For-profit art institute closes 30 locations, including Raleigh-Durham

Its parent company, Dream Center Education, is phasing out other locations too, including campuses in High Point and Charlotte, impacting 3,000 students in the state.

Some students at the Art Institute of Raleigh-Durham have dreams of running their own restaurants and being professional photographers.

They worry those dreams could be delayed, or destroyed now that their school is closing.

Shaun Wilson and Josh Kinney are both army veterans and are now pursuing culinary degrees.

“I think it’s weird that you can just close a school like this out of nowhere,” Kinney said.

Dream Center Education Holdings said in a statement that it's no longer accepting new students at this campus, and others.

“I don’t like being left in the dark knowing what my next step is,” Wilson said.

They said current students should attend classes as planned.

The company said closing is best for its students, but photography student Robert Jeffers disagrees.

“I genuinely feel like the school itself fits perfectly in downtown Durham,” Jeffers said.

Knowing the school is closing, some also worry if they are working towards a degree that it won't mean much.

“Just kind of worried that my degrees, if I do not finish, isn’t going to be worth anything, will basically be a cocktail napkin with a signature on it,” Wilson said.

As far as transferring to new schools, students said they worry their credits wouldn't transfer over, costing them money and time.