While I may disagree about whether you may or may not need any digital experience in school (I do think it can be very helpful, though...I do TEACH digital illustration), I do agree that the most important thing you can study is design and composition (I would add drawing to that list as well). Any media is simply a tool in the hand of a visionary.
Those two elements Drawing and Composition/Design are the most important strengths I see lacking in the students that sign up for my class. And unfortunately, they're not ones that the curriculum can solve, especially the drawing part. It is one of the reasons that I emphasize walking through the image making process of thumbnailing, generating and collecting reference, creating a comp and then doing the final. This gives the student the experience of learning about the processes of composition, researching and developing design possibilities within a project of relatively limited subject matter. Plus it's a lot more fun than regurgitating rote projects. This also gives students the opportunity to see how their weaknesses impact their ability to generate work and then what they need to practice and learn to become proficient.
If you'll dig through his blog, you will find many examples of how Mr. Stockton developed his imagery.
Having a profound understanding and a protracted development period of Drawing and Design is what makes the difference in a student who graduates with a professional portfolio ready to pursue their chosen career and a student who has to likely set themselves up for a future that they didn't think they were choosing (see megastore night stocker).
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