VinnieFI think their pointless because if you're truely gifted at the fine arts you won't need a degree to do them any better, you can just practice on your own and come up with your entirely original styles on your own without spending thousands of dollars on a piece of paper saying you know how to do something you obviously know how to do.
did any of the most famous painters have a fine arts degree? highly doubt it.
I think a good fine arts program isn't about making its students better artists necessarily. As you said - a good artist will discover that on their own through practice. It's more about giving artists credibility and the ability to market themselves. No one cares about good art if it just sits in the artist's basement. Schooling ideally gives you a means to get your art out in the world.
I have a Bachelors degree in Journalism and Outdoor Leadership (arguably another pointless degree). I didn't necessarily need to spend thousands of dollars on a piece of paper that says I know how to write and camp, but it did give me the credibility to network with the right professionals to be able to sell my writing and my outdoors skills. I currently work as an editor and a freelance writer. I also moonlight as a ski coach and organize outdoor events for a women's based non-profit. I'm definitely not going to get rich doing any of these things but I make enough to pay the bills and be a ski bum without having to bump chairs and wipe snot off kids noses for a living.... for now at least.