I agree…not all MS programs are created equally.
He had the option of course based only, and the Stanford ME MS was course based only at the time. He was offered a funded position on a project used by the aerospace industry and the military. He was ahead enough that he finished in 5 years, but had he not been way ahead, he wouldn’t have.
The cautionary tale is, no matter what they call it, the amount of time it takes to finish is the amount of time it takes to finish.