BOSTON (Legal Newsline) — Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has announced she has asked the state’s Board of Higher Education to hold a hearing to discuss the performance of New England Institute of Art’s (NEIA) current teach-out plan.
Healey has concerns about the institute’s treatment of students as it comes to a close.
Healey would also like the board to deny NEIA’s proposed plan to transfer its teach-out plan to a New Delhi-based organization until NEIA can provide financial relief for current and former students.
“Students who invested their time and hard-earned money into this school deserve the education they were promised by NEIA, not handed over to an unlicensed foreign corporation with no history of teaching art students in the United States,” Healey said. “We urge NEIA to use this opportunity to demonstrate greater responsibility in serving the best interest of its students.”
NEIA unveiled a plan last year to wind down operations over a multiyear period. Students have complained the process has led to a significant reduction in services and course offerings, as well as a shift to online coursework when they were promised hands-on classroom learning.