What would happen if the NREMT required a degree?

[Carlos Danger]

I totally agree - competency is the next frontier, meaning that fixed length programs are (hopefully) going to start being the exception, rather than the rule. Not only is it cheaper, it's more efficient. For example, if I can demonstrate my skill/knowledge (like via exam) in some subset of X as part of my degree (or license) in X, I should be able to skip that portion.

Reminds me of Excelsior's motto back when I did my original nursing education there: "What you know is more important than where or how you learned it".

I wish the part I bolded were true but the problem is the establishment has much incentive to keep things the way they are. To use medicine as an example, the universities and medical schools make money hand over fist and won't benefit financially by shortened educational programs. The physician's lobby itself (AMA, etc.) is made up of individual doctors who have no interest in increasing the supply of physicians with whom they'll have to compete. Actually, using the ACGME, the physician lobby regulates the supply of new doctors closely in an attempt to keep the supply of physicians low in relation to demand. (Which of course is the real reason they have such a problem with non-physicians working independently, though that's an entirely other discussion)

In the end, no entity who has the power to innovate and make this type of education more affordable and accessible has an economic incentive to do so.