Answer:
The absolute biggest issue on any kind of institute of higher learning is whether they have the appropriate regional accreditation.
And scam schools know this. They play it as many ways as they can, until you can hardly be sure if any school is accredited.
Routine scammers will say they are accredited. But it won't be a regional accreditation.
Better scammers will say they are regionally accredited, but if you look into it, you'll find they are not. (They try and avoid you finding out by providing the regional accreditation phone number on their site. Guess who answers!)
The best scammers are using the name of a real school, so when you call to verify, the real Regional Accreditors will verify the real school, but you'll be giving money to the fake school.
The Art Institute of Washington is not listed. They claim to be a branch of The Art Institute of Atlanta. Thus they claim regional accreditation from the Commission on Colleges for Southern States, even though they are as far from the south as you can be without being in Alaska.
However, they may be telling the truth. Stranger things, and all that. I would have called, but it's after hours. Any who plan to go to college should make that call. Ask specifically about the Art Institute of Atlanta's "Washington" branch.