Former VB Art Institute students still left in the dark after loan forgiveness
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — The Biden administration announced more loan forgiveness on May 1, which impacts about 317,000 people across the country, including several thousand people who attended the Art Institute in Virginia Beach.
Former students of Art Institutes, including VB location, could see loans forgiven
Formerly right off Constitution Drive in Virginia Beach Town Center, the sign has been removed since the campus closed suddenly with almost no warning last fall. The closure left many active and former students in the dark.
The Art Institute of Virginia Beach to close its doors permanently
More than $6 billion worth of loans are set to be forgiven for anyone who went to an Art Institute school between 2004 and October 17, 2017. The Biden administration said the chain of schools lured students with “pervasive” lies, falsified data and knowingly misinformed students. The Virginia Beach location was among the final eight to shut down in 2023.
We spoke with many students who said they tried calling their enrollment counselors and other admin – only to find the lines were disconnected.
Andrew Brockway, a student who was enrolled in their culinary program about ten years ago, falls under the loan forgiveness window. While this helps him out financially, he still cannot get things like transcripts and other paperwork from the school system. There is no one to contact. He is worried about what this means if he ever wants to go back to school.
“I came here, I love it out here, I met my wife out here at the Art Institute,” Brockway said.” But at the same time, like again, like I can’t get my transcript now that my loans are forgiven, like, how does that affect me going back to school if I wanted to? That’s where I’m all in… kind of the turmoil almost. I’m confused. Like what do I do now?”
Rebecca Davidson said she went there under the G.I. Bill, like many other former students. She has not heard anything about what this means for her, or if she will get any of it back. But she is thankful that she did not lose money she had to spend. She is also worried about whether her degree means anything, considering how the Art Institute shut down.
“Just worrying about whether or not what I put a good three years of my life into is worth anything at the end,” Davidson said. “I mean, I did learn a lot from new people, from the people there, but it’s again sad that people would put money over people learning something to help society out.”
Years before the mass closure, the Art Institute reached a $95.5 million settlement with the Justice Department for allegations of illegal recruiting tactics.
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