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I saw an ad for iadt detroit. I had been looking to go back to school and thought fashion design may be a fun field and went to check the school out. I went there and was met by my admissions rep. She asked me about my college history. I told her i had my associates degree in liberal arts. She says, "oh great. So you have an art degree". I know i should have walked away at that comment. She asked me a few more questions, walked away for a few minutes, had me pay her $50 and shook my hand congratulating me on getting accepted at the school.
A few days later i had a meeting with financial aid. I met this guy, he set me up on a computer and ahd me fill forms out. I had asked a few questions and he was really weird about answering anything. I wonder now if it was protect his own butt. So i get approved for financial aid and I'm told everything will be covered. I was told to come back in a few days and I'll get registered for classes.
When i went back to "pick" my classes i was pretty much told what classes i was going to take. My schedule was class four nights a week for six hours a night or 16 credits a semester. It really was way too much. I was so worn out by my second week of school. There was also a two absent policy. If you missed more then two classes your instructors were calling you wondering where you were.
After a really rough semester i was burnt out. I did well and got a 3.7 gpa. I was sent a letter telling me i was on the dean's list (what dean?) - and decided i was going to take two classes nest semester. When i went to register for the next semester and told them i wanted to take two classes, i was almost harassed. I was informed we could only go part-time one time for the whole time at the school. Part-time was still four nights a week and four hours a night. I also decided to switch my major from fashion design to interior design. I was given flack for that as well. With that semester i got a 3.8 and the dean's list thing.
Next semester comes and i have a full load - 16 credits, four nights a week, six hours a night. It gets to be too much to fast and i decide i want to drop one class. I was told i am not allowed to drop a class unless i have a really good reason. My husband was sick and in and out of the hospital. I set up a meeting with the registrar at the school, since my admissions rep had been let go, and talk to her about my issues. Her way of helping me was to pull out my transcripts from the community college i went to and starts knocking out classes i don't have to take because they "transferred" to the school. I thank her and tell her i still want to drop my class. She refuses and tells me to sweat it out. I found out later their policy is if you drop after the second week you can't get money back, i was talking to her the second week of school. I got sick of being told i couldn't drop a class and decided to stop going. When i got my paperwork about my dropping classes the dates were all wrong, to cover their butts so i wouldn't get any money - at this point it wasn't about the money -
A few months later i was checking my grades. I was given an f in all my classes. I asked why and was told i didn't follow the rules they had about dropping classes. I explained my whole story and got nowhere. I went to talk to the register, and had to wait for her to "come back from lunch" when she did come back, she was told she had someone waiting to talk to her, her response was "that's too bad, i don't feel like talking to her" and walked away
I fought this school up and down about my grades. I went from a 3.8 to a 1.7. When i decided to go back to school last winter i was banking on my high gpa from iadt to guarantee me a scholarship. I was told by my school iadt wasn't even recognized as a school in michigan. I also found out their financial aid is owned and run by the same people who own the school. I attended that school for two full semesters and two weeks and my student loans are $23,000. The education I'm getting at my new school isn't going to cost anywhere near that
Iadt is not a school. It is a money pit. The amount of students that get jobs after "graduating" is very low. If someone graduates from iadt and gets a job in retail because they can't do anything else, it's considered "in their field". Their job placement rate is about 20%. The school is crap and their "instructors" are crap. It is a scam. If you are thinking about going there or sending your child there, rethink your decision.
to the person who defended IADT up and down, left and right, I believe Heather was the author, here is my response to your laundry list of items:
1) I did say I thought Fashion would be fun, that doesn't mean I picked the school on a whim. I picked the school because I saw an ad for it, one of the degrees they offered was Fashion and I am very into Fashion and am very interested in it. I didn't know everything that was going to be involved with getting a "degree" in Fashion from IADT
2 & 3) picking my classes: were you there when I was told what classes to take? you weren't? that's what I thought. I WAS told what classes to take. I WAS told I would be taking four classes and NOT given the option to take less than four classes per semester. if I had be given the option or even told I could take three classes, you can bet, for the sake of my sanity, I WOULD have taken three classes
4) I didn't complain about the attendance policy. I knew what was expected of me as far as attendance was concerned. what I did say is when I decided to drop out because it was too much for me, and I told my teachers what was going on through email, I was still called and almost harassed by teachers I didn't even have asking me where I was at
5) I was indeed sent a letter telling me I was on the Dean's List. unless you were looking over my shoulder, reading the Dean's List letter, I doubt you know exactly what I received in the mail. I did not receive a "great achievements" letter, it was a Dean's List letter. not sure what location you attend, but maybe things are done differently in Detroit? who knows.
6) full-time/part-time shouldn't matter. what does reconfiguring my payment have to do with anything? there was no "payment" to worry about. the loan I obtained paid the school - the school I attend now doesn't harass the students if they go from 16 credits to 8 credits, it's completely up to the student to decide how many credits to take. the school is still going to get their money either way - there was no lack of dedication on my part, I wanted to be in school. I did get burnt out and I did need a break
7) we agree about the Registar. good. I knew the policy of the school about dropping. what I had a problem with is that I wanted to drop a class and I was flat out told no (this would have been going from 16 credits to 12 credits - still full-time right?) I was told I wouldn't get my money back. I didn't care about getting my money back. I was two weeks into the semester, the semester got to be too much for me, I said something and was told no. I'm sorry, I'm an adult, I can make my own decisions on if I want to drop a class or not
8) IADT is not a recognized school in Michigan. my rep did not ask me about intending to stay at IADT, she was too excited to have bagged another victim. maybe your admissions rep knew more than my admissions rep. I was not asked anything about passion or dedication. I was unable to hve any of my credits from IADT transfer. if I went to another IADT location my credits WOULD NOT have transferred. I would have to start all over again - that leads me to believe IADT is not accredited ANYWHERE
9) the idea of job placement is a joke. their "Career Services" department is a binder with pages of fast food jobs. selling a $1.00 burger is selling, and you're wearing clothes, that must be considered "in the industry". if I had continued at IADT, graduated, moved out of state and applied for a real fashion job in say, New York, I would have been laughed at - not only because of the school I graduated from, but I'm sure I would have been completely behind with industry knowledge. my friend is working at Kohl's and just graduated from IADT, she is considered one of the school's success stories
10) again, what location do you attend? the lack of experience from my instructors was painful. I heard more about their person lives than anything else. no one had their own line, no one was a designer for movies and no one owned a franchise of any kind. good for you for having such experienced instructors
all in all I do not think my difficulty with the school had anything to do with my own "difficulty". how can a school function differently than other schools? college is college. if it's a school of design, engineering, social work or psychology - it's going to have the same basic function. yes, some things will be different than other schools, but there is a basic way schools function and IADT did not function like a normal school.
good luck with your forth (probably now fifth or sixth, since it's been a while since you posted your rebuttal) of your three year - did I read that correctly? a three year degree? I didn't know those existed. must be one of those "unique" things IADT does as a school. again, what location to you attend?
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I would advise students to NEVER enroll at IADT.
To be perfectly frank, these for-profits are not respected in the professional creative world; in fact, going to one of these places will wind up being detrimental to your career and reputation (AND your credit). These schools are not respected in the professional world, they are the brunt of jokes. If you want to find yourself unable to transfer credits to a reputable program and broadcast to prospective employers "I am gullible and didn't do my research" by all means, enroll away!"
If you want to bulk up your portfolio/improve your cv before entering a legit course, you're far better off working for free on student/low/no budget productions, interning at/with a gallery/museum/label/production house/art director/design firm/publisher/etc or taking individual courses at a community college/artist-run. You wont have to go into debt with these options, you will demonstrate your possession of hustle/drive/creative thinking and your CV and portfolio will bulk up with legitimate experience/work. You can usually do these things while working, helping your finances in the long run.
My advise for choosing an institution/course:
* research instructors/professors you would like to work under, whose work and methods you respect, and use this as a guide. Mentorship in the FineArts/Creative Industries are incredibly important for accessing future jobs/opportunities and for personal development. A good school with also have bios for their instructors. Try emailing and seeing if you can meet with ppl you are interested in working with.
* email someone in the industry/career path you are interested in and ask them for a meeting. See what route/school they would advise.
* look into respected national/international institutional rankings (Times Higher Ed/Macleans in Canada/QS World/NewsWeek/Forbes) - but take this info with a grain of salt.
* sit in on a class (most good unis/colleges will let you - if they don't, *warning*).
* know that at the moment, online courses are not as respected as traditional classroom ones (esp in the creative fields)
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REMEMBER: IADT does not have regional accreditation, thus many regionally accredited schools are unlikely to accept their credits in transfer or recognize their degrees for entry into graduate programs
More Information on IADT scandals.
2nd Class Action Lawsuit against IADT:
http://www.educationfraudlawsuit.com/current-investigations/2nd-class-action-lawsuit-against-iadt/
Some documentaries/reports on the scandals surrounding on for-profit schools:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBZXQ_pocFE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmmYKlPx3Sw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLZygLDIfQA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zvqn4K_IhM
http://news.yahoo.com/man-blows-whistle-profit-college-152357622--abc-news-topstories.html
I go iadt tampa for graphic design and I've had no problems with the school. Even when my gi bill was messed up by the government they were super understanding and allowed me to attend classes with no bills for 6 months until the government figured out my gi bill.
As for a lot of these complaints I can tell most of these people are not artists of any kind . The thing about art school and the arts industries in general are you have to be a artist, it's not just something you can just randomly decide to do because it seems like a easy career path. With that said regardless what art school you go to even advanced classes are technically only beginner to intermediate level stuff. It's impossible to teach every pro secret and advanced technique in photoshop in a couple semesters.
So if you go in with zero knowledge in your specific chosen program you'll most likely fail after graduation regardless what school you go to. Art schools in general are more of a hiding place for real artists to mostly hide out from the real world and focus on their own work while being exposed to other artists, styles stuff like that.. And pick up a little knowledge here and there. Me for example I was already doing a high level of photography and focusing on advertising, so I decided to go graphic design just to learn that side of the industry. I already specialized in composite/conceptual type photography so I didn't learn hardly anything from my photoshop classes but the little tips I did learn completely changed my workflow. So while they didn't make me a better artist exactly they did make it possible for me to work faster and cleaner. Or the traditional art classes I've taken helped get me started in other areas of art like digital painting that I was then able to transfer to my personal photography. If anyone has questions from my personal experience message me on my fb fan page Facebook.com/CaseyMoorephotodesign
For ANY IADT students past or present looking for a lawsuit there is a law firm in Tampa, Feldman Morgado who is working on one. Please call Candice Canales at [protected] for more info and to schedule a free 30 minute consult with the attorney. I went to their Vegas school and have nothing good to say.
These A-Hoes don't get it that they are totally crooks.
People to make a long story short. How about adding up all the advertisement around the country, put it in a Postal Due Box, and send it to the Home of the CEO Truck loads of advertising, and a bill to pay for the shipment, perhaps she/he will get the message. Enough of their trash mail.
Oh by the way, we shall NOT put any Naughty words when complaining, as that kind of Behavior will not be displayed.
On Sunday of last week I was burglarized, the perpetrator was in the business for two hours, the alarm never went off. After contacting ADT requesting a Tech to come out and check the system, a Tech arrived and did a complete check on the alarm stating; that who ever installed it never knew what he was doing, the sensor was defective, the system in the door was not wired correctly. After showing the Tech the videotape he stated; where the burglar was walking around the system should have went wild sending signal after signal to ADT, which it never did. Be aware of this company, take my advise don’t, I repeat don’t do business with ADT, this is not an isolated case after the burglary I was telling all my customers and three of them said the same thing happened to them.
It was the technician's fault, not the company.