The Art Institute Online Reviews
The Art Institute Online offers online degree and diploma programs in Advertising, Fashion, Digital Design, Graphic Design, Interior Design, Multimedia/3D Design, and Web Design.
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Disclaimer: Guide to Online Schools makes student reviews available via this site. The views expressed by users do not necessarily reflect the views of Guide to Online Schools. Guide to Online Schools takes no position with respect to the information or opinions expressed in the user comments/reviews, and is not responsible for their content. |
Graphic Design
By Rick - Denver, Co on
November 1, 2008
I took most of my classes for my graphic design degree at the brick and mortar school in Denver. There, I never felt more like a number in my life. The administration never wanted to deal with issues, the teachers were disengaged and had moral issues (there were some exceptions) and the staff from the registrar to financial aide were pleasant but disorganized. I was thrilled to get an opportunity to take some classes online. The online experience was worse. I had one instructor who rarely signed on. Another instructor taught a packaging class with no real packaging experience or knowledge except for what was taught in the text book. It was as if she was taking and teaching the class at the same time. I contacted the administration and didn't get any real response until the courses were almost over. I would never take another class at the Art Institute, online or on ground. Shop around!
graphic design
By Joe - CA on
September 30, 2008
As I write this, I have just finished my first 4 classes online at the art institute. Prior to this I completed an online program for business at the university of phoenix online. The AI program is far and away a better environment, but there are still exceptions. My experience at phoenix is regrettable. The 'facilitators' tend to have zero clue about teaching and from the things they would post it was truly as if they were there only to collect the paycheck, simply cutting and pasting comments and changing names.
Of the 4 classes I had so far, one of them was similar to my previous experience. I thought it was maybe just me, but her conduct truly was unacceptable and my suspicions were later confirmed by others in the class. Aside from her, the other classes have been well organized and feedback has been good. The teachers respond generally quickly and are informative. I also get the feeling that they are motivated to share their understanding of art and drawing etc.
The curriculum is demanding. usually more than the required 4 of 7 days (participation requirement) is needed to complete projects for one or the other class (2 classes at a time). Though strenuous, I find the assignments interesting- though this could be because I am much more interested in design than I am management. The curriculum is well thought out though and the best in my opinion for this program
My other thoughts- I thought long and hard before choosing another online school and I did my research before choosing this one. It was close between here and SCAD... IADT was also in the run for a bit, but their customer service was less than what I was willing to put up with. They are all expensive, so be prepared for that- and make sure you keep an open line of communication with your finance and academic counselors... don't forget that in the end this is all just business.
Interactive Media
By annonymous - Online on
August 25, 2008
Online school was best for me for many important reasons, but my experience was very much like Maggies. I had some really great instructors, but they where few and far between. Most of the instructors where not \\\"teachers\\\", many did not participate and get involved in the student learning. When I went to the administration for help, they did not help. I always felt like the school did not care about the students or their experience. I second Maggies advise to Shop, Shop, shop! Online school is a fantastic thing, but I do not feel that I received the education that I payed for. Most of what I carried into real-life, I learned on my own outside of class.
Digital Design
By Maggie - online on
August 1, 2008
My experience was lukewarm and not as I imagined it would completely be. I expected the learning experienced to be enriching and intensely creative. While sometimes I was fortunant to be in a class where the instructor was just that and then some, I also was stuck in classes where the instructor was not much involved with the students or the learning process. This was very frustrating because I was not the only one feeling this way, but yet could do nothing to improve the situation. I even confronted one of the teachers through email and inquired why the lack of participatiion and interaction. She became very offended and snapped back with a "Happy Thanksgiving to you too!" So, yes, it might have been a bit cold-hearted to confront her at the end of a holiday, but WE still had assignment to turn in and were NOT given a break so that we too could enjoy Thanksgiving Day.
Class does not stop for holidays. You are still held responsible for submitting assignments, even when there is a lack of instruction or reasonable time to do the work due to holiday events your family expects you to be at. An online class is basically this: pre-written jumbo-mumbo (lectures) and asssignment that are not authored by the instructor assigned to you. Sometimes even the instructor has trouble deciphering what the lecture or assignment is asking of the students. Most of the time to have to buy a couple books for each class, and the books are usually over $50 each. The class lectures are sometimes very general and do not really share insights to real-time knowledge or anything that is revolutionary. You spend most of your time reading through your books rather than getting insider knowledge from the instructor, who all are some kind of graphic arts professionals in real life... some aren't real teachers, though.
All the knowledge you get a glimpse through these classes can easily be found online or at your local bookstore/library. The instructor sometimes can be a genuine inspiration, but most times seems more like the babysitter paid to watch you and may sometimes change a diaper, if her boyfrined isn't over. I honestly wish I had been able to go to an on-campus school. You actually don't give up more of your time than you would attending an online school. On-line schooling still has attendance requirements (4 out of 7 days of the week, in my case) and you spend a great deal of time working on assignments. On-campus would have been a better deal because at least you would be able to talk to a real person and not feel like you are alone in this process. My goal was to learn more about my trade and become proficient. While I do know a few more tricks, it wasn't what I really was expecting, especially for how expensive it was.
My advice would be to all who are interested in online schooling is to SHOP, SHOP around ALOT. Find the school who is willing to provide quality instruction and hold their instructors accountable for delivering quality instruction. When I was having issues with instructor quality, I did make my inquiries and complains to the administrative staff but was basically told to go figure it out with the instructor. It was hopeless. So, in the end, I have come to discover that having a face-to-face interaction really is the best deal, at least for me. It does not allow people to hide behind the cloak of digits and wires. It is more conducive to a more honest approach and online schools have that as a challenge to overcome. Big thanks, however, to the three online instructors that were truly teachers in every sense. They gave me hope that not every class instructor is a total flop. Maybe I just need to find the right online school in the future. Shop, shop, shop...
Graphic Design
By Alexander - Pittsburgh Pennsylvania on
July 28, 2008
At first it was difficult to get up and go to school because I was used to not working in my home environment. I liked how there was no dress code for the school because you didn’t have to physically be there. I would improve the amount of lecture material. I often see teachers skimping out on the amount of lecture and making students just read from the textbook.
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