Huffington Magazine Issue 20 | Page 41

THE ART OF A COLLEGE EDUCATION Toland says the university’s fast growth reflects a willingness to teach art to anyone who is interested, not just a privileged few. “Most people haven’t had the chance to develop a portfolio, especially if they don’t have parents that can pay for art classes and can afford to take summers off to make art,” she says. “The school is their opportunity to prove themselves.” Still, the Academy’s expansion has sparked bitter confrontations with city planners and slow-growth activists, who argue the school’s real estate appetite is helping to exacerbate a citywide housing crunch, making San Francisco increasingly unaffordable for all but its wealthiest inhabitants. “When you’re growing with no end in sight, that’s like a cancer, like a virus,” former San Francisco Deputy Mayor Brad Paul says of the school’s real estate empire. The school’s academic reputation is also at risk. California higher education officials recently blocked it from receiving state tuition grants, arguing that its recent graduation rate of less than 30 percent doesn’t justify further public investment. In addition, a group of former HUFFINGTON 10.28.12 A RAPIDLY GROWING STUDENT BODY Enrollment at the Academy of Art University has grown swiftly in recent years, more than doubling since 2005. 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 recruiters has filed suit against the school, claiming some of its student enrollment growth was the result of bonuses, raises and other enticements offered to recruiters if they met sales targets. Compensation schemes rewarding recruiters based on the number of students enrolled violate federal law. The Academy declined to comment on the matter. “It seems to me that money is their number one priority,” says Natalie Wilkey, who got a BA from the school’s fashion merchandising program in 2010. “They’re not about the community, it’s more like they’re a corporation.” For-profit colleges such as the Academy of Art have proliferated over the past decade, growing the 2008 2010