Students left scrambling after abrupt closure of Miami Art Institute

Students tell NBC6 that they received an email last Friday — which informed them about the abrupt closure.

By Amanda Plasencia

On September 25, 2023

Students are left scrambling after they say they were given barely any notice about The Art Institute of Miami’s sudden closure.

NBC6 cameras were rolling Monday on the empty campus at Miami International University of Art and Design as some stopped by to collect their belongings.

Students tell us they received an email last Friday that informed them about the abrupt closure.

The school’s website also has an information page about closing its doors, with one message reading in part, “After many decades of providing high quality academic programs to tens of thousands of successful alumni, The Art Institutes will cease all academic operations after students complete their classes this term. All future classes have been cancelled and all campuses will close permanently on September 30, 2023.”

They went on to say that internal and external factors such as dealing with legacy challenges that arose under prior ownership and the impact of the pandemic caused the closure.

Because of the quick timing of this closure, The Art Institutes have not been able to engage with other colleges and universities for students to transfer.

NBC6 spoke to a fashion design student who says even faculty were caught off guard.

“I found out on Friday through a group chat,” said student Gabriel Marrero. “Then, I checked the student portal and they had sent a communication to the students through there, but it was super out of nowhere. We even had our last day on Wednesday last week and nobody told us anything — and I’m pretty sure that not even the teachers knew.”

Students say they have until Saturday to figure out what they’ll do next for their academic future.

This piece was republished from NBC Miami.