The for-profit college and university business is a $30-billion-dollar industry in the United States. According to investigative journalist Daniel Golden, in the last decade, the for-profit colleges and universities have tripled enrollment and recorded profits of $26 billion.
With for-profit colleges under siege in Washington, Mitt Romney’s full-throttled endorsement for Full Sail puts him squarely in the middle of a political debate.
Four years ago, during the last presidential election, James "Bill" Heavener, CEO and co-chairman of the for-profit Full Sail University, served as a major source of campaign contributions for Barack Obama's presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee, raising nearly $100,000 alongside members of his family.
Students attending for-profit colleges wind up with much higher student-loan debts, are less likely to be employed after graduation and generally earn less than similar students at public or private nonprofit schools, according to a recent paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research.