A curriculum with more clock hours is going to cost all parties involved more money. Tuitions will have to be raised if schools are to provide longer programs. That will make it more difficult for prospective students to afford massage school. Those receiving Federal student loans and other financial assistance will graduate with more debt. Is more debt a good thing? Usually not, except in the case of politicians and government.
The operative question is: will the graduate of a longer program, burdened with more debt, be able to go out into the field and make significantly more money than a graduate of today's programs? This is where the theory breaks down. Are the massage franchises going to automatically start paying more to graduates who have more hours on their school transcripts? Massage Envy currently has a corporate policy that does not allow individual franchises to pay a newly-hired therapist more – even if they have years of professional practice experience. It's doubtful more training would convert to better wages.
Are hospitals, chiropractors, clinics, spas and cruise ships going to raise the compensation paid to massage therapists because they have more hours of training? Will the public pay 50% more for massage because the therapist has, say 750 hours instead of 500? Will the marketplace support increased prices for massage? The real-world perspective is a resounding "NO."
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