Art Institute of York operator reportedly close to settling lawsuits worth billions

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The suits were filed by the U.S. Justice Department, 13 states and the District of Columbia.


One lawsuit accuses EDMC of paying recruiters to sign up students, a practice Congress made illegal after it found that too many unqualified students were being accepted by for-profit colleges and then racking up loans they couldn’t pay back. Not only did EDMC engage in the practice, it falsely certified that it was complying with the regulation, the lawsuit said.


Another lawsuit accuses EDMC of lying about its job-placement statistics in order to continue receiving student aid it wasn’t entitled to. Yet another accuses the company of lowering the income listed on some students’ applications to receive more federal money.


According to media reports, the parties are now nearing a settlement — a deal that would allow EDMC to remain in business — with the help of a retired U.S. District Judge serving as mediator.

Considering Congress has been investigating for-profit schools since 2010, you’d think the government would have learned its lesson. However, the New York Times reported just a few days ago that the U.S. Department of Education continues to give tens of millions of dollars each month to schools that have been accused of predatory behavior and illegal practices — including EDMC. In fact, the Times said EDMC received more than $1.25 billion in government funding over the past year.


EDMC will be out of business in southcentral Pennsylvania soon enough. It announced in May that it would close the Art Institute of York along with 14 other Art Institute locations over the next couple of years. The York campus also laid off 10 of its 90 staffers, most of whom were employed in the school’s no-longer-needed admissions office.


At the time, a company spokesman attributed the move to “the realities of the education environment”; sure, if the education environment means ripping off taxpayers and cashing in on the dreams of trusting students who wanted to improve their lives.

Undoubtedly there are for-profit colleges and career training centers that assist students all around the country. But when schools like those operated by EDMC prey on the less fortunate and on America’s military veterans — taking their money and training them for careers they may not be qualified to attain — it’s nothing short of criminal.

The federal government should be more aggressive in its investigation of for-profit colleges and close those that abuse the system and repeatedly demonstrate a lack of integrity.

At the very least, it should stop handing over billions of dollars to them.