Argosy University was a system of
for-profit colleges
Proprietary colleges are for-profit colleges and universities. They are operated by their owners or investors, rather than a not-for-profit institution, religious organization, or government. Because they are not funded by tax money, their long ...
owned by
Dream Center
The Dream Center is a Pentecostal network of community centers in Los Angeles, California, established in 1994. The president of Dream Center is Matthew Barnett.
History
The organization was founded in 1994 by Matthew Barnett and Tommy Barnett ...
Education Holdings (DCEH), LLC and
Education Management Corporation
Education Management Corporation (EDMC) was a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based operator of for-profit post-secondary educational institutions in the United States and Canada. The company was founded in 1962. At its peak in 2011, Education Managem ...
.
On February 27, 2019, the
US Department of Education
The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...
stated that they were cutting off federal funding to Argosy University. According to Inside Higher Education, "The Education Department said that the roughly 8,800 students enrolled at Argosy campuses could seek to transfer their credits elsewhere or apply for loan cancellation in the event their campus shuts down."
All Argosy campuses were
officially closed on March 8, 2019.
History
Origins
The origins of Argosy University trace to three separate institutions: the American School of Professional Psychology, the Medical Institute of Minnesota, and the University of Sarasota.
In the late 1970s, Michael Markovitz founded the Illinois School of Professional Psychology, which later changed its name to the American School of Professional Psychology. In 1976, Markovitz became the founding chairman of Argosy Education Group,
which acquired the University of Sarasota in 1992. The University of Sarasota was a business and education-focused school and was founded in 1969.
Six years later Argosy Education Group acquired the health profession training school the Medical Institute of Minnesota, which was established in 1961.
Education Management Corporation (2001–2017)
In July 2001, Argosy Education Group was acquired by
Education Management Corporation
Education Management Corporation (EDMC) was a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based operator of for-profit post-secondary educational institutions in the United States and Canada. The company was founded in 1962. At its peak in 2011, Education Managem ...
.
Two months later, Argosy Education Group brought together the American School of Professional Psychology, the Medical Institute of Minnesota, and the University of Sarasota under the Argosy University name.
Students of the Argosy University in Dallas filed a Texas lawsuit in 2009 alleging they believed university recruiters inaccurately informed students that the school would soon receive accreditation from the American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...
(APA). The school had not completed accreditation process by the time the students graduated. At the time of the lawsuit, Argosy University Dallas had not applied for APA accreditation. According to a response from Argosy University's parent company, EDMC, accreditation with the APA is not required for clinical psychology licensure
Licensure means a restricted practice or a restriction on the use of an occupational title, requiring a license. A license created under a "practice act" requires a license before performing a certain activity, such as driving a car on public roa ...
in many jurisdictions, including Texas.[ Argosy officials rejected charges of fraud, noting that pursuit of APA accreditation for the Dallas campus was still underway.] , Argosy University in Dallas does not offer any degrees in clinical psychology and is not listed as part of the university's College of Clinical Psychology. In December 2013, EDMC agreed to pay about $3.3 million as part of the lawsuit. The settlement did not require EDMC to admit liability.
In May 2010, the PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
program ''Frontline
Front line refers to the forward-most forces on a battlefield.
Front line, front lines or variants may also refer to:
Books and publications
* ''Front Lines'' (novel), young adult historical novel by American author Michael Grant
* ''Frontlines ...
'' aired a program about for-profit universities called "College, Inc." which featured Argosy University among others.[ Later that year, Argosy University was one of 15 schools named in a Government Accountability Office report. The report stated that recruiters at the school were found to have "made deceptive or otherwise questionable statements" when speaking with undercover applicants.] The GAO later revised its report, with Senator Mike Enzi
Michael Bradley Enzi ( ; February 1, 1944 – July 26, 2021) was an American politician who served in the United States Senate from Wyoming as a member of the Republican Party from 1997 to 2021. Prior to his tenure in the United States Senate ...
(R-Wyoming) saying the changes made "undermine many of the allegations" in the original report but the head of the GAO maintained that "Nothing changed with the overall message of the report, and nothing changed with any of our findings."
In 2011, Argosy University was investigated by the Florida Attorney General following eight consumer complaints. The school cooperated in the investigation.
In 2012, the law school Western State University College of Law, which was founded in 1966 and originally acquired by Argosy in 2000, was renamed Western State College of Law at Argosy University
Western State College of Law at Westcliff University is a private, for-profit law school in Irvine, California. It offers full and part-time programs and is approved by the American Bar Association. Western State pays a fee to receive servi ...
.
In December 2013, EDMC
Education Management Corporation (EDMC) was a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based operator of for-profit post-secondary educational institutions in the United States and Canada. The company was founded in 1962. At its peak in 2011, Education Manageme ...
agreed to pay $3.3 million in restitution and fines to settle charges with the Colorado Attorney General that Argosy University had engaged in deceptive marketing practices. The Colorado Attorney General alleged that Argosy University led students to believe that the school was working to get its Ed.D. in Counseling Psychology degrees accredited by the American Psychological Association and that graduates would be eligible to be licensed psychologists in Colorado, when that did not appear to be true. The settlement did not require EDMC to admit liability. Argosy University changed the Ed.D. in Counseling psychology curricula in order to meet psychology licensing standards.
In May 2015, EDMC was planning on closing in The Art Institute of California, Silicon Valley, a branch campus of Argosy University. In November 2015, Argosy's parent company agreed to forgive more than $100 million of student loan debt to settle claims it violated consumer protection laws.
In 2016, Argosy, Seattle stopped taking new students.
Collapse and closure (2017–2019)
In March 2017, Education Management Corporation reported that they intended to sell the Argosy schools to the Dream Center
The Dream Center is a Pentecostal network of community centers in Los Angeles, California, established in 1994. The president of Dream Center is Matthew Barnett.
History
The organization was founded in 1994 by Matthew Barnett and Tommy Barnett ...
, a Los Angeles-based Pentecostal
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement organization. The sale faced scrutiny by regulators. The transaction closed in November 2017; EDMC said it would remain in operation to wind down the approximately fifty schools that had stopped accepting new students.
In 2019, ''USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' reported that Argosy University campuses were under receivership and their accreditation was at risk. DCEH's court-appointed receiver, Marc Dottore, has written to the US Department of Education
The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...
that Studio Enterprise, a company designated to service former and current DCEH schools, "is taking service fees from the deal without providing any services, draining badly-needed cash from the operation." ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' reported that "being kicked out of the federal student-aid programs, known as Title IV, would sound the death knell for Argosy."
On February 7, 2019, Dottore asked the Department of Education for $13 million in federal student aid funds to pay stipends to students at Argosy University in Southern California.
The ''Arizona Republic'' and Inside Higher Education reported that Argosy University failed to distribute more than $9 million in financial aid to its students, and "it's unclear where the money is." The Washington Post subsequently reported that the "... U.S. Education Department cut off federal student loan and grant funds last week after learning Argosy used $13 million owed to students to cover payroll and other expenses."
By mid-February, the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), "students should be aware of the possibility that Argosy in Hawaii could abruptly close prior to the completion of their program."
All campuses officially closed doors on March 8, 2019.
At that time of the closure, many higher education institutions scrambled to support Argosy University's students to help them complete the degree programs they had started at Argosy, including Concordia University Texas
Concordia University Texas is a private university in Austin, Texas. The university offers undergraduate, Graduate school, graduate, and online degrees as well as an adult degree program for part-time and returning students.
Concordia Universi ...
, Ashford University
The University of Arizona Global Campus, formerly Ashford University, is an online university "operated in affiliation with the University of Arizona." In 2020, Ashford University was acquired by the University of Arizona, becoming the Universit ...
, Indiana Wesleyan University
Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) is a private evangelical Christian university headquartered in Marion, Indiana, and affiliated with the Wesleyan Church. It is the largest private university in Indiana.
The university system includes IWU—Ma ...
, DeVry University
DeVry University () is a private for-profit university with its headquarters in Naperville, Illinois. It was founded in 1931 by Herman A. DeVry and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. DeVry is predominantly an online educator but ...
, Bethel University, Walden University
Walden University is a private online for-profit university headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It offers Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, Master of Business Administration, Master of Public Administration, Master of Public Health, E ...
, and American InterContinental University, among others.
Following campus closings, Argosy teachers and staff said that they had not received their final paychecks.
Former campuses
* Online
* Phoenix
* Pittsburgh
* Art Institute of Hollywood
* Art Institute - Inland Empire (San Bernardino, CA)
* Art Institute - Santa Monica
* Los Angeles
* Orange County (Irvine, CA)
*Art Institute of Orange County (Santa Ana)
* Art Institute of San Diego
* San Francisco Bay Area (Alameda, CA)
* Western State College of Law at Argosy University (Irvine, CA)
* Tampa
* Atlanta
* Chicago
* New York
* Twin Cities (Eagan, MN)
* Dallas
* Salt Lake City
* Denver
* Northern Virginia (Arlington, VA)
* Seattle
* Honolulu
* Sarasota
Accreditation and rankings
Argosy University was first accredited by the Higher Learning Commission
The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...
in 1981 and then the WASC Senior College and University Commission
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) was an organization providing accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in California and Hawaii, the territories of Guam, American Samoa ...
in 2011 with its most recent review in 2018 at which time the school was placed on "show cause" status.
Student outcomes
According to the College Scorecard in 2018, Argosy online's graduation rate was six percent.
References
External links
*
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Educational institutions established in 2001
Educational institutions disestablished in 2019
Universities and colleges formed by merger in the United States
Defunct private universities and colleges in Illinois
Former for-profit universities and colleges in the United States
2001 establishments in Illinois
2019 disestablishments in Illinois