"Gakuin"? 学院?

I once had a conversation with a Japanese master who questioned our using the term 'gakuin'. Gakuin means: an academy, or learning institute; a term that might be too lofty for a Karate dojo. I told him that we were founded at New York Institute of Technology, and that I train at Black Belt Academy. I also explained that words like 'academy' and 'institute' are often used in business and advertising to make a subject seem deeper than it actually is (e.g. 'American Bartender's Institute' and 'Wilfred Beauty Academy'). Not wanting to be brash, I did not point out to him that his own dojo was named at that time '(his name) Karate Institute'. He said he understood, and his concerns were allayed.