This is my first day here, and I did post the same without knowing. Our students would be made well aware of the fierce protectionism of the industry. If you are a person that has always wanted to dive, but can't afford the thousand bucks by the time you finish your certification, then you probably won't mind the few dives you get with us.
I spent about $500 to get certified, including rental gear for my OW dives. I spent another $30 on "personal gear" (mask fins snorkel) so it doesn't have to cost a lot. (I don't count the cost of purchasing gear I didn't need to buy.) I even got reasonably decent (though not fantastic) training.
As far as non-profits not supporting any businesses exclusively, that's a load of nonsense. Non-profits make partnerships all the time. You may be prohibited from having an exclusivity clause in that partnership, but that doesn't mean you can't deal with existing agencies just because it might be construed as "preferential" or some other silliness.
I'm all for finding a cheaper way to teach people to do this. If I could get air fills without an agency card I probably would have gone out and taught myself, like so many other things I've learned. That's not really a good way for the masses to learn this potentially deadly sport, however; if for no other reason than it simply doesn't work well in large numbers.
The simple fact is, however, that there is more to this sport than what you can learn on the internet. Sure, you can swipe all the non-copyrighted materials out there and put together an "online learning" program but it won't make divers. The internet can't give you a feeling of panic that so many newbs get when they first get wet. The internet can't give a sense of support and calm reassurance when the panic sets in, like a real instructor can. The internet can't give you a sense of wonder when you take that first breath, or see that first shark, or touch that first deck rail on a wreck. The internet can do a lot of things, but it simply can't make divers. To do that, you will need real instructors.
If you have instructors already affiliated with different agencies, why not let them teach to their agency standards and give the c-cards as appropriate? By the way, NAUI is a non-profit organization.
Maybe I'm being too pessimistic and reading more into this than I should but I get the feeling this is really just a way to stop paying instructor fees and the like.