Servicers Are Wrongly Denying Closed School Discharges to Art Institute of Phoenix Students. Why?

In December 2018, scores of Art Institute campuses closed their doors. Before the closure, students got three options: (1) transfer to another Art Institute campus to complete their degree, (2) participate in a teach-out at a different school to complete their degree, or (3) request a closed school discharge of their federal student loans. Borrowers are eligible for a closed school discharge as long as they didn’t complete their program or transfer credits to a comparable program and were enrolled within 120 days of the schools’ closure date—in this case, December 14, 2018.

Students who wanted to discharge their loans—and move on with their lives—had a plan. That is, until some students tried applying for a closed school discharge.

Some Art Institute of Phoenix students who were enrolled in the school within 120 days of the school’s closure have reported that their servicers are denying their application for a closed school discharge. The servicers have claimed that, because the Art Institute of Las Vegas remains open, Art Institute of Phoenix students are ineligible for a closed school discharge.

One student received the following response from their servicer:

Our records indicate that the main campus of ART INSTITUTE OF PHOENIX, also known as formally known as ART INSTITUTE OF LAS VEGAS remains open. As the main campus is still open, you do not qualify for School Closure discharge. If the main campus has in fact closed, you must provide proof. Proof must be on school letterhead.

This is wrong. The Art Institute of Phoenix was a “branch campus” of the Art Institute of Las Vegas, but just because Art Institute Las Vegas remains open does not mean Art Institute of Phoenix students are ineligible for closed school discharge.

Art Institute of Phoenix students can discharge their federal student debt because their school closed. Federal regulations governing closed school discharge say that “‘school’ means a school’s main campus or any location or branch of the main campus, regardless of whether the school or its location or branch is considered eligible.” That means that if a branch campus closes and the main campus remains open, students from the branch campus are eligible for closed school discharge. The Art Institute of Phoenix is (and was) recognized by the Department as a branch campus of the Art Institute of Las Vegas. So, even though the Art Institute of Las Vegas remains open, students from the Art Institute of Phoenix are eligible for closed school discharge (as long as they didn’t finish and attended the school within 120 days of December 14, 2018).

So what gives? And why isn’t the Department intervening to fix it?

We aren’t sure why servicers are misinforming students. The Department of Education’s official record (.xlsx) of closed schools shows that the Art Institute of Phoenix campus closed on December 14, 2018. Therefore, students who didn’t complete their program or transfer their credits to a comparable program and were enrolled in Art Institute of Phoenix after August 16, 2018 are eligible for closed school discharge.

One possible explanation for some servicers’ wrongful closed school discharge denials may stem from the inaccurate information the Department itself has distributed. In its information page regarding closed Argosy and Art Institute schools, the Department of Education listed the closure date of 24 Argosy and Art Institute campuses—including the Art Institute of Phoenix—as March 8, 2019.

What should you do if you attended the Art Institute of Phoenix and your servicer denies your application for a closed school discharge?

If your loan servicer tells you are denied for closed school discharge, even though you 1) were enrolled in the Art Institute of Phoenix after August 16, 2018 (and did not graduate), 2) did not participate in a teach-out, and 3) did not transfer credits to another similar program at another institution, you should call your servicer and tell them that:

1) You are eligible for closed school discharge because you were enrolled at the Art Institute of Phoenix and did not transfer to the Art Institute of Las Vegas;
2) The closure of the Art Institute of Phoenix, as a branch campus of Las Vegas, makes you eligible for closed school discharge according to Department of Education regulation;
3) The fact that the Art Institute of Las Vegas is still open does not impact your eligibility for closed school discharge because you never attended that campus;
4) The Postsecondary Education Participant’s System’s Closed School List shows that the Art Institute of Phoenix closed on December 14, 2018, and you were enrolled within 120 days of that date and did not complete your program.

If your servicer does not change their response, you should call your servicers’ ombudsman (normally you can find their contact information on your servicer’s website). You should explain that your servicer is rejecting your request for a closed school discharge, and provide the four reasons above that your servicer is wrong. If that doesn’t work, you should call the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman at 1-877-557-2575.

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