The Art Institute of San Antonio permanently closed its doors on Sept. 30. The closure happened in conjunction with all remaining Art Institutes campuses and branches, including The Art Institutes of Austin, Dallas and Houston. This shutdown came as a shock to students, staff and parents, as many are left unaware of their next steps. 

The Art Institute of San Antonio was a 4-year for-profit college located at 10000 I-10 Ste 200. According to Niche, the university taught 174 undergraduate students and received a Niche grade of D. 

Students and staff were notified about the closure via email on Sept. 22 — the final day of the quarter. With eight days’ notice, many students were left with few options for the 2023-24 school year.  

In an interview with the San Antonio Current, Celali Lopez — a senior at the institute — shared that the school’s financial aid office did not have any details on how she should handle loan payments. 

“To tell you how much we were surprised, I had just received my fall schedule two days before,” Lopez said to the Current. 

According to the New York Times, the institution began experiencing low enrollment during the pandemic. They also paid a $95 million settlement for fraud allegations in 2015, which led to the initial closing of 18 campuses three years later. 

The Art Institutes system has declined to comment, and every previously existing webpage links to a closure notice. Listed on the page is information regarding transcript requests, transfer agreements, diplomas and links to information from the Department of Education on school closures.

“The Art Institutes will mail each current student five official copies of their transcripts, at no cost to the student on or after October 1, 2023,” the website states. 

The institute encourages students to continue their education and will update the website with more transfer opportunities as they become available. To view information as it is updated visit artinstitutes.edu/closed-school-information-page-1.