Reading through most of the posts, I find two lines of comment: 1) One on the desirability of courses and training for new sailors with which most agree; 2) The "role" of ASA as a major provider of such courses (e.g., ASA 101). Actually, two subjects. It seems, as mentioned in one post, that sailing courses and camps we might have used in our youth have been replaced by a commercial service, the ASA, that gets a lot of recommendations. I too am an ASA certified keel boat instructor; yet, I have not completed any ASA courses; only the Instructors' Clinic. The clinic is not a course. It is an assessment of one's qualification to become an ASA-certified instructor. If accepted into the clinic, there is written testing from the materials of ASA 101 & 102, plus other materials (which comprise a difficult test); a demonstration of teaching effectiveness on a subject assigned to you, and a skills test in the field. The skills test is chiefly concerned with assessing one's ability to single-hand the vessel and to be a "safety-conscious" instructor. I believe there was one other person in the clinic who had not completed the ASA 101-102 sequence, but who had tested out for the USCG 100-ton ticket and now wished a sailing endorsement. The other six or so had come via the basic course work and were wishing to receive instructor certification. I believe I was the only boat owner in the clinic.
The 100-ton captain who wished the sailing endorsement was assigned the topic of "Navigation" for demonstration of instructional competence. This person did not know what a Mercator projection is, nor for that matter, any other cartographic projection. This person also could not sail the boat up-wind and had to be rescued from off the seawall at the leeward side of the sailing area. The person did not "graduate" from the clinic. The others were fine IMO even though the extent of their observable skills was sailing an old 22 or 25-ft Catalina in a protected harbor in good weather, medium wind, doing stuff like tacking & gybing, heaving-to to reef the mainsail, landing at a dock, and MOB procedures (the figure 8). At least going "out the gate" those particular new instructors, all much younger than I, were not people that I would wish to pay $300 to $400 to learn sailing from.
Which brings up the point and observation that certainly many, if not most, ASA schools are associated with charter boat companies. Stands to reason. Most pupils are not boat owners. The charter companies need clients. So, they form a school to teach folks enough "skill" to be able to charter one of their small yachts for a weekend, etc., eventually gaining enough experience to take one of the larger, fun, boats out of the harbor, across the channel, to the islands. (This is where they "learn" bow-stern anchoring and 10:1 scope nonsense.) Of course, also buying/supporting a membership to get the best rates, when that boat you wish might actually be available for charter. True, it is one way to gain access to boats and to sailing. But I doubt that I would say "take the ASA 101" course if you want to learn to sail UNLESS that person owns a boat that s/he is going to sail. No, I would say, as others here have, look around for a public (community/school) program. Do that first. One would probably get more experienced instructors, and much more inexpensive sail time. After that, go to the local YC and get on a racing crew list--and SHOW UP ON TIME for every race for which the skipper needs crew, at least for a full series or full season. This is probably a couple of year's worth, and go from there--with some knowledge!
So your question. Is it helping or hurting? To the degree that businesses are able to form schools and gather up most of the newly interested to insert them into buying charters and memberships via ASA certifications, etc., it hurts, and is hurting now. It is NOT really providing access as much as it is selling access to the naïve. Charter companies are effectively impeding access to many clients who have not done that coursework, at least if new. The insurance folks have gotten the notion that making everyone take an ASA-something course (e.g., Catamaran sailing) reduces liability. Does it? It that the only way now it can be done? I managed to escape it here in the US and Canada b/c I started chartering early, in the early 1990s, initially locally (St. Petersburg, FL), so have a chartering record to submit. The commercial schools, IMHO, have all but cornered the entry-sailing "market", even if one is a boat owner. Yes- sailing courses are good; recommending a new person to go straight to an ASA school is not good. IMHO.