Argosy University is a system of colleges owned by Dream Center Education Holdings (DCEH), LLC as of November 2017, which had acquired them from Education Management Corporation (EDMC), an operator of for-profit post-secondary educational institutions in the United States and Canada.
History
Argosy University Graduation 2016 - Argosy University Graduation 2016.
The origins of Argosy University trace to three separate institutions: the American School of Professional Psychology, the Medical Institute of Minnesota, and the University of Sarasota. In the late 1970s, Michael Markovitz founded the Illinois School of Professional Psychology, which later changed its name to the American School of Professional Psychology. In 1976, Markovitz became the founding chairman of Argosy Education Group, which acquired the University of Sarasota in 1992. The University of Sarasota was a business and education-focused school and was founded in 1969. Six years later Argosy Education Group acquired the health profession training school the Medical Institute of Minnesota, which was established in 1961.
In July 2001, Argosy Education Group was acquired by Education Management Corporation. Two months later, Argosy Education Group brought together the American School of Professional Psychology, the Medical Institute of Minnesota, and the University of Sarasota under the Argosy University name.
Students of the Argosy University in Dallas filed a Texas lawsuit in 2009 alleging they believed university recruiters inaccurately informed students that the school would soon receive accreditation from the American Psychological Association (APA). The school had not completed accreditation process by the time the students graduated. At the time of the lawsuit, Argosy University Dallas had not applied for APA accreditation. According to a response from Argosy University's parent company, EDMC, accreditation with the APA is not required for clinical psychology licensure in many jurisdictions, including Texas. Argosy officials rejected charges of fraud, noting that pursuit of APA accreditation for the Dallas campus was still underway. As of 2013, Argosy University in Dallas does not offer any degrees in clinical psychology and is not listed as part of the university's College of Clinical Psychology. In December 2013, EDMC agreed to pay about $3.3 million as part of the lawsuit. The settlement did not require EDMC to admit liability.
In May 2010, the PBS program Frontline aired a program about for-profit universities called "College, Inc." which featured Argosy University among others. Later that year, Argosy University was one of 15 schools named in a Government Accountability Office report. The report stated that recruiters at the school were found to have "made deceptive or otherwise questionable statements" when speaking with undercover applicants. The GAO later revised its report, with Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming) saying the changes made "undermine many of the allegations" in the original report but the head of the GAO maintained that "Nothing changed with the overall message of the report, and nothing changed with any of our findings."
In 2011, Argosy University was investigated by the Florida Attorney General following eight consumer complaints. The school cooperated in the investigation.
In 2012, the law school Western State University College of Law, which was founded in 1966 and originally acquired by Argosy in 2000, was renamed Western State College of Law at Argosy University.
In December 2013, EDMC agreed to pay $3.3 million in restitution and fines to settle charges with the Colorado Attorney General that Argosy University had engaged in deceptive marketing practices. The Colorado Attorney General alleged that Argosy University led students to believe that the school was working to get its Ed.D. in Counseling Psychology degrees accredited by the American Psychological Association and that graduates would be eligible to be licensed psychologists in Colorado, when that did not appear to be true. The settlement did not require EDMC to admit liability. In January 2016, two of the initial graduates of the Ed.D in Counseling Psychology program at Argosy University, Denver, were admitted to Psychology Licensure Candidate status by the Colorado State Board of Psychologist Examiners.
In May of 2015, EDMC was planning on closing in The Art Institute of California, Silicon Valley, a branch campus of Argosy University. In November 2015, Argosy's parent company agreed to forgive more than $100 million of student loan debt to settle claims it violated consumer protection laws.
In 2016, Argosy, Seattle stopped taking new students.
In March 2017, Education Management Corporation reported that they intended to sell the Argosy schools to The Dream Foundation, a Los Angeles-based Pentecostal organization. The sale faced scrutiny by regulators. The transaction closed in November 2017; EDMC said it would remain in operation to wind down the approximately fifty schools that had stopped accepting new students.
Accreditation and rankings
Argosy University was first accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges in 2011 with its next review in 2018.
References
External links
- Official website
