Last Friday brought the sloppy and shocking announcement that the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA had lost its accreditation and would be closing. After a chaotic week of conflicting and sometimes contradictory announcements from various parties involved and as students and faculty wrestled with an uncertain future, it looks as if the school will indeed be closing their doors today.
I stopped by there today to take a few photos and ran into these three students two of which had just completed their freshman year, and the other her sophomore year. They truly got a raw deal, and my heart breaks for them.
Lawsuits have been initiated and officials have promised investigations. Other schools have expressed interest in scooping up displaced students. Here’s hoping that something positive will come from this dreadful situation.
If you missed it, here is Joe’s reaction to this crazy story shortly after it broke.
Truly a great loss.
A shrinking student body, tuition that rivals Ivy League schools and very little in the way of career opportunities killed UArts. It didn’t help that the board went on a real estate spending spree which they then over-mortgaged. Because of years and years of these stupid predicaments they have placed themselves in, standards go out the window. Supposedly the school accepted two-thirds of the people who applied. Talent? Skill? If you can blink your eyes yes or no, you’re in! Art schools are doomed