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Lynn University said Wednesday it has reached a deal to buy Digital Media Arts College, a for-profit college located about a mile away from its main campus in Boca Raton, Fla.
The asset sale will have Lynn, a 3,000-student nonprofit university, acquiring the for-profit Digital Media Arts College, which has about 300 students. After the deal closes, Lynn plans to offer Digital Media Arts College programs and combine them with its own, turning its College of International Communication into the Eugene M. and Christine E. Lynn College of Communication and Design. The university will also take on roughly 34,000 square feet of space about a mile from its main campus, which will be used for studios and offices for faculty and staff.
A teach-out provision will be offered for Digital Media Arts College students, and they will be able to continue in their programs without interruption or added cost. They will also be able to transfer to Lynn. Digital Media Arts College administrators will stop managing operations as of Oct. 19, however.
Lynn touted additional student services it can offer Digital Media Arts College students, including student housing and a career center.
Like many other for-profit institutions, Digital Media Arts College lost its accreditor and was at risk of its students losing access to federal financial aid after the Obama administration revoked its recognition of the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools in December 2016. Digital Media Arts College had until June 2018 to find a new accreditor. It had applied to the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges.
Lynn’s purchase must still receive approval from regulators. The university is not disclosing financial details other than that payments will be made over several years. University officials expect additional revenue from the acquisition to offset costs.
