Dennis . . . there are Fundies classes, and Fundies classes, and although the class itself is standardized, and the criteria for performance are not only standardized but published, different instructors view the class differently and conduct it differently. And no matter what you do with any agency, there will be a human factor that comes into things, too. People are not the same in how they learn, and some instructors have a greater "toolbox" of teaching strategies than others.
Fundies is a class about simple things done precisely. It becomes stressful because people make too much of it, and often expect too much of themselves. Some of the things in Fundies are things you can learn on your own, or at least optimize on your own before the class. Basic buoyancy and stability in the water are among the things you can do yourself, by just doing a lot of diving, and asking a lot of yourself. If you are having serious trouble establishing the solid platform, a Primer or Essentials class may be a better way of addressing that. A good instructor may well be able to look at you and tell you immediately what you are doing wrong, as Mr. Mudry was able to spot what Kate was doing with her legs. You should get that from a Fundies class, too, but it may well be more frustrating, as Fundies really expects to be able to move on from small corrections to the basic stability into additional skills that allow better team functioning, like precise maneuvering techniques and improved situational awareness and communication.
In my Fundies class, skills ranges from a diver with 8 dives, who had serious trouble staying underwater, to a diver with over 300, whose issue was that he dropped his head during valve drills. No one passed, but I think most of us felt the class was well worth having taken, except perhaps for the 8 dive and 16 dive divers, who were rather overfaced. Primer would have been much better for them, but didn't exist then.
I guess what I am trying to articulate is that Fundies can be frustrating simply because it's as good as it is; to make it "unfrustrating", one would have to drop the standards for performance, which would make it not the class it is any more. But within that, ensuring that you take the class from an instructor who views it the way you want it viewed is important. Some view it as a culling process, to determine who is likely to be successful in more advanced GUE classes. Others view it as a chance to teach and nurture and develop up and coming divers. It's not really very difficult to find out how each instructor approaches the class, but you do have to talk to the students privately, because there is a definite reluctance to state anything which might be construed as negative about a GUE instructor, or at least state it in public.
I had a horrible time in my Cave 2 class. I was ill-prepared and picked precisely the wrong instructor FOR ME. I have friends who took the class from the same person and love him to pieces. It IS individual; it always will be, because teaching is a very human thing.