How buying the Art Institutes brought Dream Center to the brink of collapse

Education Dive

Court filings blame revenue tens of millions of dollars short of what its previous owner projected.

By Ben Unglesbee

January 23, 2019

Dream Center Education Holdings (DCEH) went into receivership last week, shortly after making a deal to transfer control of most of the remaining campuses in the Art Institutes chain.

The campuses now under receivership, which weren’t part of the transfer deal, could be sold or close, said DCEH attorney Robert Glickman, adding, “In a perfect world, you would want a sale to occur and the university to continue.”

A company that generates leads on prospective students had moved in court to put DCEH, which owed the firm more than $250,000, under a receiver to protect the nonprofit’s assets, including its remaining campus operations. DCEH agreed in court papers with the necessity of receivership, acknowledging its dire financial position and the need to ensure its remaining schools can continue functioning.

On Friday, a federal court in Ohio approved the proposed receiver, Mark Dottore, a Cleveland-based consultant who had already been working with DCEH.

Under the receiver’s control are the Art Institutes of Las Vegas, Pittsburgh and Seattle, as well as DCEH’s Argosy University and several Art Institutes slated for closure that are… (continue reading)