The only hard-and-fast rule I can think of is to research the instructor. Though a lot of impressive publication doesn't mean anybody knows what they're talking about, I'd avoid anyone with very little publication history. If I wanted to write for a wide audience, I'd also avoid anyone who's published only in small literary journals.
I know more professional writers without MFAs than with, and MFA programs are easy to make fun of because so much bad writing comes out of them; but if the student's got a knack for writing (no way around that one) and puts in the time (no way around that one, either), and the teacher's good, I can see the benefit being worth the investment. In that circumstance, a well-placed instructor can also be a business contact.
This strikes me as very sound advice. My MA program was recommended by an undergrad prof I respected. Going in knowing nothing about the program's current teachers, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I took workshops in fiction, poetry, and playwriting, and while it's true none of the work I produced in grad school has sold, I did develop the habit of reading more closely, to really get at how and why a piece worked. I apply this today polishing work in a variety of genres.
The bottom line is and always has been exploring your writing territory. Which stuff comes easy to you? Which is a challenge? How many topics can you personally possibly write about? Which advice should you follow? Classes can teach you to ask the right questions; the answers are most often found elsewhere.
My motivation for teaching is to provide a good foundation on which writers themselves can build.
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