Art is the result of the spacial side of the brain, for this reason I believe education is not really needed, because if it is too cluttered from the teacher's own personal views and insights it can never expand and expound on the individuality in the artist. However with that being said I can understand as a stepping stone to mingle and converse with the wide variety of artists that are there it is an open room filled with inspiration and ways to improve technique for the artist. Education is such a broad term, so if it is more of a strict and "this is the way it is" education, I believe that would be a waste of time and money;if it is more open and relaxed where ideas can be shared and not forced, then I would have to say that could help for the practices of each artist;although, I would not say necessary for the growth of an artist.

It's nearly 30 years since I finished my degree (which was the culmination of five years formal art education) but although at the time I felt quite ambivalent about the process, I have relied on the printmaking techniques I learnt there and can trace back my ability to follow a creative process through difficulties, to think laterally about problems in order to find a solution and to express myself eloquantly in creative language and look to art history for clues to my own work practice; I doubt if I could have learnt all these things on my own even if I'd had the web to consult.
What I have remembered of art history comes from seeing a tutor who was enthusiastic and knowledgable about art expressing their wonder at artworks and explaining their intracacies in a way which captivated me and the other students and made us love it too; again, you don't get that from a web page. I think formal education also gave me something to kick/rebel against, which as an emotionally immature young adult was invaluable and kept me motivated to work - if i lost track of myself, I would just do something to piss off the tutors I didn't like. I think it's rare to find a good working artist who hasn't attended college at some point (even if they have left before graduating) - it's not essential for all, but I for one am hugely grateful to have received this (free) education and much more appreciative of it now than I was at the time. At the end of the day I make my living as an artist now, I'm pretty sure that would not have been the case had I not gone to college, I simply could not have remained focussed without the structure it provided at that age.