Complaint Review: The Art Institute of Charlotte

The Art Institute of Charlotte is a total rip off. I am in my third quarter and other than what I have taught myself through online tutorials out side of the school, I have learned very little. I have other State College degrees and came to The Art Institute to get additional classes. The quality of teaching is extremely poor. I attended CPCC and I know for a fact they have better teachers. (However, they do abuse "Moodle" their web based class system, which wastes a lot of their students time!) But their teachers are much more qualified.

I have overheard many students with the same complaint that they aren't learning anything. And I know several personally that have gone as high as the President to complain. But nothing gets done. The same teachers continue teaching there. The classes are taught with outdated text books (One of mine was dated 2004). And my classes are in a technology field where being up to date is extremely important. One of my other books received poor ratings online and many of the examples in the book aren't correct.

In addition, some students are passed from class to class whether they attend class or not, whether they complete their assignments or not. Classes that are considerd "Advanced" contain no advanced material at all. You are given homework reading assignments that are not discussed in class. And you are left to basically teach yourself. I have only been able to keep up because I find tutorials online that explain the class materials. I've even shared these tutorials with the teachers and asked that they use these tutorial methods to teach their classes.

I'm totally disgusted with The Art Institute. I have only one quarter left. The classes are definitely not worth the $1200 a piece they cost! I can't believe they are able to stay in business. Even their home office in Pittsburgh told me that they were "worried" about the Charlotte campus because they are losing so many students. So they know they have a problem. I just don't think I should have had to pay full price till they fix the problems.

In closing, I would strongly recommend that you choose either UNC or CPCC. Either are a much better choice than The Art Institute of Charlotte.