TS&M:
I did get cont.ing ed., & I'm not in your area (I'm in SW Kentucky). I'll pitch some ideas anyway.
1.) If Peter teaches as well as I suspect he does, his students aren't insecure enough to 'need' AOW to achieve marginal competency.
2.) You talk about Puget Sound a lot as your local diving, and if I recall correctly, it's cold and there are tides and currents to think about with some shore diving there? Now, since a lot of people certify with tropical vacations in mind, I gotta ask...how many of Peter's former students are picking up AOW in Cozumel, etc..., because it's easier and a nicer environment without as much exposure protection needed?
3.) Some people want AOW because they are insecure from OW, from what I read on ScubaBoard. I was a bit insecure myself. These people may want to get better, but not be threatened with a course that's too hard, or they're apt to fail. Hellooooooo, tropical vacation resort course in the Caribbean...
4.) Some want AOW to significantly advance their skills. I'd expect these people to come back to Peter.
5.) Some may want an experienced pro. on hand as they explore different kinds of diving (as I did, taking the PADI Deep specialty, heading down to 130 feet in Bonaire not knowing how susceptible to narcosis I would prove to be. IIRC you are susceptible shallower than many, or used to be, so you can see my point).
6.) Some want an AOW 'license' to dive deep on charter boats. I saw 2 guys turned down for a deep wreck out of Key Largo because they only had AOW, and weren't packing logbooks to support experience (Captain did offer to look if they had them). But do people often need an AOW cert. to dive Puget Sound? What about coastal California?
7.) Nitrox is the 'license to get nitrox fills.' Often recommended.
8.) The Rescue course may be off-putting as the name suggests you might be expected to function as a life-guard, and a lot of people do not like to intercede in emergency situations. This is not a complimentary observation on human nature, but a lot of people don't want to assess traumatic injuries, clamp off bleeders, do CPR, take high level responsibility, etc...
9.) Most rec. divers don't go into technical diving from what I understand.
10.) I would expect Peter would be teaching some dry suit courses. Does he teach dry suit in the OW course? I was thinking that can be done...
So, considering your students' competency at the end of OW training, your local diving community, how commonly people need nitrox, how often AOW is required to dive a boat or site, how cold & off-putting the conditions are compared to Cozumel or Bonaire (cold water divers can argue all the day long how they wouldn't trade their local ice holes for the tropics; the rest of us buy plane tickets...), and whether they actually need the training in a given cert. (Dry Suit Diver) to meet a diving need...what do you figure the reasons are?
Richard.
P.S.: One more question; I take it you think many of them should be pursing continuing ed., here's the flip question - why do you think they should?