Please don't misunderstand my point -- I would never discourage anyone from taking creative writing courses or getting a degree. Higher education is a wonderful thing. My point, though, is that a degree -- or a number of courses -- does not a writer make. Particularly for people who are naturally inclined to writing, or have that great desire, creative writing courses can be great. I had a few in high school and college, and they were my favorite because they were very liberating for my imagination. But as with any course, a creative writing class is only as good as 1) what the instructor brings to the table and 2) what you, as the student, bring to the table.
One of the failings that I tend to see when interacting with people who've gone through such courses was touched on earlier -- that is, throw conflict into everything. When I was editing Deathrealm, I could often pick out the manuscripts from people who'd been taking creative writing courses because there was always a bunch of needless antagonism between characters (not necessarily between protagonist/antagonist) -- as if that's an automatic tension-producer. I've got news for you. Most of the time, it just annoys the reader.
Conflict isn't something to throw willy-nilly into the mix. It's got to be well thought-out, and it has to make sense within the context of the story. All too often, in the hands of novices, the conflict is about as meaningful as Michael Palin paying John Cleese to have a five-minute argument.
Oh, yes it is.