Kansas City Art Institute — Attraction in Kansas City

I was in the animation major, and the department is not only severely underfunded but overall at this school the teachers are extremely biased and unable to teach in an effective way.

Students have to take turns to use the equipment and then get told it's their fault when they're unable to meet deadlines. I personally have problems with learning computer programs, and when I asked for help I was told to "Google it". I'm paying $30,000 a year in tuition, I expect to be helped, not told to do something I could do on my own.

The teachers also, instead of teaching, would have "video tutorials" for students to watch and would refuse to help and instead redirect students to the videos, which were only good if you had a Mac computer. They made no sense if you used a PC, which is what 80% of the students in the major had.

The school says it embraces creativity, but the classes expect you to do things in a very specific way, and if you don't do it you're docked on your grades for it.

The school itself is also very elitist. I was told by many students who take the foundation classes that they were strongly advised against getting jobs while at school, but then we're also expected to buy expensive art supplies. Not only that, but the school itself shows blatant bias against the applied art majors like animation and illustration and graphic design.

They also showed no care or concern for the interactive arts major. They actually closed the major down when there were students halfway through finishing and told to move to other majors.

Signing up for classes is a nightmare. Advising counselors don't help with sign up whatsoever, have admitted multiple times via email they don't know which classes count towards required credits for degrees, and half the time there's not enough room in the required classes or there's classes you need that aren't being taught/available. This was especially prevalent during senior year which was absolutely ridiculous and stressful.

The buildings themselves are very underkept. They're building new buildings while the baty house and illustration department building are infested with cockroaches and mold.

Their student website also is really bad. It constantly locks you out and makes you reset your password, and the school itself has bad wifi connections. They are impossible to get in contact with, I would send multiple emails asking for help with admissions or signing up for classes and would only be redirected to multiple people, all who showed very blatantly that they didn't care.

Teachers use the website called Moodle for their online assignments, which sucks because Moodle is one of the worst websites I've ever had to use. Not only is it stupid that this school doesn't have online classes, which for a lot of people I know would've helped a lot, the website they do use looks and works like it was made and last updated in the early 90s.

The neighborhood around it is also bad. It's relatively safe around the Nelson, but that's because they have good security. The school, however, does not. There have been mutliple instances while I've been there where students have been robbed at gunpoint. Another family had their car stolen off campus. The school sends out a monthly crime report of everything going on around the school and it's usually a couple pages long. It's ridiculous the amount of crime that goes on around and on campus.

The only reason I came to this school was because it was closer to my hometown than other animation schools, something I really regret doing now.

Personally, if you are considering going to this school I would say to give it a hard pass. Keep your options open, because this school will not hesitate to screw you over. It costs too much for what you're getting in return, and you'll be on your own because it's impossible to get help from anyone who...

This Institute is located in a neat area of Kansas City, and features a large green space with a walking trail around it. I live in the area and frequent the walking trail to walk my dog around the large block this Institute is located on. My dog is a 6 year old shih-tzu who weighs no more than 8lbs and is notably a very chill dog. Today, during what seams like a routine stroll, I was accosted by an Institute employee who, with unwarranted hostility, demanded I leash my dog and vacate the premises, claiming the land as private property. No signs indicate the property is private, closed to the public, or requires leashed dogs, making her demands baseless. I assured her we were already leaving, yet she persisted, threatening to summon police and trailing me with unsettling determination. Her aggressive pursuit and declaration to take my picture to send to law enforcement were blatant attempts to intimidate me. Feeling harassed and unsafe by this woman's animosity, I requested she stop following me, only for her to escalate, asserting ownership of the grounds and berating me further. This blatant abuse of authority is unacceptable and alienates the community it claims to serve. The lack of signage exacerbates this unjust encounter. I have photographic evidence and urge the administration to contact me to address...

This school is designed for you to fail. They have little to no support services, and their programs have almost nothing to do with your degree. They don't prepare you for the workplace, much less get you certified for anything. You'll be doing mundane work, and it WILL drain you. Art will become a chore.

The attendance policy is absolutely insane. They hold excused absences against you, and if you miss more than a few days, you automatically get failed, even with a doctor's note. Not to mention you're paying a ridiculous amount of money for a mediocre education.

The school's been failing for a while now, and is only getting worse. Don't let the positive reviews or their promotions get to you. Not to mention, the last president of the school was fired for money laundering. I have no idea how they've gotten away with this for so long.

I highly recommend going elsewhere. Save your money, go to another university with an art program--you'll get an education infinitely times better than KCAI. It's disgusting how they treat their students. The advisors don't care, nor does student services. Do not waste your time. Hopefully in the next few years KCAI...