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I think a sort of college can be useful for these fields. The problem with today’s colleges is bloat.
Most importantly, people who want to work in writing or comedy or art or music should write or act or draw or make music. But most will benefit from working with like-minded peers and learning theory. So imagine a group of people in a profession who practice, work and somewhat live together, and older members coach the younger ones. IMO, that’s art school as it should be.
(Notice the above description doesn’t mention “admin”. A couple managers, social media consultants, etc. are probably ideal, but there should be way more professors, not the other way around; and if there are more admin than students…is the institution a school anymore?)
Art school, even a literal clown college, can be a net benefit that is seriously worth your taxpayer money. But the artists should definitely perform or give away their works publicly. Then it’s obvious why.
Now credentials for creative work are practically meaningless. Doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc. have credentials most importantly because if they mess up, someone will die or suffer seriously. And attend many lectures and exams because these skills are more methodical and can be measured far more objectively. Your “GPA” for a creative profession is your output and awards, and awards from an ingrained “credentialed” institution are less accurate than an organic one (see the slop that gets “prestigious” awards, sometimes literally AI slop).
Isn’t art school typically a non-collège program focused on teaching technical skills?
There are several types of art schools. Some are non-degree programs (AI tells me the traditional name for such schools is "Atelier"). Some are Masters of Fine Art (MFA) programs intended for people who already have undergraduate degrees (not necessarily in art). But many are college programs granting a bachelors' degree (BFA).
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