them it would be at 5 or 6 am because he could not keep straight what state I live in, and what the time difference is between the east and west coast. Most of my emails were ignored, and the responses I did receive appeared to be automated.

    I no longer got calls from my instructors and the interaction from them in class became less frequent.

    As time went on I would try to log in to class and I would have a message that I was blocked, I would try again 10 minutes later or on a different computer and I would be able to get right in. I called tech support about the problem and they would tell me to contact my advisor. When I called my advisor he would tell me that I needed to contact tech support. I was unable to complete my courses, or receive grades that did not represent my efforts or abilities because I could not access my classes. Because of this I made the decision to with drw form all classes until this issue was resolved. I followed the AIO guidelines, only to find out later on that I had not been with drawn from the classes, and therefore received a F in each class and was also charged for the courses.

    At one point I received a statement saying that I owed $450.00, and then a few days later got a bill stating that I owed $3500.00, and then a few days later received a refund check for $900.00. HOW IS A PERSON TO KNOW WHAT IS OWNED OR DUE?

    THE ART INSTITUTE OF PITTSBURGH – ONLINE WAS DISHONEST WITH ME FROM DAY ONE. THEY MISREPRESENTED THEIR ACCREDITATION AS WELL AS THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION THAT I WOULD BE RECEIVING. THEIR BUSINESS PRACTICES ARE UNRELIABLE AND UNETHICAL. THE COST OF A DEGREE AT AIO, WHICH IS NOT RECOGNIZED BY CONVENTIONAL INSTITUTIONS, IS MORE THAN WHAT IS CHARGED BY MOST COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES. THEY ARE RUNNING A BUSINESS THAT PREYS ON THE HOPES AND DREAMS OF PEOPLE THAT ARE TRYING TO BECOME PRODUCTIVE MEMBERS OF SOCIETY!

    Jodi Scyphers

    http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid:43423

40. 40 kei Jul 11th, 2009 at 2:49 pm

    I AM SO THANKFUL that I found this site . I can’t believe that I almost fell for a TRAP!! GOD. I just received a call from one of the agents and I was convinced. since my passion is drawing, I didn’t expect to see an online school with such great programs! but thanks to all of your testimonials … I was saved! WOOH! it was a good thing our load ran out so our conversation was cut hahaha ) you see I just arrived here in Alberta Canada as an immigrant and I’m worried on where and what school I’m going to take .. I want to study Media arts and Animation and finish college . If anybody here would recommend a BETTER SCHOOL I would be so grateful

    again thankyou everyone! you just saved my future

41. 41 Zeus Proto Jul 27th, 2009 at 4:09 pm

    This whole school is a scam!

    http://www.myspace.com/474737780

42. 42 Susan Aug 13th, 2009 at 9:20 am

    I worked for this school for 2 yrs in the admissions department. I finally quit b/c of the unethical practices by the school. DO NOT GO TO SCHOOL HERE!!! I can’t say it any clearer. The admissions people and financial aid will lie right to your face. The admissions directors are paid on the number of students they enroll, so they don’t care about you or your goals. Financial aid will lie to you about payments and loans and all sorts of things. The Dean at my school finally quit too after he just couldn’t take it anymore. Most of the instructors were full of themselves and unhelpful to students, although there were a few that really cared. I felt so bad for the students who I befriended when they would tell me their horror stories in going to school here. Ai is backed by Goldman Sachs – they are totally in it for the PROFIT… they don’t about you once they have your money!!! DO NOT GO TO SCHOOL HERE!!! Good luck to you and your endeavors.

43. 43 Hopefull Aug 25th, 2009 at 1:09 am

    OK so with all these things being said about AIO where do we (future students) look for a reputable school. I have looked at a few schools and of course all seem really great. AIO, WestWood, all among the top contenders for the web Design schools. I now feel lost in a sea of lies and betrayal. If every Online collage is after just our money where do we turn for a Quality ONLINE education. If there is any one that can help, PLEASE I could really Use it at this moment.

    I can not attend a brick collage for I have no time for that. Do I just Gamble on or what?

    PLEASE if you know of a good school please let me know!

    Hopefull
    http://www.neu-era.com
    30 Day’s Free Hosting!

44. 44 Rone Sep 2nd, 2009 at 2:08 pm

    Interesting information, I was contacted by an advisor and after a very long and conversation I was interested. Upon further review I thought, this seems to good to be true. I thought I would check this online school out. Thank for your candid comments. Times are not hard, they are challenging. I’ll keep looking!

45. 45 Cookie Sep 8th, 2009 at 7:44 pm

    WOW, is all i gotta say. i am glad I found this site. I actually was doing research in Online schools a few weeks ago, and somehow I requested a Brochure from AIO not freaking calls 7 days a week from one of their Admissions Representatives. Anyhow, He was the nicest guy you could imagine, ran his mouth a bit too much, but hey, enough to convince me and get me suckered in for about 2 hors on my cell!! he kept saying he is no sales man, blah blah.. Next thing you know, I already applied for FAFSA, and completed their application process with essay and everyting. But this is where I STOP, I will email him tomorrow and cancel everything hahaha, I will not get trapped by their lies, even though they sugarcoated everything. Anyone can tell me if I’m better off gong to Miami International University of art & design? I live in Florida, so would I get more hands on and actual on campus experience?

    Please anyone who goes to such school for Fashion Merchandising in the Miami Campus email me at [email protected]

46. 46 DustinW Sep 13th, 2009 at 10:30 pm

    I have been a student at the Art Institute Online Division for over a year now. I’m in the process of working on my Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science / Interactive Media with a minor in marketing. From day 1 of my enrollment the Art Institute has been absolutely amazing, and really showed me that I can learn outside of the “classroom” environment. I hear from my financial aid officer and student officer monthly, and if I call either of them, I hear back THE SAME DAY, most of the time within a few hours after I leave a message.

    I read all of these problems that other people have had with the AIO, and it really sends the wrong message to perspective students that are looking for a degree online. Some of the problems that I have seen posted, are common problems that happen with EVERY college, either on-ground or online. So, to each it’s own I guess you could say. I your are looking for an online degree from one of the Art Institutes, you should look into the program of your choosing, call them and ask in depth questions and if that still isn’t enough to satisfy your needs, make them put it in writing, ” everything they promise you, or tell you”. I did, and haven’t had the first problem. I have maintained a 3.95 GPA to date and have accrued 100 credits, some transferred in to the AIO.

    Just remember, you are wanting to learn online, don’t expect to be hand fed the information you will be studying. It’s not any easier than a ground school, the information is the same and just as hard. So, you WILL have to work extra hard to do the work at hand. They have tutors and classmates that are willing to help, at the clap of a hand, and teachers as well. Good luck to everyone in their educational journey!

47. 47 CJ Sep 17th, 2009 at 3:07 pm

    I just recently withdrew from AIO. I had only spent two weeks total doing classes online, and I’m saddened that it was a total sham. I wish I had searched before doing everything to attend the school.

    The first quarter of classes were BS from what I read. The very first class was the dumbest, excuse my language, shit I’ve ever seen. $4,000 to teach you how to learn through classes online?

    It took two WEEKS for them to finalize my withdrawal from the school, which is horrible. I had to contact the financial aid dept, and student adviser several times to check the progress.

    As a lot have said, this school preys on the hopes and dreams of others. I won’t make this mistake again.

    What a waste of my time, and money.

48. 48 CJ Sep 22nd, 2009 at 1:38 pm

    A new update if anyone wants to know.

    I have a $1,000 balance on my account that I have to pay. My bank issued my student loans, and the first disbursement of it was sent, and they should have received it. The second disbursement is set to be sent in a few weeks. Yet I withdrew from their school. Something shady is going on with AIO.

49. 49 meg Sep 23rd, 2009 at 11:40 am

    I am unbelievably thankful to find this website. The financial advisor is supposed to be calling me today with my “financial plan” and I will definitely NOT be enrolling in this school. I wish I had found this site before wasting the $50 application fee. Thanks for saving me from wasting my time. It’s also nice to hear from someone who worked there and left because of their “unethical practices”.

50. 50 Chris Oct 11th, 2009 at 1:16 pm

    I feel so terrible for everyone of you that had to go through an experience like this. I wish that you all will not let a school like this take your passion away for your career you want to be in. Im only 17 and a senior in high-school but my dreams and hopes will not be crumbled up and thrown away because of a unworthy school. I believe in God and him having a plan for everyone and he makes barriers if he doesn’t want you to do something. And maybe God used you guys, through your experience to help lead kids like me in the right directions. Well only God knows but I know for a fact that my lord Jesus will put me in the right school for my career. Thank you everyone for sharing your experience.

51. 51 Delilah Nov 12th, 2009 at 2:30 am

    I basically have to drop out. In 2008 I graduated and was ok with having an A.S.
    With the crap economy I had no luck getting a decent job. No one cared I had a degree.
    Then in the spring I get a call, how did I like Ai and would I come back. I said I can’t afford it and he put me on hold and said you have the funding and my loans were not all used up.
    The cap was not reached. Well now I get a bill for over two grand and am expected to pay 8,000 to stay in school out of pocket. I was told this would not happen.
    I wrote to the White House about this, I know who reads that mail but it was worth getting it off my chest. Why do colleges lie and break our hearts and souls. It crushes us and hurts to be lied to. This is like a car sales man saying drive it away you can afford it, you know you can’t but they tell you oh yes you can! Is there any reason in the world that this is the right thing to do. Why run a college like a car dealership. I thought it was there to teach us good values and subjects that would make us professional.

52. 52 FED UP Nov 14th, 2009 at 10:34 pm

    I have run into the same problems as many of you. I got suckered into attending the school by relentless phone calls from the admissions salesman, who literally called me every other day and generally was just annoying as hell. Anyway he wanted me to start right away and I was still attending another school trying to finish out my degree there. And I later found out that once you start at this school you CANNOT TRANSFER ANY OTHER CREDITS in unless you don’t attend for like a year. So I am sooo glad that I didn’t start when this admissions person started harrassing me.
    So I started after I finished with my other school, the first classes being pointless; how to be an online student and learning about microsoft programs. They were too easy, made me believe that the rest of the classes were going to be like that. So not true! They got way more difficult. I work a very part time job (15 hrs/week) and I barely have time to get all the work done. It is about 30 hours a week of work. I barely sleep and have no free time.
    I have been here since Jan. of 2009 and this term I will have 44 assignments due in 5.5 weeks. That’s over one assignment a day. I dont know how I will handle it.
    Also the teachers are not that great. They are not that helpful either. They dont “Teach”. And sometimes I don’t think they know what they are talking about. When you have questions with an assignment, it takes them forever to respond. Sometimes they respond after the assignment is due, which is no help at all at that point.
    Also. I don’t like the way that second session of the term is set up either. It starts on a Thursday, so all the assignments are due on the weekends. Why can’t they just give you those 4 days off (We need them anyway) and start every session on a Monday? It would be so much easier.
    Another thing is if you turn in an assignment late you lose 25% of your grade. I have found this for almost every class. I think that is ridiculous, things come up, people are busy. I have only had one teacher so far that has let you turn in ONE assignment late without losing any points.
    Five and a half weeks is not enough time, everything is too condensed and I feel like I don’t learn anything. And having taken about 10 classes so far here I feel overall that I haven’t learned that much. In community college I learned so much more, for so much cheaper.
    Regarding financial aid, I have used loans since I started and all the sudden I got a $3500 bill that is due in January. I have a loan, so I should have no bills! So I called the fin. aid advisor and it has been a week and she has not responded. $3500 is kind of important. Also since I have started here they have sent me numerous .04 cent bills. My loan should have covered this 4 cents. And even if it didn’t, why did they spent the 48 cents to send this 4 cent bill to me. They could have save the stamp and been 44 cents richer!
    Overall it is just way too much work for anyone to handle. It might be easier to only take one class at a time, but at that rate you will never be done. The teachers are pretty awful and not remotely helpful or undertanding. I wouldn’t recommend this school to anyone. Go somewhere else, go to a community college. You will learn so much more, not be disappointed, and get more sleep. I wish I had researched this school more before I started. Because I definitely would not have gone here had I known

53. 53 Tom Nov 17th, 2009 at 10:44 pm

    Truth well spoken, Chris (Oct 11th, 2009)!

    I am a professional photographer, original art reproducer, and printmaker.

    You young folks on here that are looking to get into your particular art/field of interest, take this advice: You can have all the degrees, all the certifications, all the right words put to fancy music but if you can’t dance, no one is going to hire you. That counts as much in life as it does your portfolio. You are only as good as your last assignment/gig. Many have made it this far without all the degrees and formal learning and I can tell you that there are VERY few people I meet, who are at the top of their game because of some school they went to. They got there by self-study with lots of trial and error. Mistakes teach – often times more than doing it right the first time. That’s not the case in all fields (Nuclear Engineering), but in the arts, practice, with mistakes, makes perfect (subjectively speaking lol). Schools like AIO are banking on your fear and sense of dependence on an institution to raise you up. It is unfortunate that many students will see their schooling as the means to an end – getting a job – but the reality is you could have engaged all the time and money spent on school, in learning on your own; reading books, surfing google, and buying proper equipment, and in half the time be running circles around 4 year graduates, all the while having built a real portfolio from real – paying – customers. Not to mention you will have the inverse effect on your bank account that all those student loans are going to have when you graduate and discover people want to hire experience – not a piece of paper backed by a purely academicly inspired portfolio. I have NEVER, nor have any of my clients asked me, about education. I’ve only been asked about my inspiration, my experiences, and how much I charge. They also want to see what I just did for the last guy. If you notice in most of these school program’s intros, they talk about helping you find a job in your field… guess what? Unless you already have some killer skeelz, these are entry level, and pay poorly. Something you probably could have qualified for after a week or two of diligent study on your own. If you finish your schooling, get your degree, and land a great job out the gate, I bet it has far less to do with the school you went to and everything to do with your natural talents. Talent is not learned, it is honed. Zero times any number is always zero. If you’re like me and have no talent as a sculptor, no amount of schooling is going to make me into the next Alexandros. After many years of training I may be able to fashion a handsome ashtray or coffee cup but that’s about it. God gives each of us a unique set of talents in which you NATURALLY are inclined to accelerated proficiency. If that is what you are pursuing with your life, AIO is just riding your wave and charging the mess out of you for it.

    I don’t mean for all that to sound like a discouragement but rather a bit of gentle sobering.
    If you want to get your feet wet with some real, valuable experiences, start looking in your city’s Craigslist for gigs and art jobs. There are plenty of individuals and businesses looking for service. Many even post that they are looking for noobs. It’s a trade-off: you get paid less because you have to learn as you go but you also get the experience, a feather in your cap, and hopefully a whole lot of real education. If you are already enrolled, good on ya. Keep at it but don’t rely on it. Count it as a reallllly expensive library card and add to it by seeking jobs, even if that means doing the first few for free just to get your foot in the door. After you are feeling more confident about your work, don’t be bashful to start charging accordingly. People love our art but they never want to pay us for it. (That goes for any of you who steal music/images and try rationalizing it some how) Research your area and find out what others are charging and keep it around there. Next thing you know, you’ll have people calling you regularly; people who you don’t even know how they got your number. Word travels fast when you are good and fair. Word travels faster when you’re not. AIO ARE YOU READING THIS?

    In our knowledge economy, fueled by the internet, there is no reason why those of us in the arts need to shell out $78,000 to some institution in order to gain some false sense of accomplishment. Doctors… Lawyers…EE’s… sorry but you guys have no choice. But for us, take alllllll that money that was going to be spent at AIO and put it back in your pocket. Get books for free at the library. Join local clubs where there are often times working pro’s as members. Even pay a professional to work with you one-on-one as he/she is doing real, paying work. Those things will wind up costing you wayyyy less in the long run and you’ll learn more in the process.

    My 99 cents.

54. 54 Michael Jacob Nov 18th, 2009 at 8:03 am

    Hi Chris,
    I am the Assistant Director of Admissions and wanted to assure you to loook into school son your own and pay less attention to these horrendous “blogs”…..there are about twenty negative comments on here. As a counter to that, we have over 96,000 students with us right now and over 186,000 alumni…tens of thousands of people just like you that love the school.
    You can contact anytime at 1-877-872-8869 (x2209)

    Thanks,
    Mike Jacob
    The Art Institute of Pittsburgh

55. 55 Angie Nov 18th, 2009 at 9:44 pm

    Yes, it did seem kind of strange that I received a call almost every day from the financial advisor to the 2 both, my home and cell numbers including a couple of emails insisting for me to submit my application. I just submitted my application online today and ended up paying the $50 dollar fee. Obviously it all seem to good to be truth and kind of strange, so I decided to do some research on this institute and Thank God I found this website. I will make sure I call them tomorrow and cancel my application, hopefully I won’t get stuck with a 100 dollar bill that will later become a 1k bill. Has this happend to anyone? If so, please email me to
    [email protected]

56. 56 Shane Nov 18th, 2009 at 10:45 pm

    Mike Jacob,

    First off, for you to call this a “horrendous blog” is quite amusing seeing as I was a student of the Interactive Media Design program when I created this website/forum while enrolled at AIO as a place for students to communicate outside of the online “classrooms” since AIO didn’t provide anything of the sort even after years of students asking for it. I got fed up waiting for AIO to do it and so I did it myself and originally created the forum (now closed as I don’t have time to administer it). Not that I learned how to do it in any of the classes….no….I had to figure it out on my own.

    So one of “your” students created a “horrendous blog” in your opinion. Congrats. Doubt that will make any upcoming Alumni Connection newsletters. Honestly, though, it’s beyond the skill of what a student would acquire through the bachelor degree in the interactive media design program that I went through. If you think otherwise, then I honestly hope that program has grown leaps and bounds since I earned my degree in 2006.

    I hope you took the time to actually read through and take notice of all of the “negative comments” above as they are true & honest accounts of what “your students” have experienced at AIO over the past few years, which gives people the opportunity to “loook into school son [their] own”. The best “defense” of The Art Institute Online would be to fix the issues that have been stated above and elsewhere and then come here with great news of advancements, additions, corrections, etc instead of spitting your opinion in the face of the students that are literally paying for your position.

    Look at it this way…the salary that you’ll most likely earn this year…I’ll be paying that off over the next 15 years.

    I appreciate you and whoever else at The Art Institute taking notice of this “horrendous blog”, but I sincerely hope that you all take a better approach at acknowledging and addressing issues that are brought up by your students (customers) on one of the only websites that allows them to freely and openly express their opinion specifically about the Art Institute Online. Feel free to contact some of your 282,000 students that have experienced The Art Institute Online and have them share with us some of their positive experiences. This isn’t a place to solely “bash” AIO…hence the title “Pros and Cons”.

    I don’t request negative comments.

    I don’t delete the positive comments. There just aren’t many.

    My original and continuing intention is to a) provide prospective students with a REAL expectation of what attending AIO is like and b) to provide AIO with continuing feedback from REAL students. Remember…complaints most often come from passionate customers that can then become your biggest supporters. Good businesses recognize such opportunities.

    Sincerely,
    Shane Eubanks
    Bachelor of Science in Interactive Media Design
    The Art Institute of Pittsburgh (Online Division)
    President’s Award

57. 57 Michael Nov 24th, 2009 at 2:14 pm

    This is a response to the “Michael Jacob’s” post above. The one thing thing that The Art Institutes do very well is advertise and sell that dream of the creative professional.

    Is your school bad? No, but clearly not on par with what you might get at another institution, ESPECIALLY for what you guys charge. That’s highway robbery. Almost anyone in the creative field will tell you that a portfolio is nearly everything, and the degree?? Not so much, so lets look at what you get for your massive student loan debt.

    A degree, if you finish and pay up, lackluster classes, and dated curriculum. (really, you can learn more at the tutorial websites, and still find good places to get crits of your work).

    A portfolio, which may or may not be up to snuff, depending on the skill of the student. Personally I was a little taken aback at some of the shoddy work people were doing at the end of the “class” and getting positive feedback from the instructor. Certainly made me feel as though I wasted the hours and hours I put into projects. I had to take an Algebra class, what was to stop me from doing it all out of the book or at some algebra website at test time? Nothing. Joke. It’s called a proctor, a 3rd party that administers an exam, look into it, it’s what all the “real” colleges do.

    That’s it.

    What AIO sells is the dream of being creative and making a living at it, all while not going to a brick a mortar school. That’s why you have 96,000 students and 200k alumni. It’s a business model, not an educational system.

    My personal experience with AIO was not a positive experience. Were there things that I could have done differently? Sure, nobody is perfect, but you guys gave me the shaft, and I’ll never forget that, and neither will my pocket book.

    Slagging this particular website is a little low. I, for one, wished I would have found it long before I signed up.

    I had high hopes for AIO, and I’m sure some of the students have positive experiences, I just don’t know of any.

58. 58 Jessica Dec 11th, 2009 at 3:00 am

    I am so glad I decided to research for background rather than jump into things. I am interested in finding a good BA Program for “Game Art and Design” and had interest in AIO. I talked with a person on chat and he kept pushing to get my number, full name, address, and HS graduation date. Unfortunately he had no luck with me, I said sir that information is confidental.

    After reading all these posts, I have made my decision to find a different school. Lastly, what the hell? They don’t use Maya! >:O

59. 59 Stef Dec 20th, 2009 at 9:41 pm

    I attended an AI in Minnesota. while it was on campus they still have alot of the same problems you are all describing on the online school. I really did learn alot while I went there and the teachers and staff were really helpful and friendly. I had the most awesome academic director EVER but he got promoted and we got stuck with the 3D nazi, he SUCKED as an advisor so much he even had to have a crabby assistant.

    I have a few friends who made it though there degrees, and about half of them who graduated have really good or decent jobs. Nothing that makes paying back loans easy or anything.

    About the credits not getting accepted ever thing….
    I had quit cause of money and i HATED my advisor, He didnt care and his assistant was a REALLY MEAN person. SO i left and went to the nearby community college. I was a junior at AI and when I left I was once again a freshman, with TONS of debt….. I attended that college for a while and it was a good school I was still really pissed off that I had to start over. SO after about a year of taking classes like painting 1 again, and things like that, I decided to go on a hunt for a school that WOULD accept my credits. I dont take being $70k in debt to lightly. Anyways, a community college in my hometown would accept any and all classes that were relevant to your degree choice. SO FINALLY It felt like I hadnt wasted the last 5 years of my life wasting money id more than likely never have. The school im going to now, I think their classes are GREAT! im learning the same things I learned at AI and the classes are focused on one thing a little better, its more than just running around a bush and throwing like 3 different things in your face for 11 weeks. The quarter set up is the same at the CC im at now. And I feel like im learning more than I did.. OH and the best part is!!!!!! three classes 3! only cost a little more that $600 for the SAME EXACT THINGS more than one learns at AI. Im still a bit mad that I was pushed so hard to move out of state and go to college when I was 17. to young to be making decisions like that. I REALLY didnt understand the concept of student loans at the time. I wish I had never gone to AI. BUT at this point I just want that damn piece of paper. I only have like 5 classes left. *I had 8 left in total. Im taking a few extras That interested me like actionscript. so thats pretty awesome but its just for an AA. but since its SO cheap my FA covers all of it so i get to do it for free.
    I REALLY URGE EVERYONE WHO DROPPED OUT TO SEARCH HARD FOR A CHEAP SCHOOL THAT WILL ACCEPT YOUR CREDITS! That feeling you get after your leave is just horrible. especially when you are told the whole time you are there that the credits WILL transfer when they do not. accredited in their terms means they are accredited with themselves. BUT it IS possible that some small school actually cares and will take them.

    this CHAIN of schools IS a bussiness! THEY ARE OUT TO GET YOUR MONEY! they tried desperately to keep me there. At one point I dont really remember the detail but I should have left then and there. something happened with my FA and the only way to keep going was to take out the Celp loan. I did * this is the STUPIDEST THING I HAVE DONE MY WHOLE LIFE!* again i was 18 and the whole student loan thing didnt click. the interest rate on those loans will RAPE you!

    Ive met people thing about going to AI, In their first quarter…. I tell them to RUN FAR FAR AWAY! ive seen that school screw over WAY WAY WAY more people than it has actually helped. I found this site cause I was curious about the online degrees. I was thinking there is NO way they teach this stuff online. While it SEEMS like a great idea. the ground schools suck in the first place. You would think it would be CHEAPER to attend online. since the class isnt actually taking up a physical space. while the Idea has passed threw my head a few times, maybe once im done with school where I am at I can go back to AI for the handful of classes I have left just to get my BA. But I dont think its worth it. the Idea of having a Bachelors sounds really nice. but that will still cost way to frickin much. though attending a university is about the same over all as going to AI. I think Community colleges are the way to go!

    just ask most people who actually graduated from the school….. the will tell you to NOT go.

60. 60 sarah Rohr Dec 25th, 2009 at 2:15 am

    I’ve been here at AIO since april 09 and it was great til I too changed advisors. I want to take 2 classes instead of one so I’m not getting my associates in 4 years when I should have it in two.
    I paid no attention to the tuition thinking it was normal til my parents said WHAT???????
    I’m 36 but first time in school college wise.

    what made me pissed was that I took remedial math because I suck at it and graduated high school in 91. I was in tears the entire 5 weeks AND the WORST, you’re NOT gonna believe:

    we had quizzes end of each week – AND THE GRADES DIDN’T COUNT AT ALL. I did NOT get more than 1 or 2 questions right out of 10 to 20 every time – always did bad, forgot what I learned within 10 minutes of using the tutors…

    and he passed me with a B.

    I wrote saying NO DONT PASS ME! I failed all quizzes. How DARE you send me on when I don’t know what i’m DOING.

    he merely said I did great and earned the B.

    what?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I don’t know HOW to get out of school else I would immediately. I’ve been there since april 09 and who knows how much I owe now but is it true I can’t attend any other schools til I pay back what I owe AI?

    I’m stuck I feel. Any advice PLEASE send to
    [email protected]

    thank you.

61. 61 s0ke Dec 30th, 2009 at 11:07 am

    I’m still waiting for the “real” diploma. I graduated in sep 09 with a BS and all I got was a diploma that looks like an advertisement. It’s such a tacky pos. I’m ashamed to hang it on my wall. The paper isn’t even parchment it looks like photopaper, I could have done a better job with my laser printer.

62. 62 Michael T. Hertz Jan 6th, 2010 at 11:46 am

    I really appreciate your candor in this website. I’ve been searching around for online graphic design courses and had a long discussion with one Gary Russell at AI Pittsburgh Online. I’ve looked through the AI/tours website. After reading what you all say (echoing things I’ve read elsewhere), I’m not really sold on AI.

    I would like to take online design classes, although I’m not looking for a degree. I could use “lynda.com”, but that provides no feedback or “tests.” Does anyone have any suggestions about a reliable, reasonably priced alternative to AI Online? Thanks very much. You can write me at [email protected].

63. 63 VaNessa Feb 6th, 2010 at 1:03 am

    I just “graduated” from AIO in December and I am still waiting to receive my Design Diploma. I’m not going to say that my experience was bad BUT it totally could have been better and yes, this school rapes you for money. My only complaints are that the teachers don’t teach but just simply monitor the classroom, some of the classes were outdated and repetitive, and it’s way expensive! Also, my goodness, there were an overabundance of horrible “designers” that would produce terrible work to where my 2 year old could have done better and yet the teacher would comment and say that it looks great. I still can’t get over that one. I often wondered how they are passing their classes or even how they got accepted into the school.

    That being said, this was the most perfect school for me. At the time I was a stay at home Mommy and this allowed me to “attend” class whenever I wanted letting me work around my daughter’s schedule without having to put her in childcare.

    Here’s the thing though, this school is not for everyone. It’s for people who can teach themselves and learn on their own. It’s for people that are passionate and already have artistic abilities/talent. If you are someone who needs their hand held and one on one time with a teacher I would strongly advise you to not attend this school.

64. 64 ANon Mar 1st, 2010 at 1:53 pm

    Here’s an example of my first experience at AIO. The teacher continually graded my papers erroneously. When I would point it out- here’s a few different times. I paid 1300 bucks to be talked to like this by the “professor” who happened to admit she’s a drinker and likes her wine at night. Great.

    1)Oh, I found it. I don’t know what I was thinking but I was looking for you in the wrong class.

    2)I am not seeing a post from you on that assignment. Are you sure that you did post it?

    3)I don’t grade the assignments when I write responses. I don’t criticize or tell students what they did wrong or are missing in those responses. You can read the grading criteria for each of the assignments to see what you are missing, and I hope that you do this for the remaining assignments of the class. No, I am not going to increase your grade because you did not meet the assignment criteria.

    I can’t help but notice that you have argued grades for every single week of class so far. If you put the same time and effort into reading the directions for the assignments carefully that you do in arguing your case for grade increases you may see an improvement in your scores.

    She didn’t like her job and barely barely did Anything. When you asked her something she either ignored you or snapped at you. Very unprofessional and even less concerned about the students she was rollin in dough to “teach”. If this was a daycare I’d call CPS.

65. 65 anon Mar 1st, 2010 at 10:25 pm

    I’ve been in class for over a year now and i haven’t had these problems yet. I can see how it would look like they don’t care but I am glad to say alot has changed in the since06. I went in knowing that nothing was ever handed to me and it def. was easy coming up, why should school be any different. but then again ask me a couple months ago and i might have said different. Its like anything if you quit before you finish its always a regret.

66. 66 anonymousss Mar 8th, 2010 at 9:35 pm

    I’ve read all the reviews and all the negative comments and have found few good ones. I have applied to this school and I will be telling them that I accept their plans and will be attending online.
    I see it like this, everyone has a bad review about money and about how much this school costs, but ALL colleges cost. Art colleges are more than your average community college and basic degrees. Some complain about having to pay for books. You have to pay for books at EVERY college.
    Some talk about how there facilitators didn’t treat them the way that they should have and the like, but this is online. If you want to be taught by teachers, then online probably isn’t for you. You are going to have to teach yourself.
    I do understand the complaints about older ways in teaching and some students not being good at certain things, but even if it is old, you learn. Everyone gets in WITHOUT having a full portfolio. They are giving people with the passion for the subject the chance, where if you went somewhere else they would deny them just because they don’t have a portfolio.
    You can’t have things fed to you. And when they bill you the FIRST time, keep a receipt saying you paid it and you wouldn’t have as much a problem.

    Also, out of how many negative comments there are, think about how many people haven’t commented on their wonderful experiences. One of the reasons their are few positive reviews is because those with good experiences haven’t come across all these negatives, they don’t need to search reviews.

67. 67 Mike Mar 29th, 2010 at 7:28 pm

    It’s not really about bad reviews, you can get those through any college, it’s what you get for the price you pay. The Associates graphic design programs at local colleges here run about 8-10k for the WHOLE program. Online is convenient, but you have to decide if the debt you incur is worth it in the long run, and whether or not a salary you might get is going to be enough to pay back those loans and live at the same time. Last I looked, art majors were not paid all that high.

    If you are not paying your tuition, or get a GI bill, go for it, other wise I’d think twice, but then people dream about doing what they love, so is it that different than getting a bachelors in German or romantic literature? In this economy, it’s about the same.

68. 68 Melissa Apr 11th, 2010 at 5:38 pm

    I have recently started attending AIO around 7 weeks ago. I am enrolled in the Web Design and Interactive Media Bachelors Degree. I am currently only able to do 1 class every 6 weeks will in turn take about 6 yrs to complete even with transfer credits from previous college work. After reading all the negative reviews on numerous sites I feel that this college is definitely not the one for me or the one to increase my knowledge in the web development field. I already have previous knowledge so I was hoping on a college that would build on that but so far it seems most people really learned nothing different than what they came in with. The course work so far is dumb and anyone with half a brain could do it. Also, I feel that its more or less teaching yourself instead of a teacher actually teaching you which $85,000 is so not worth. I’m guessing thats one reason the admission guy would never tell me the complete tuition each time I asked him..it was always don’t worry about it ur fiinancial aid will cover it. Even tho it didnt and im expected to pay about $150 every 6 weeks. The main reason I’m withdrawing and finding education elsewhere is the price. There are other online schools with tuition half that and probably more worth it. I don’t want to waste all my financial aid on 1 college and end up getting a worthless piece of paper in the end. I will say AIO will do anything to get u in. they even waived my application fee becuz i had to wait until i got paid to finish it so they waived it just to get me in which at the time i saw as weird. Even looking at their student gallery in web design half of it looks like crap and I can design better pages than that with the intermediate knowledge I do have. My advice to anyone looking to go to college online is definately shop around and check out tuition rates.

69. 69 Yuki May 19th, 2010 at 12:36 pm

    Ai, honestly I used to think it was the greatest college there was since they tried recuiting so much at my high school.
    But the truth is theres only a handfull of good teachers in all of their schools. Yes it would have been worth it if they had more than just a small handfull of good and decent teachers that were direct with comunication. So I ended up leaving the AI after two semesters since I knew that it wasn’t worth my time. But last december I was having to look at schools just for a single online class to learn maya.
    Since I was taught in XSI; from the school I switched to after AI.
    And to top it off it had to be online. So I ended up calling the AI of pittsburgh online divsion.
    They shoved me into filling an aplication and even made me dish out 50 dollars of my own money that they even won’t refund when it was a mistake; and when I when get it refunded they didn’t they kept it.
    Then the following months leaving voice mails on my cell still trying to get me to finsh the aplication, even though I told them I’m not intrested I found another place.
    honestly their like those car salesman that won’t leave you alone at all.
    That’s what the online division was like for me. I even reported it to their head of admiisons, No response so either gotten blocked or ignored.

    And to top it off. The Admmisons people most of them act nice- but when they call you to follow up on trying to coax you to finsh signing your life away for online classes. They just turn in complete jerks, that to be quite frank.

    They just want to dish out money not really caring about how you will do in the long run. As long as it goes in their pocket.

    If someones reading this thats looking into any feild at ai please just look at a diffrent school, yes AI has a large network but long run, but not alot of good comes out of that college.

70. 70 michelle Jun 24th, 2010 at 10:00 am

    First of all, i attended AIP and AIPOD and am doing quite well…along with thousands of others who were actually smart enough to go to college. Not only did i go to the school, but i work for the school. No teachers nor advisors do no hold your hand…are you in kindergarden??? do you really need that much help?? we don’t learn for you…we provide the information and if you can’t keep up…maybe you shouldn’t have graduated high school….

    AI is NOT accredited by ACICS–we are accredited by the middle states and if you do your research on what accredidation is…is has to do with the location…all of our ground schools have a different accredidation due to state recquirments…retard.

    When it comes to financial aid…that is not up to the school…its FEDERAL FINANCIAL AID. it’s determined by the government..if you have a problem of what money you have left over for books or whatever…take it up w/ the government.

    we have thousands of students…i guarantee that you could find bad reviews on starbucks…but that doesn’t change your opinion because you have had the experience…so if you had a bad experience…that doesn’t mean its the schools fault. yeah maybe someone dropped the ball…but look up reviews for EVERY college…THEY ALL HAVE BAD REVIEWS…ppl never post good reviews…but when somthing goes bad…of course they post it…so yes, you can view more bad than good.

    if you are looking for a cheap school..go to the community college down the street…AI has one of the best program list that is offered…and we are one of the best art schools in the country..how did that happen if we were so bad??

    i hope you only apply for the lowest paying jobs or only buy the lowest priced car…that’s what you are doing when you choose schools by the price. and no one is making you go to school here…you are going on your free will…there is nothing unethical…you request information…you get the information and then if you show interest..we call back…until we reach you again…if you never say that you are not intereted…we continue to think that we just can’t reach you…and if you are that upset over callings…PUT YOUR NAME ON THE DO NOT CALL LIST—GOOGLE IT…oh and also…don’t put your phone number and ADDRESS online…what do you think is gonna happen?? do you really think Obama is sending you money?? or your getting a free xbox??? or free money?? NOTHING IS FREE!! and if you don’t know that you shouldn’t be allowed into college…cause you are DUMB!!! quite complaining…i’m sure you’ve had bad jobs in your life…or your parents smacked you around when you were a kid…you aren’t puttin a lawsuit on them…your being childish and need to seriously grow up…

71. 71 Mitzi Jul 3rd, 2010 at 8:27 am

    Who says AI is one of the best schools? I work in the industry and at my company we consider their degrees useless. We’ll look at the person’s portfolio, but our experience has been that a Bachelor’s from any Art Institute (online or not) means nothing except that the applicant has a lot of debt.

72. 72 Whitney Jul 18th, 2010 at 5:26 pm

    I was going to attend AI Pittsburgh, on campus, right out of high school, back in 2001. Glad I didnt. I soon realized I was trying to be sold something when I would get 10 mailings a week. Finally in 2006, my parents said the mailings started to die off and they gave up.

    Recently I thought to reconsider the online thing and glad I found this. Take a look at the Better Business Beauru (www.bbb.org), or definetly file a complaint against the business if you have one.

    I am even surprised to find that the ASID (American Society of Interior Design) has accreditation for this school. And that they think that this college prepares students enough to pass the NCIDQ Examination. I can’t imagine that from the people I have talked to who have pursued AI degrees. From what I gather, AI wants you to think they are a school that could have trained Coco Chanel, when actually they lean toward more of a diploma mill. I’m sure there are positive aspects, but is it a 70-90K gamble I want to take? I think not.

73. 73 GLORIA Jul 31st, 2010 at 1:05 pm

    I also contemplated AI of Pennsylvania – online division. Boy, am I glad that I didn’t! I was to the point where all I had to do was sign my paperwork, but I got a very disturbing call from what they called an academic advisor! He was totally rude and had an attitude with me because I did not have the money to pay for my transcript request! I almost gave up on the “online” school idea…Then as I was looking for other options I came across a school called STEVENS-HENAGER! Everything that people have complained about on this site about AI-ONLINE is just the opposite with STEVENS-HENAGER! It is a smaller school, more personal, and by far more up-to-date than most schools…campus or online!!! I’VE NEVER HAD A PROBLEM!!!They use the Angel Software system, which has quite a bit of teacher-student-peer activity. They either use e-books for general ed classes, or send your books by USPS (WAY BEFORE CLASS STARTS!) THEY GO OUT OF THEY’RE WAY TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE LEARNING – NOT JUST PAYING A BILL! tHEY ARE BASED IN UTAH MAINLY, ALSO ARIZONA.
    i GUARANTEE YOU WOULD BE HAPPIER WITH THIS SCHOOL!!! (IF YOU DO DECIDE TO CHECK IT OUT, TELL THEM I REFERRED YOU. THEY HAVE ALL KINDS OF PROMOTIONS AND DISCOUNTS FOR REFERRALS!!!(GLORIA VANDERPOOL). i AM STUDYING FOR MY BACHELORS DEGREE IN GRAPHIC ARTS, BY THE WAY-AND OWN A MAC BOOK PRO W/ALL THE NEWEST SOFTWARE(ADOBE SUITE & MICROSOFT OFFICE) THANKS TO STEVENS-HENAGER COLLEGE!!!

74. 74 Scott Sep 1st, 2010 at 3:45 am

    I have been Attending AIO for about a year and I have taken 12 classes. I have had one teacher that was mentally handicapped but the rest did well. This School offered me a way to prove my ability to get a degree. So far I have had all my books and software included in the price of the tuition. If you count up all the time it takes to drive to school, park, attend classes, and then add tuition, books, and software into the game the cost really is not as high as you all want to make it seem. If you are self motivated know your shit this can be a great opportunity to get a degree if you have a busy life. If you can spend half your life attending classes and you have no experience in your chosen profession then stay away. This school is for busy professionals that would like a degree in their chosen field but cannot make it to a campus.

75. 75 AI SUCKS Sep 3rd, 2010 at 9:21 pm

    POINT BLANK PERIOD….AIO SUCKS AND IS NOT A GOOD SCHOOL TO GOTO! GO WITH FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY!

76. 76 andrea Sep 17th, 2010 at 7:59 pm

    i was looking for an online college cause i don’t have time to attend actual classes and today i was telling my mom bout how i was gonna attend AIO and then she told me that it might be a scam so i decided to Google it and i came acrossed this i am wondering if i should bring this up with the people that are helping me get into this school because i dont wanna end up owing a lot of money to the government or the school. please help me out.

    andrea

77. 77 Margret Oct 2nd, 2010 at 12:41 am

    My cousin graduated from the school over a year ago and he had to teach himself new skills. They charge so much but they don’t teach you the new skills for jobs? That sucks, and they didn’t even help him find a job, he is still working at Payless. They just want your money, he is still paying off his student loans, and it pisses me off because he lives with me since he can’t afford to live on his own. Now I’m sharing a 1 bedroom with someone because the people wouldn’t stop calling to sell him a pipe dream, now they won’t even answer calls so he can get help with a degree job.

78. 78 Margret Oct 2nd, 2010 at 12:47 am

    Instead of going to school, teach yourself by just buying the books and software, because the company will hire you for your skills and you won’t have a debt like my cousin. I can’t wait until he can afford to move out of my apartment!

79. 79 AF Oct 18th, 2010 at 7:05 pm

    The Art Institute I also thought was a great school. Until I was just turning over into my sophomore year!! 40k to be a Sophomore…. 85k for the program… dot … dot…. dot soooooo when I ask them how for the next 3 years am I only going to be charged another 45k I didn’t get an answer. I simply told them for 40k a year I should be a friggin Dr. She agreed. I hate being tossed around like a tool. I have had 11 different Financial Aid people since I started. ALL were switched without notice, and most of all I love the background conversation that you hear when talking to your advisors!! Though I give my Acedemic Adisor credit she was an awesome person, I didn’t like the comments I heard in the background from the woman named Melissa as I was speaking to her about the financial situation. As of right now you can get the same degreen FOR LESS MONEY, in a more professional enviornment as well as faster from FULL SAIL ONLINE!!! I wanted to go there before hand and now they offer online. It’s pretty sad to call up The Art Institute of Pittsburgh and they make you call another number for the Online Division. Not to mention no affiliation pretty much at all and also try transferring your credit to The Art Institute on campus somewhere you might as well pack a lunch. I had all A’s in my classes and 40K later I have nothing to show for it. I am not going to call this school fake but especially financially no one in AiO has their eggs all in one basket ill tell you that much. I don’t like how your balance can go back and fourth back and fourth. I like how they send you like a $800 check and then you have to send it back cause they messed up so they change your account balance to say 1600 so you have no choice but too. It’s not like I want the money but it’s like I have enough things to do in my life I don’t need to take care of your mistakes thank you. I am in the process of leaving Aio and I will tell you everyone since I dropped that bomb is on instant panic mode trashing all other schools and letting me have it. It’s my F’in decision, SO BACK OFF!!! 61K BA For computer animation from FULL SAIL. 31K MA for Media Design. Where do I friggin sign. Cause Ill pay all of that to know my funding is being used better. When talking to FUll sail my same funding that was being used at AIO will cover everything with some at FULL SAIL not to mention at Aio I was paying $400 every 3 months like who has that….. I was a 3/4 student. The financial Advisor told me this …… (this is my funding keep in mind) 5K unsubsidized 5k subsidized 5k Pell around there she told me SO 16k a year say (in a nasty tone) in this new school is that going to be enough per year? I replied with well it sure as hell isn’t here, you guys go through all my funding and I have to pay $400 extra per 2-3 months because of 1 credt. I am a single mom $400 WTF. not to mention with the figures she through out there for how I get from funding how is it in the just over a year I have been there have I accumulated 37K ……………………………. 16k dot……….. dot………. dot………. 37K yeaaaa….. thats what I thought to.

80. 80 Unknown Oct 21st, 2010 at 1:24 am

    AIO teaches outdated crap.

    AIO over charges students for outdated material.

    AIO faculty barely responds to you when questions are utterly vital.

    AIO are your teachers really professionals? I don’t think so.

    AIO’s career services is a complete joke, don’t be fooled.

    I tell you what, I can make a school like AIO using outdated material another school was going to throw out, buy that for a low price and then recruit as many suckers as possible into enrolling. Make a crap load of money with a forum like education system and whistle my way to the bank every 2 weeks.

    If you actually care about getting your money’s worth, go to Full Sail, I went to AIO. I still don’t have a job, my graphic design skills are beginner techniques that look like a joke compared to the competition. They told me it was going to be alright, but I am about to end up applying for food stamps and stuff. I can’t pay off school loans with food stamps, I don’t even think we should have to pay back school loans, we were the ones screwed.

81. 81 Amber Nov 22nd, 2010 at 9:54 am

    Instructors- Not always helpful, Take their sweet time with e-mails or any sort of response.

    Tutors- Don’t know much English, like to fly through what ever your having a problem with and just do it for you instead of going step by step so you understand better.

    AIP Staff- Rude as can be (most of them), very few helpful people. They also like to lie about money, so they seem to get more out of you. They sugar coat everything so you think everything is fine, and enroll. They told me I had no out of pocket expenses, my interest would only be 15$ if i had to use the PPL, and its almost 100$ a month. All around lies, frustration, and it’s just not worth it.

82. 82 vanessap Dec 29th, 2010 at 4:25 pm

    I like most of you have had the same problems. I was pestered by the admissions department and with their their finagling I was enrolled into a class. I told the advisor I was not ready to commit to the art institute just yet. I told them I wanted to wait but was told I was already enrolled into a class and that the class had started and I needed to quickly get into the class and get going on the assignments. By some magic wand and not by me, they had created an esignature for me and were able now to enroll me into a class. I repeatly asked about the costs and amount of time needed to complete the degree. I finally was able to get me answer from a financial aid advisor and once I found out about the 78K and the 7 years to complete it I withdrew from AI right away. But now I am expected to pay for the class that I did not want to get into. Now I feel that I have wasted a bunch of time and money for nothing and I am so mad. I feel that I have no where to turn. Has anyone of you had any luck with your lawyers or attorney generals?

83. 83 Anonymous Jan 3rd, 2011 at 2:13 pm

    I WAS AN INSTRUCTOR AT AIO in drawing. One of the worst experiences of my life. Never again.

    I felt terrible for my students, so I went above and beyond what was required of me. The curriculum was ridiculous, and trying to teach students how to draw without being in a physical classroom with them was asinine.

    I was paid one flat fee for the course. When all was said and done, I estimate that I made roughly about $4 an hour! I’m serious! And I received complaints from my mentor for my method.

    The system is set up so that students are almost guaranteed a good grade, regardless as to the quality of your work. How is this supposed to teach you the skills you need to be an artists or designer? If you don’t get these skills down cold, it WILL show up in your portfolio and you will not get hired.

    What makes me mad is that these people, my students, will have nearly nothing to show for their coursework at the end.

    Listen guys…if your heart is set on getting an arts education, then bite the bullet and go to a brick-and-mortar arts school. It’s worth it…BELIEVE ME!! Do NOT fall for that sales pitch!!

84. 84 Maia Jan 9th, 2011 at 11:08 am

    I was seriously considering this school, but then they enrolled me into a class without my permission. I’d made it clear that I was only applying to see what credits I could take at a community college that would transfer and now I’m pretty upset.

85. 85 Another AI victim Jan 10th, 2011 at 8:40 pm

    Lol I love how the CONS are on a second page.

    It seems like a spin.

    Hey all, for all of you that had problems and are still having problems

    Feel free to join this facebook group and tell us your story.

    http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=120568314665251

86. 86 Shannon Jan 12th, 2011 at 9:21 am

    AIO signed me up straight out of college, gave me the works, and walked me through the sign up process in 3 days.

    I went for an entire 7 classes, learned nothing, passed with A’s, didn’t buy books, and in the end of it all i’m locked out of the worthless credits I have because I owe the school 500 dollars that they told me would never be there. Thanks AIO! You really fucked it up for me this time.

87. 87 kristin Nesbitt Jan 29th, 2011 at 8:54 am

    I also attend AIO. Ive been here for two sessions so far and am having no problems other than one teacher just didnt seem to care or respond in a timely manner. I actually love the classes, my work is graded fairly but strictly. my classes are not easy, often I find myself spending 20-30hr a week in front of the computer, rereading lectures, completing discussions, and completing assignments. But in truth i am learning more than I ever did at any previous school.

    Before this I attended a Art Institute ground campus for over a year and two years of tech. Honestly speaking, AIO is not that different from being in a ground campus. The classes were 10 weeks, but teachers often spent more time discussing the current evens in groups with their favorites than actually teaching. At the start of each quarter we were given a list of work, and every week for 4hrs we would meet, lecture for maybe an hour and then split into groups. There were no real assignments for most classes. Often there were no test, each class generally had two or three projects due at the end of the 10 weeks. If you had trouble, or worked in a group, and your grades suffered then you were just outta luck. While there I had very few teachers that actually cared enough to teach you something. In fact ive learned more in the two sessions that ive had at AIO then in the 1 year at AIC. And AIO is actually 10s of thousands of dollars cheaper than the ground campus that I was attending. At AIC i was paying $300 a month to take three classes bc the grant and two student loans I received were not enough to cover, then there were 300 plus in books every ten weeks, and 100s in art supplies every month, No to mention 4hr round trip travel cost. In all honesty, when I attended AIC we could not pay our bills. But now, even though Im working harder, Im actually happier with the way my education is going and financially stable again. I feel like.

    AIO is not much different from the tech I attend also. My grades are way better, not bc they are handed to me but because I put in the work and earn them. At tech, classes were short and had 30 plus students. There was little one on one, and information was breezed over. Its was often up to the students to recover everything at home. Also, I had more trouble with financial aid there, not to mention that several people I know now are constantly having to have meetings and hearings because of technical issues that are not being taken care of.

    The point is that everywhere you go to school, there will be issues. Your educations is what you make it. No where will you attend classes and actually get all the information you need. And sometimes classes are so large professors dont even learn your name. Its up to you, no matter where you go to take charge of your life and your education. The more work you put into it the more you will get back. AIO is definitely not for those that are not independent people, and maybe if your the type of person that needs constant structure, but for some AIO can be a good opportunity, if your will to fight for what you want.

    Anyways I hope that this helps some of you out there that have never been to a college before and are on the fence about whether or not to attend AIO. Just remember two things, people rarely complain about something they enjoy and no matter where you end up, if you dont work hard, you’ll never succeed.

88. 88 john Feb 8th, 2011 at 8:40 pm

    You know I have been leaning back and fourth with this one but wow, you guys took care of that for me. I was in ITT-Technical and liked one thing about the school there free virtual library. They are highway robbers too but they offer some useful resources, I have been looking into AI and just cannot see what they have to offer.

89. 89 Adriana Feb 9th, 2011 at 1:21 am

    I use to attend aionline and I want to know if any has ever transferred to a different school and couldn’t get their transcript?

    Well unfortunate this has happened to me three times, I would call, fill out the form, pay the $5 each transcript but the schools would never receive them. I would call them over and over getting them resent but it never makes it. When I claim that there must be a problem with there system the girl got offended like she does it personally. Come on, I been to two other schools their transcripts always make it even states away and aionline was one state away to were I was trying to attend!!

90. 90 a student Feb 17th, 2011 at 5:27 pm

    If traditional colleges were nto so boring and lacking prequisites, then art students wouldn’t feel they have no choice but to attend a subcollege!

91. 91 Danny Mar 23rd, 2011 at 5:57 pm

    There are so many bad comments all the time about the school. I think it is very ridiculous and mean come on people what is really going on. I have been attending AIOP for almost two years and I am pursing a degree in Graphic Design. It definitely has been the greatest experience for me so far compared even to a on ground campus. I would have to say I have learned a lot of information that has been beneficial to me. The teachers I have had so far are very detailed and interested in the students and even give you there personal phone number for contact. Ive only had one bad experience in my painting class where my teacher was a quack. Which can happen at any school and these problems that everybody is complaining about can arise at any school. I would recommend this school to anybody trying to get into the arts. And no im not a disguised sheep supporting the school. I really enjoy the school and everything it has to offer.

92. 92 Kathryn Apr 14th, 2011 at 4:11 pm

    I have been attending Ai since January. I completed my Associate at University of Phoenix and to be quite honest, I have no issues with Ai. The books are included in the tuition cost and obtain them online…no separate purchase of books. They also have an online library and student centers and all of the access I could need, including access to the instructors. Each instructor gives their business hours phone as well as email. I have had no problem with reaching my instructors. Of course, I don’t call the day an assignment is due either.

    I read all of the comments since day 1 on this page and maybe some are valid, but I really don’t see it, not now at least. We have to remember that the cost per credit is a standard based on what the course of study is, web/graphics/media is one of the most expensive costs out there and yes, online is more expensive which it seems to me it should cost less…that would be my one gripe.

    In short, look at other school sites such as this one, I bet you will find the same complaints…online or not.

93. 93 sarah May 2nd, 2011 at 4:04 pm

    Hi all, wow I am so glad I stumbled across this site.

    I’m currently in the midst of the hard sell run-around from both brick and mortar AI in Houston and AIOP. Lol, they are such idiots. For real y’all, I’m IN SALES! Your pitch does not work on me! I am immune!
    But….I do really like the curriculum, and I really want to go back to school. AI is the only school offering this coursework I can definitely see how the art and design class might be sub-par online, but has anyone attended for fashion and retail management? (not, fashion merchandising).
    Specifically, I’m wondering if a business-based curriculum as opposed to an art-based curriculum will still suck.

    Any help or advice for this specific area of study would be appreciated. Thank you in advance!!!!

94. 94 Justin May 6th, 2011 at 4:18 pm

    I’ve been attending for two years now in the Game Art and Design program.

    Pros:
    The Online Library is very useful and included is a free subcription to Digital Tutors and Gnomon Workshop. Those two resources alone are worth their weight in gold for anyone in a media-art program.
    Some of the Instructors are fantastic. They work in the industry, have updated knowledge, call you on the phone to make sure you are keeping up, and are very constructive. Some of the teachers are ok. They help you out but nothing over the top.
    The course content for the most part is relevant and up to date. Not always, but more often than not. I would say this is typical of any school online or otherwise.

    Cons:
    Some teachers suck. That’s no different than any other school.
    Self-teaching. This is not for everyone.
    Expensive as hell.

    I would recommend this school to my friends.

95. 95 Katy May 7th, 2011 at 10:38 am

    Oh boy here we go.
    Alright so I won the $10,000 Creative Passion scholarship from AIO. I admit, I won and jumped into it. I was so excited. The admissions lady was annoying, wouldn’t stop calling, and wanted me to start immediately. I told her I wanted to wait till summer, and her entire tone changed. She became incredibly rude and acted as if starting a few months later would be a horrible idea. She as just pissed, because she wasn’t making any money on me yet. I won this “scholarship” in 2007. I am getting my B.S. in Graphic Design, and it’s now 2011, and they’re telling me I have a year or more left. Ohhhh really?

    The best part about this is that when I would look at my account, I would never see any scholarship money being used. I talked to my advisor, and they had no recollection of my scholarship. They acted like, “WHA?”. Come to find out, they just started using my scholarship money 2 years later. Idiots. I have enjoyed the classes a lot, but I have to agree with Vanessa. This isn’t the kind of school you go to, if you have no idea or past history with the subject. It’s better if you have some experience. You do have to teach yourself a lot though!! If you aren’t willing to read and do everything in your power to learn on your own time, you’re screwed. I’ve worked with some amazing instructors as well, so I can’t really complain too much. Some have been fabulous, others have been utter crap to be honest. I had a math teacher who did absolutely nothing, and never gave feedback or answered questions. It was so helpful. Suddenly here I am 4 years later, and they tell me my financial aid has run out. I have a balance of $3000, and it’s climbing. They won’t let me go full-time, due to lack of aid, so here I am…paying out my ass.

    This blog just made me furious. I feel like I’ve been bamboozled. I love learning, but at what cost?

96. 96 Mike Jun 4th, 2011 at 8:36 am

    So I am a former student at the New England Institute of Art in Boston, same EDMC run company.

    I must say every single complaint here is totally legit. These guys are running a debt factory.

    All of the CURRENT students that don’t see what is going on and don’t have complaints: Wait until that deferment runs out and you can’t find a job because your degree is worth toilet paper and you can’t transfer your credits to any other legit college, you’ll understand.

97. 97 Anthony Jun 15th, 2011 at 1:58 pm

    So after reading most of this what I took from it was the AIOP program a couple of years ago wasn’t very good but since around 2006 they’ve made a lot of improvements? Is that right? or am I totally wrong? I’m thinking about going for the Bachelor’s Degree in Game Art & Design program but I have also been thinking about Full Sail’s Game Design Bachelor of Science Online Degree Program.

98. 98 Terry Garza Jul 2nd, 2011 at 2:46 pm

    Thanks for the reassurance Danny. Im fixing to start in graphics design there too. I feel a whole lot better, and I cant wait to start.

99. 99 tony ruiz Aug 2nd, 2011 at 9:07 pm

    I earned my BS in Multimedia from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh 2 years ago with a 3.8 GPA and a member of the National Technical Honor Society. About 90% of my “Flash” classes were devoted to “student workshop” time; not instruction. The web technology we were given was outdated, classroom breaks in 4-hour classes were more than 20 minutes, and the “CAREER SERVICES” department was a joke. The ONE single interview that career services “helped” me line up nearly cost me my current job at the time, as the interviewer was over 2 hours late. I am not finishing up the Police Academy (at 40 years old and in the best shape of my life). My useless Bachelors Degree got my foot in the door for a municipal department which will help pay for the financial devastation AIP put me through. Furthermore, I made a promise to myself to do everything I can (legally) to make sure young people out there do not make the same mistake I did. By reading this, you can deduce that I am a rational, well-spoken, mature adult. Beware of this school for profit. Do you homework, shop around, and find a good community college if you’re serious about your education goals. DO NOT GO TO AI.

100. 100 Emma Aug 3rd, 2011 at 11:21 am

     I was talked into enrolling by a slick salesman and now I feel like a complete fool. I trusted AIPod because they have an actual brick and mortar school, unlike the new fly-by-night online schools out there. I was wrong. After my first year they socked me with a 1400 bill due upon receipt. I clearly told them I’m poor and cannot really afford college but I was reassured that everything would be covered by my loans. WRONG! I’m not sure what I’m going to do now – they haven’t returned my email yet. I think I’ll have to start calling them on the phone. I was hoping to have some kind of response in a written format because I no longer trust what they say on the phone. God I’m so stupid sometimes…..at least I have nothing to lose, my credit is already hosed!

101. 101 Michael Aug 9th, 2011 at 10:05 am

     Since I’ve wasted thousands upon thousands of dollars and enormous debt at AIO I thought I would post this from today:

     For-Profit College Corporation Accused Of Violating Federal Law By States, Justice Department

     http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/08/justice-department-for-profit-college_n_921661.html

     “The U.S. Justice Department and four states sued the nation’s second-largest for-profit college corporation on Monday, alleging in a wide-ranging complaint that Education Management Corp. violated federal laws by giving bonuses and raises to college recruiters based entirely on the number of students they enrolled.

     By unlawfully incentivizing its sales force to recruit as many students as possible, Pittsburgh-based EDMC also illegally took in federal student aid money by making false assurances to the government that its admissions counselors were complying with the government recruiting guidelines, the government alleged.”

     hit the link for the full monty.

     (That’s The Art Institutes parent company, fyi)

     Of course, they only have the student’s education as their top priority…

102. 102 shane Aug 9th, 2011 at 10:28 am

     Wow, Michael, thanks for the tip on the story. Based on the numerous comments that have been posted here, I can’t say this is a surprise…

103. 103 Erica Aug 20th, 2011 at 5:50 am

     It is Saturday morning, I woke up early and have ready every single comment. I am also thankful to have come across this information. I too requested information, received the masses of phone calls and got the 2hr pitch. My gut said it was wrong to have someone rushing me into something so quickly. I could also tell the dialog was being read from a script. I sat through the call…but then made an excuse to get off the phone and have not called back since. I TRULY wanted to research things further. I have since received masses of phone calls, emails, etc….but something was just not right. Think I feel I understand what my gut was telling me now….. thanks to all. I am a single mom and could not have afforded the financial pitfall they were attempting to lead me into.

104. 104 April Southerland Aug 26th, 2011 at 8:46 pm

     I am currently enrolled at AI Online Pitt Division and was happy when I started until tonight that I had 45k in debt and not one degree to show for it. I transferred from Kaplan due to them keeping the stipend checks that was owed to me,and then wanted to charge me for them saying that I wasnt supposed to get them. AI classes are not what I figured design classes would be, I am not learning anything that I couldnt teach myself by Googling stuff on the internet. I have had five financial advisors and four academic advisors since I have been there and I started in August of last year. They told me that you are only allowed 57K of financial aid, and I am at 45K right now because my aid carried over from Kaplan. So basically, I have 12 more grand and then I am screwed because I will have to pay out of pocket. I can NOT afford to pay out of pocket, there is just no way that this will be possible. He told me in emails that I was due a 472 stipend and now they are saying that I will only get 89 dollars, but then he called me back and said that I might not get anything. I depend on some of those stipends for art supplies that I honestly dont think that I should have to buy because they charge almost 400 dollars per term for books/supplies. Where are these books and supplies? I dont ever receive anything, atleast from Kaplan I got a book or two every term. I dont receive crap from this school, I cant honestly even tell you how many credits that I have because the website MAKES NO SENSE. They keep playing it off that the government is the reason that I cant get my money any quicker but, I found out tonight that my advisor didnt finish out my file and it pushed my funding even further out. They said where I had a balance carried over from 2010, that now my funding has to pay for it and the balance that I have now wont be paid for?????? Does any of that make sense to you? It damn sure doesnt to me.
     This is what I am dealing with on a weekly basis, they never call and just go over this with me let alone tell me that I only have 12K of funding left and then if I decide to go to any other school I am screwed. Is that right? Does anyone know this?So if I use all my funding at this POS school, and decide that I want to go paralegal something that I wanted to do in the first place am I screwed? Will I have to pay out of pocket for everything there? I wish that I had found this site before I got sucked into the debt that I have now. Mom told me that I should quit school and file bankruptcy. It sounds like a good idea. Mom wanted me to go to school and now after she has seen the stress that I have had, she says that I should file bankruptcy amazing how schools get away with this….By the way, I dont live at home. I am happily married and 33 years old.

105. 105 Sassa Sep 7th, 2011 at 3:22 am

     Wow, I wish I found this site a week sooner. I just got suckered into applying so I can view my financial plan. I did not submit my application cause I was not sure until an admission rep said they would pay. Big mistake ever! I am not enrolled or I have not given them permission to enroll me. Im currently at one of the best colleges in the nation but decided to go to school online. The rep is encouraging that I withdraw from my school and start their school now. I do not think so. All I wanted was to see what my options were. Now, I am regretting ever considering this school. I emailed the admission rep and plan to call with my mom today and make sure they do not go any further into this process. If they do enroll me and bill me, legal action will be taken. If your are considering this school, please do research and make an educated decision. College is meant to be one of the funniest times in a young college student’s life, go to a traditional campus and enjoy it like its meant to be. Hopefully this is all just and dream and does not become a nightmare for me. UCF, go Knights! They offer most of these degrees on campus with an amazing college town. I will never again consider an online degree.

106. 106 tereza Sep 7th, 2011 at 8:02 am

     i got interested in the aio, looked up their curriculum and was super excited to start. but first i did some research. among many others i came across this. I read most of the comments, which are negative, keeping in mind that most people write reviews when they are unsatisfied with something. I never ended up attending, and made this decision by looking at diff. online school ratings and the aio had 3 and a had starts out of 5, and is with one accreditation, and no awards for “best online school” bla bla. I am glad to say that with a LOT of research I found a school with a great rating, multiple accreditation and awards… and almost half the price for tuition for a bachelor. From what I’ve seen I wouldn’t recommend this school, but I do not have a personal experience there. one of the most problematic things with this school for me, is that it seems to not be well respected among employers. Good luck everyone and thanks for all the reviews and the dude that made this site

107. 107 T.K Sep 24th, 2011 at 3:23 pm

     i agree with tereza i have seen alot of bad reviews from mainly the employers which affects an undergraduate decisions. I to was sort of rushed and i just received my financial plan friday and can view everything.classes start monday 9/26/2011 and im enrolled for online classes but i havent agreed to being a part time or fulltime student yet.

108. 108 Jill Sep 26th, 2011 at 7:25 pm

     I have taken now 3 classes at AIO. I agree they are really expensive. I just re-enrolled after leaving for about 6 months or so. I was doing some research because I am looking into other schools and I came across this. I am glad I came across it now rather than later. I am taking an English class right now but at the end of it I intend to leave the school. After reading about that poor person that is in 45k debt I just don’t want to do it. I don’t want to get to that. The reason I was looking into changing schools is because I am tired of dealing with the company Journey ED. It is the company that AIO goes through to order Computer programs such as Microsoft Office and Adobe CS5. Well I have been screwed by them like 4 times and I’m sick of it. Seriously sick of it. AIO don’t help worth a crap if there is something wrong with a order either. So I guess I’ll just walk away with having to pay 4k and say screw the whole online school thing. Thank you all for posting this stuff for naive people like me to see. I’m sorry for anyone that has gotten screwed by things like this. It’s just not fair!

     Jill

109. 109 Professor at Aionline Sep 28th, 2011 at 12:30 am

     Hello,

     I am writing after reading through these posts to tell you the side of the Adjunct (a fancy word for part time) Professor at the Art Institute.

     I make $1600 per 6 week class. Which may sound like a lot of money, but if you subtract taxes, and divide this amount by 6 weeks, I get $225/week for one class. Opening, reading and evaluating a students work takes time. And, classes have 3/4 assignments a week. $225/week per class divided by 10 hours is $22.5, divided by 20 hours is $11.25 and divided by 30 hours is $7.5 an hour. But, my pay rate is not hourly. It is a flat fee of $1600, whether I teach for 10 hours or 30 a week.

     Another way to think about this is if I teach 20 hours I make $11.25/hour and if there are 15 students and 4 assignments in a week, that is 60 total assignments that I have 20 hours to evaluate giving me 20 minutes per assignment, not including responding to emails, problems and solutions or questions for the professor. Also, this job does not give me healthcare. I pay 600$ per month out of pocket for independent coverage.

     However, I choose to be a professor because I love design and want to mentor students. And, most of the time I really do the best that I can. Some days I do not reply to every email because I have just worked 10 hours at my other jobs. I think that many students at the art institute do not realize that most of their teachers are part time. I am not a full time, tenured professor with great benefits happily working from home ignoring you. I am a part time adjunct professor that does not do this job for the money. I do care about you and your work and want to help you improve. I just feel badly that I can not spend more time teaching here, as it does not pay enough to be my only job. But, I feel that the classes I teach are strong, and the work completed in them is excellent.

     What is funny is that I used to teach at a public state funded community college that offered the same classes taught by the same teacher (me) for a total cost of less than $5000 for a full 2-year degree with outstanding financial aid. Many of the students posting here that are most concerned about cost, might be better off enrolling in their local community college. Most of the teachers that teach at Ai also teach elsewhere. A design education is what you make of it, regardless of where you go. And, when you look for a job later, it is your portfolio that matters, not your degree or where you got it from.

110. 110 Hasta Luego Sep 30th, 2011 at 7:24 pm

     Wow. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO POSTED!!

     I had a feeling I should check to see what the pros and cons of AIO were before enrolling this next week. So, needless to say…I won’t be enrolling.

     Thanks…and best wishes to everyone still wading in all that debt for a degree they feel was worthless.

111. 111 Bryan Hartley Oct 6th, 2011 at 9:21 pm

     I would say to anyone that would want to attend the AIO for art media and animation to dont even think about it. I graduated in March of 2010 with bachelors that is good as blank piece of paper The classes are out dated and dont offer any type of update tod date instruction or software that companies use today. How can a school not offer ZBrush in modeling. I found most teachers dont even care about students, just pass them and move them along for the money. I did have one teacher fail me and not even explain why he did, he even belittled many students during that class. The funny thing was he no longer part of AOI the next semester. The finacial department is a joke, I was told my tutition was 67,000 but now it’s 87,000, how does that happen. I went through six different academic advisors, and one actually told me she had 450 students to work with and didn’t have time to help me with my problem…seriously I was told that. This school should be investaged for fraud and misrepresentation, more student and a few past teachers have posted about the problems of this school on other websites. I for one am currently talking with my lawyer about my situation and what steps to take. Stay away from AOI and Sally Mae for any student loans.

112. 112 Cris Jones Oct 24th, 2011 at 5:11 pm

     I’ve taken two online courses and I would highly recommend staying away from the Art Institute online courses. Complete waste of money and time.

113. 113 Jordan R Oct 27th, 2011 at 5:09 pm

     I wish I would have found this site a few months ago. It would have saved me a lot of money and stress. The first 2 classes I took weren’t too bad. I enjoyed the online learning and my flexible schedule. My color theory class was the only good thing about this so far. The instructor was very helpful did video feedback and was fair about grading. Now I’m in my 3rd class which is college algebra 101. THIS CLASS IS A JOKE! The instructor sucks. The material covered barely relates to the assignments and quizzes. There has been multiple times I have answered things correctly and was told it was wrong. I ask why and I don’t get a response. I had to actually call her to get clarification. In the end I was correct the whole time and she blamed it on the “answer key” she received from the school. That’s the best she could do. She must not have even looked at the work too much to know what was right or wrong.

     I was so frustrated with this that I emailed everyone in the class to see if it was just me. NOPE, turns out over half the class was having issues and a majority of them stopped caring about it entirely, only doing what it took to pass the class. I wrote a formal complaint about the issue along with the responses I received from the other students. I never received a follow up from this still.

     This has been one of the worst experiences I’ve had…so far. I’m on the verge of transferring to a different school. I like the online environment but this bs you have to deal with doesn’t seem worth it. I’ve learned more things online about algebra than I actually did in class. Same goes for a majority of it. Its almost just a paid guidance or “keep you on track” than a school.

     Basically I would suggest that anyone that is considering to attend AIO to pass and find another option. I’m only 3 classes in and I’m ready to get out of it.

     AIO is a joke!

114. 114 INathan Nov 5th, 2011 at 1:51 pm

     Hi, everyone; I`m 17 years old, live in Queens, New York and i was planning on attending The art institutes of Philadelphia – Online – Media arts and animation – Bachelor degree because i thought that it was better than CUNY Queens College, but now I think I`ve change my mind and I will chose CUNY Queens College – Digital media programs.

     Please, somebody with experience, help me chose between these or another.

     Does anybody have studied on CUNY Queens College – Digital media programs?
     I want some opinions and experiences about it.

     Please, I am exhausted of doing a very comprehensive and deep Google Research!

115. 115 Karen Gleason Nov 16th, 2011 at 8:18 am

     I have graduated with a diploma and an Associates degree from AiO and now starting my Bachelor’s. The only reason i am staying at AiO is because none of my classes will transfer. My experience here has been horrible. There are some teachers that care and help but the majority don’t teach they just collect assignments and give you links to outside sources to look up the stuff yourself. They tell you one thing and then grade differently. They even send you videos helping you and when you do it, you get points deducted because you didn’t do the assignment correctly. Unbelievable! I was the only student in one class and I got points off for not commenting on other students posts. THERE WERE NO OTHER STUDENTS!! All the posts by the teacher were copied and pasted because they talked about the entrie class and how some were having roblems and others were doing well. I even asked one for help on a problem and he told me he did not know. The new program that the course was based on was putting color blocks on my assignment. I redid the assignment 4 times and it kept doing it and I asked for help over 10 times. I got an F on my final because I did not figure out how to take off the color blocks but he admitted he did not know how to do it himself only that I should have contacted the software company and solved the problem. Oh and all the assignments up to the final that still had the color blocks on them I got a’s and B’s but it dropped to an A when I reported the problem to my counselor. This is just a few of my encounters with the teachers. Don’t even get me started on the billing department. All I got to say is CHECK YOUR BILL AND ASK FOR THEIR STATEMENT NOT THE ONE YOU SEE ONLINE…. IT DOES NOT SHOW EVERYTHING AND THEY WILL NOT TELL YOU THAT UNTIL YOU GRADUATE AND THEY HOLD YOUR DIPLOMA UNTIL YOU PAY IN FULL!!!!!!! IT HAPPENED WITH BOTH OF MY DEGREES.

116. 116 Another Aio Instructor Jan 25th, 2012 at 7:44 pm

     I agree with pretty much everything “Professor at Aionline” said further upstream.

     AIO is a pretty terrible place to try and actually teach, the workload placed on our shoulders is incredible, we work non-stop, and are paid an absolute pittance. Probably 95% or more of the instructors you see at AIO teach at other institutions in order to cover their basic living needs. I know, I know, it is really hard to believe given how high the tuition is. All I can say is that someone is getting rich (EDMC is, after all, a corporation), and it ain’t us.

     Every session or so we get another round of new duties that are added to our already over-filled plates. Basically, we are on call ALL THE TIME. Our class sizes get larger every year. There has not been an increase in class pay for a decade or more.

     We get evaluated by a random, anonymous person every few weeks, and once a year by another faceless person. There is no person-to-person contact, we get our evaluations through a website. These evaluations often contain many errors, and we have virtually no recourse (technically we do, but in practice, not). We actually cannot teach what we really want to or know, oh sure, we can try to sneak it into the classroom, but at the end of the day we are bound to teach the assignments they give us, and to grade they way they want us to. If we change assignments, we can be penalized for doing so.

     Take my word for it, there are many really, really good instructors, the vast majority seriously care about the students, but are just barely scrambling to meet their workload and pay their bills.

     Yes, there are some full-time faculty, and they DO have a better time of it, and have more stability to resources to work with students. But as of yesterday, the school is laying off large numbers of full-time, they say they are economically strapped. It is hard to believe, of course, given the huge amounts of tuition you guys pay. So now, there is even more chance the instructor you get will be a virtual migrant worker. Please don’t blame us, we are on your side, we ALL want to work for a GOOD school that values skills and experience, and allows us to teach well.

     This school IS NOT RUN BY ARTISTS OR DESIGNERS. We have NO SAY in how things go down here. It is all about the bottom line. If they really cared about you, they would care about us. As the saying goes, if you want to know how you will be treated as a customer, look to how the employees are treated. If they are unhappy, you don’t want to do business with them.

     If you want a good art education, get together a really good portfolio, and apply to a top tier school where they put money and resources into the students.

117. 117 Grace Feb 2nd, 2012 at 12:38 pm

     Isn’t there something we can do about this?

     Yesterday I had submitted this email to my instructor and my academic counselor. I also forwarded the email to some previous instructors.

     “Dear Elise,

     I hope this email finds you well. I regret to inform you that I will not be completing my assignment for this evening as a result of an extremely discouraging and frustrating series of interactions with The Art Institute. Based on my treatment and the lack of faith that I have in the school, I’ve decided to withdraw from the Cognitive Psychology course, and will finalize my withdrawal tomorrow with the appropriate office.

     Since my start at AiO in 2009, I’ve been nothing but an eager and driven student. However, over the past year I’ve run into issues while tirelessly attempting to attain a firm graduation date from my academic counselors. On at least two instances, I was told that it would be “_____”. I planned my life accordingly and worked towards my goal. As those dates approached, and I followed up with my academic counselor(s), the dates were constantly being pushed back. Unable to get a definitive response about my graduation date, I decided to complete my own degree audit.

     Through this audit, I discovered that four of the classes completed at AiO were not even on my required curriculum. This was something that shocked me, as I had been lead to believe that all of my credits were going towards my major. To date, I have not gotten a clear answer from the school and still do not know when I will graduate. I feel that I was mislead as to which courses were necessary especially since it is the school that selects my courses for me based on the curriculum.. After paying $5,000 in tuition last week and thousands more over the last year, and getting the runaround from an accredited academic institution, I feel unsatisfied, mislead and very discouraged. I do not feel that the school is forthcoming, or has their students’ academic interests in mind.”

     I’ve spoken to my academic counselor 2-3 times in January and her response is that she’s “working on it”. This has been a waste of time and money, and I’ve decided to withdraw from the school which results in another ~$500 down the drain. One of my professors told me to contact the Dean or Academic Director. I’ve called the school for this information and still haven’t heard back from anyone. Has anyone contacted the Pennsylvania Department of Education? I’m going to call them on Monday if I don’t get a response in the next day or so.

118. 118 Halle Feb 3rd, 2012 at 5:11 pm

     Hello to all,
     This is my first quarter at the Aio. My program of study is bachelor of interior design. I’m a foreign student. Also I’m not an American citizen an don’t live in United States as well. It’s very important to me to make sure that can I pursue my education and study master of architecture or interior design on campus ( not online) after finishing my Aio bachelor’s program? I mean is it considered as a real and accredited bachelor degree that I need to have to get admission for my future master education not online but on campus? I know it’s accredited for getting job and my future career, but I would like to know that is it acceptable as a bachelor degree if I want to get admission for master education on campus from a university In the future? It’s very very important to me. Please write something about that if you can help me. Thank you So much

     Halle

119. 119 James Mar 27th, 2012 at 6:39 pm

     To the poster above me, Grace,

     First and foremost, I fully understand where you are coming from. While my situation may not be exactly the same as yours; it was similar to the point that compelled me to rely. You are not alone.

     I have been attending The Art Institute of Pittsburgh-Online Division since 2009 for an associates degree in Graphic Design. With the exception of only a couple of instructors, the overall learning experience has been, in my own case, decent. However, the conduct from all of my advisory staff is a completely different story.

     My counselors, both academic and financial have been changed multiple times. I would say I have had 3-4 of each since I began. I believe this is where part of the problem lies. Keep in mind, I also understand that I am not the only student who is assigned to these new counselors. Anyway, in June-July of 2011 I received a form in my email stating that my program of Graphic Design had undergone a change. Seven or so classes had been cut from the 104 credit program which turned it into a 91 credit program. The same form with said information presented me with a button to accept these changes and become apart of the new 91 credit program. Before proceeding, I contacted my academic counselor asking in detail (with a copy of the email I had received) what I needed to do and most importantly at the time, what exactly this meant for me if I decided to accept the changes. My academic counselor replied to my email stating that by accepting to be apart of the 91 credit program would allow me to and I quote, “graduate sooner.” Another tidbit in the email also reassured me that there would be no financial ramifications and would actually benefit me in this regard by taking fewer classes. He also stated all I had to do was to accept the changes and I would be in the new program. A couple of months later, he had contacted me for one reason or another, and I spoke with him about graduation date. He told me I would be graduated by Spring of 2012 as I only had 20 credits left to go. Beyond excited, I told my family and my friends my projected graduation date. My own mother even planned to pay for a vacation to celebrate my graduation because she proud of me.

     Fast forward to February of this year, I notice some questionable items going on in my financial aid summary (a loan was “stuck”) that prompted me to get ahold of my financial aid counselor. She told me that I had reached my loan limit and at this point I needed to begin figuring out alternative ways to pay for my remaining schooling. It was at that point that she told me I still had five classes left to take, which was an incredible blow to me. She then put me on hold and contacted my academic counselor, who I was transferred to after my financial aid counselor had a word with her. Interestingly enough, the academic counselor I was now speaking to was NOT the same one listed on my campus common page who was assigned to me two weeks prior to this phone call. As of today, it still lists the same person who I have never spoken to as my academic counselor. Nevertheless, this academic counselor told me that I had an option of switching to the 91 degree credit program because I was still in the 104 credit program and instead of five additional classes I would only have four so that meant I could graduate in September of 2012! What? I told her that to my knowledge, I was in the new program since I hit accept on the form I received in July 2011. I still have this form, it doesn’t have any other requirements besides accept agreement. I told her that I thought I was in the 91 credit program and she replied, “You had to accept this agreement verbally. What I think must have happened is your counselor at the time couldn’t reach you by phone and this is where the problem lies.” Essentially, she has placed all of the blame on me. All of this despite the fact that I was in contact with my academic counselor the entire time the program had changed. I still have a copy of the email from me to my counselor at the time asking what exactly I had to do and what it meant. I still have the email from my counselor stating all I needed to do was accept the changes if I wanted into the new program. Not to mention the financial benefits it meant to accept on top of the most important aspect to me– sooner graduation date.

     Immediately after breaking this news to me, while I sat there in shock, I was quickly transferred back to my financial counselor who began speaking about private loans and sending me emails for a ton of websites who provided loans. She also ensured me that I would finish school and that I could even make a payment plan if I needed to pay out of pocket. Lastly, she FINALLY realized the original intent of my contact with them (the “stuck” loan) and said she just realized that I DID have some money left from my loans that could be applied. She then told me to give her a week and she promised to call me back to let me know exactly how much was applied from the loans to know where we stood. It has been almost three weeks now and she has not tried to contact me back and I received a bill for over $1000 to be paid or I cannot move on to my next class in two weeks. Needless to say, I am beyond livid.

     I’m sitting here with these emails and I am not sure what kind of action I should take. I have full on proof that in July of 2011 I should have been in the 91 degree credit program, and graduated within a couple of weeks. If that were the case, I would have had just enough loans to cover my entire tuition costs to receive my diploma without an outstanding balance. Because of the failure on their part, I unknowingly took classes that didn’t apply to the new program!!

     I have read other stories of students who tried to voice their concerns in a civilized matter and were basically threatened by their counselors. With that being said, I’m afraid to bring up this e-mail proof that I have to them first because I am thinking of speaking to a lawyer about it first. It’s either that, or should I try and contact the dean of the schools with my concerns and copies of the proof? I am conflicted here because I don’t know if it’s the best idea to bring up this undeniable proof to my counselors, or to go above and beyond for assistance.

     I wish you the best of luck to you Grace and to all of the other students who may be facing similar roadblocks to getting their degree.

     James

120. 120 Another Aio Instructor Apr 2nd, 2012 at 6:09 pm

     Just an update, online instructors were told last week that they would now have to carry 3 classes per session (instead of 2) for the same pay, meaning they will be working 45 hours a week in the classroom, great, huh? You get an overworked, underpaid instructor for all the ton of money you pay. This is their ‘cost cutting’ measures. Guess how much the CEO of parent company, EDMC, gets paid? He has made $13,185,559 since joining the company in 2007.

121. 121 Current Academic Counselor May 21st, 2012 at 10:25 am

     Most of the current stuff here is pretty legit from what I see internally. It’s important to know that some of the much earlier complaints (such as Finance and Academic Counselors having hundreds of students assigned to them) have been fixed. We now have between 150-225ish each which is much more manageable in my opinion. FYI…this downsizing of assigned students was the reason there were so many changes in who people were assigned to. You may have been reassigned to someone’s manager when they transitioned out to a new position (or quit), then transferred to a newer Academic person, then transitioned again to align with someone that specifically worked that degree. There have been a lot of changes as far as this goes…most for the better.

     Seeing bad reviews isn’t shocking…and shouldn’t be to most people. A simple Google search for any company, private or public, will likely yield the same results. I’m no Ai supporter for those wondering. I feel we’re overworked the same as the instructors posted above. However, I think this is pretty widespread at any proprietary (read as FOR-PROFIT) school. Full Sail, Univ. of Phoenix, Westwood…they’re all the same and all have a lot of negative feedback on the internet from places just like this one. Seriously, go to a state school where you can apply for the federal Pell grand AND state grants. Ai-Online doesn’t and can’t accept state funded grants…even in PA where they are based. Go to a state school and receive funds you don’t have to repay with interest. Ai and schools of the sort pay off for some…but rarely as far as I can tell.

122. 122 Stephanie May 21st, 2012 at 11:02 pm

     Dear Grace,

     The exact same thing happened to me. I did my own audit and discovered that not all the classes from the Associates Program transfer to the Bachelors program which is what I was told when I first enrolled. The Recruiter, knowing my educational goals up front, lied and said that all credits transferred. Then I discovered that three of the classes I had taken did not apply to the program that I’ve been enrolled in. I am so livid. Wednesday was supposed to be my last day. I have also been given the run around. I spoke with Ashley Long, the Director of Academics. She basically told me there was nothing she or anyone else could do and maybe I would be reimbursed for those classes they scheduled me for but that weren’t required.

     I don’t know if this will help but the Dean’s name is Jennifer Cooper. Ashley Long’s number is 412-395-7779. I am so upset. I have been going to school at for SIX years have over 180 credits and still am not eligible to graduate. Sadly, after so much blood, sweat and tears of working full-time, going to school and raising a child on my own, I cannot say that I will be very proud about receiving a degree from this poor excuse for a school.

123. 123 Stephen Castiglia Jul 16th, 2012 at 1:53 pm

     This is all very true and to this day none of these problems have even been resolved. I emailed AI just the other day about these very problems because they were effecting my grades and still I have not received a response from any one of my counselors. Its like the second you find out their horrible secrets is the day they stop caring about you. This site is no joke and neither are the cons of going to this school. I recommend not going here for an online degree but rather you should go to a campus or even any other online institute besides AI. The lack of teaching from the instructors it self is staggering they are here for a pay check and only that, most instructors wont even return your emails or answer you questions so your pretty much left to teach your self and grade your own papers.

     I still attend unfortunately, but I plan of making a difference here for all the students that will come after me.

124. 124 Eric Perkins Aug 19th, 2012 at 2:20 am

     I have been attending AIO since November of 2011 and am a half time student. Thus far, my overall experience has been positive though there have been some negatives along the way.

     Enrollment was pretty easy and straightforward. My admissions representative did a nice job of blowing smoke up my ass to get me in quickly.

     My financial aid advisor put things together in a timely manner and seemed surprised when I turned it all in immediately. There were no hangups there.

     My Academic Advisor calls me near the end of every class to check up on me and makes himself available if I have any issues or concerns.

     Technical Support may not be awesome, but they get the job done in a timely manner from my experience.

     Faculty are hit and miss, but so are the students and anyone you will ever encounter. Most of my instructors have been reasonably present in class, some have gone above and beyond and one did not seem to even know the subject she was teaching.

     Online school is very expensive and solitary. If you have the option to attend a community college or art school near you, it is probably better in terms of feedback and cost. However, AIO seems to be striving to improve and for the time being I am satisfied with my experience. I’m bookmarking this page and will provide additional feedback as I progress toward earning my BS degree in Game Art and Design.

125. 125 Leo Rosas Aug 23rd, 2012 at 1:59 pm

     I am currently attending the Art Institute of Houston. Yesterday we received news that 34 of the faculty and staff were going to be laid off at the end of this session. Layoffs include Department Chairmen, student advisers, and instructors. In the midst of the $11 billion lawsuit that EDMC (Ai’s parent company) is battling with the federal government, I’m not surprised at the mass layoffs. However, I am wondering what will happen to the schools if that lawsuit is lost? Will the Ai school system go bankrupt?

126. 126 Dave Sep 24th, 2012 at 5:50 am

     I’ve been with Ai for two years now and I have had about six career counselors. Everytime I get a new one all the classes that had been scheduled are no longer so. You can almost never get a hold of them and when you do you have to explaine everything all over again. As soon as you get it straight you get a new counselor. Same goes for your financial counselor. When you try to get a hold of the head person again you get no reply, you just have wait and hope someone gets back to you before the class you need is full. For the military students that are using TA pay attention, the school never sent the grades in sothe now the military is taking the money back from my pay. There needs to be another way to file complaints.

127. 127 Jennifer Oct 9th, 2012 at 12:25 am

     I’m finishing up my degree there now. I WILL NEVER go back and I urge all of you who I are serious about your degree turn and run the other way! I chose this school originally because I’m on the go all the time with the military. I’m lucky I have a little bit of raw talent! I’m pretty much paying for a piece of paper and going through the motions. I have not been taught one thing that is vital to the graphic arts industry! All the classes are misleading, the teachers are apathetic and EVERYONE passes so long as they TRY! Let me tell you folks, you need a lot more than just TRYING to get into this industry! AIoPO only wants your money (news there right?) They don’t care who graduates! I have a portfolio class coming up and I wanted to get a head start on an internship and asked for help, know where they sent me? Indeed.com. How nice is that? I am a decent artist and make a small living doing so. I’m no spring chicken! For those of you new to this industry or perusing a hobby GO TO A PHYSICAL BRICK AND MORTAR SCHOOL!!!! You will be lost in this online college and no one will care! I am an independent person and have already completed half my classes at a community college before transferring to the AIoPO. Which brings me to another point. I’ve been enrolled into 4 classes that are essentially the SAME CLASS! This place is total crap! On top of that, I got no support what so ever! None. YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN at this school! BUYER BEWARE!!!

128. 128 Trevor Oct 9th, 2012 at 5:43 pm

     I was enrolled a little over a year ago in their 3D animation program it was a hassle. I was unable to download the software I needed which was a problem and ended up having to wait a week and a half to get actual disks from their store because they were back ordered. Then the Professor never accepted the first weeks assignements, even though under law they are required to provide us with all necessary tools to do the assignments. I know this because my cousin runs the online division for another university. Do to the lack of the first weeks assignments the Professor never gave me a final grade and so I now stand to have to retake the course if I ever go back.
     Further more they made it seem as if it was my fault I was having difficulties not theirs. I will never deal with them in this capacity again. I don’t think that they teach anything that you cannot learn on your own through a book. In fact most of their assignments pretty much come right out of books. I would encourage anyone interested in 3D animation to find a junoir college that has a few courses and start there.

129. 129 Concerned Vetran Nov 1st, 2012 at 12:16 pm

     I have been enrolled at Ai since May of this year. I signed up was FASFA and my Post GI Bill. I just kept getting more and more leery about this school. After reading ALL of the comments posted I think I need to talk with someone from the VA. Like most of the people here I have been having issues with the financial adviser as well as my councilor. In order to get my benefits from the GI Bill I need to be full time and they keep putting me on a 2-1 class schedule EVEN AFTER TELLING THEM I WANT FULL TIME; cutting me out of all my money for GI. Meaning that my months are counting down but my Bachelors will take longer leaving me no choice but to pay out of my own pocket. Another gripe would be this magical FASFA that is suppose to relieve my finance woos which I have never seen it go to anything and I am sure next years will disappear just as magically as the first.
     Oh and did I mention that they ‘forgot’ to send my enrollment paper to the Government but still had me going to class. Now, I know that most people wouldn’t understand how the GI Bill fully works… ‘Not even the people who do the GI know’ But, I served my country and worked hard to be able to say I don’t need this kind of stress when all I want to worry about is getting my degree. I need answers and maybe some advice on what the best move is here. I anyone had some sound suggestions I would like to hear from you.
     Should I just change schools altogether?

130. 130 Kelley Nov 12th, 2012 at 6:30 pm

     I just finished my Associate of Science in Graphic Design degree in September. I am trying to stay positive but my financial counselor will not return my phone calls. My Academic Counselor has made up a million and one stories as to why my calls are not being returned and proceeds to tell me that I will not receive my degree to hang on the wall until I pay back the loan in full.
     I was very excited at the age of 32 to finish college and loved the convenience of taking classes Online. I would have recommended taking Online classes to anyone but Unfortunately, I feel that I have been slapped in the face and I have a horrible feeling that I have been scammed.

131. 131 Nicole Feb 20th, 2013 at 7:06 am

     I live in Houston and am taking an online course through the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. Boy what a mistake that was! I have an instructor who is terrible! I am 35 and am maintaining straight A’s on campus in Houston where I’ve been attending for 2 years. I do all my homework and sometimes have to complete it early b/c I work in the Oil and Gas industry and can not always be sitting at a computer 24 hours a day. If you turn in assignments even a day early to this instructor she deletes them. Its juvenile and ignorant and just plain asinine!
     I love my teachers on campus and have a great relationship with them and they treat you as an adult. I am talked to like I am a child by this instructor. Its people like this that ruin programs at schools. It’s sad I go overseas through three deployments and come back to be treated like an irresponsible child. it makes me sick to fight in a war for this type of person!

132. 132 Dwight J. Emery Feb 25th, 2013 at 9:51 am

     I’ve worked in computer graphics for many years in the Printing Industry, and as an Art Director but didn’t finish my first degree goal at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana. i find for the most part signing up at The Art Institute they have really good teachers, and the education part pretty good compared to ground college. I see them teach things I use in professional work now in 2013, so they do well with the classes I’ve taken so far, only one that got me aggravated was repeating history class I already studied in my former college, and I let them know straight up it pissed me off, but did it any way.

     The con for me is them taking a senior level transcript and dropping me down to a sophomore, now almost a junior level student, then making me take things I’ve already studied like the history course. I told them that was a rip off, no response from them! LOL! I also dislike highly they expect us students to follow MLA and not cheat or lie on our work and be highly ethical, and yet AIO is being sued by the Federal Government for stealing money basically in scholarship funding and guaranteed student loans by using what I’ve read to be “boiler room tactics” to get people to sign up, the new students. I’ve never myself been pressured to do anything i don’t want to do, I’m a mean old guy and been in my share of physical fights standing up for myself, not afraid of any person or entity or school and tell people exactly what I think. So it is hard for people to intimidate me into doing something I’m not interested in doing, for others it may be different.

     AIO has a great teacher base in my experience, but I have dropped teachers I did not like, with forceful action when I had time before a class started letting them know if they want me as a student, they have to provide a decent teacher or I will withdraw, I don’t put up with crap, I take my education very serious. You have to stand up for yourself as a student, and I’m an old guy, been around the block a few times and then some. You pay them to teach you, and I look at it from that perspective, if I’m paying, I’m the boss, and if they don’t like it, then to hell with them, I can finish my degree some place else.

     So far I haven’t had to withdraw, and I’m learning things I need for my career, that increase my skills. So I like AIO for my schedule, and usually even in a 5 1/2 week class can work and stay a week ahead in most courses unless it is super difficult material I’m not good at, like the math, and finished off my final mathematics with meeting the schedule and earned an A in all of them, and that is my worst subject.

     The only big problem I see with AIO right now is the ownership of it by Goldman Sachs, the “for profit” status that is causing admissions to do anything they can to boost students that enroll, and behaving in a way that is highly unethical, which if any student did what they are being sued for would get a student in a lot of trouble. And if any us went to a convenience store and walked out forgetting to pay a candy bar, the store would throw us in jail, no forgiveness at all even it it was a mistake. So I think the responsible management teams for AIO and the Corporate bosses causing the problems with ethical behaviour should be fined big time, and JAILED as an example, and then maybe the rest of the college experience would settle back down to the part where teaching students is the reason the school exists, not just a high “profit margin” for investors, Goldman Sachs is in the wrong business if they think they can run a school like selling stocks of bubble gum trying to get as many people as possible to chew it. It doesn’t work like that, not every person can chew the bubble gum they are trying to sell, and not every one is college material. I’ve heard some stories of them taking students that can’t even spell, and on and on, so the problem is with the corporate management style at AIO, and it has to be fixed for the rest to wrok correctly, and no college is perfect.

     I like what I’m learning at AIO, and see the biggest problems being the greed going on through the corporate style management, and if they are guilty, I look forward to seeing the guilty get treated just like a normal citizen with fines, and jail time for the crime.

     If it ruins the reputation of AIO as far as the educational value goes for the degree I’ll withdraw and finish some place else, but if they can root out the bad apples and continue with what is available and even get better with what they do teaching, I’ll continue.

     Right now I continue as a student waiting to see what the courts will decide, keeping that in my “balance scale” for the “benefit versus cons” ratio. When it tips out of favor for AIO, i’ll find a better route to take if I’ve not earned my degree by the time the coursts make a decision.

     Don’t like negative things the management does to reflect bad on the degree I’m going to earn, a Bachelor of Science degree, so will have to see what happens, so far I like what I’ve learned, it is effective and useful for my career.

1. 1 Art Institute’s Parent Company, EDMC, Sued by Government Pingback on Aug 9th, 2011 at 10:53 am

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