re: I could consider a LIMITED student loan relief program, under one condition: Fix it.

Brother in law, is a professor and dept head.

Big issue is baby boomers are gone.
Less kids going to school than in the 50’s and early 60’s.
Private Colleges have to consolidate courses sometimes working with other private schools.
They kind of screwed themselves as they cannot react to the market.

As far as vocational schools they are not enough. Example diesel truck & trailer repair. They have UTI, Lincoln tech, and Wyo-tech which are regional schools. You have holes in areas like South Louisiana. BRCC tries, but they don’t have the industry support needed. When I went to school I lived in a major city and went to Mack dealer training. Then the dealer I worked for along with other dealers worked with the community college to make sure trucks were there along with instructors. You learned the book side an example how an Hvac or ac system works. Still need to go to the shop, diagnose why an Ac systems not working, use the tools properly and fix the truck. It is hard to do nationwide. Small independent shops don’t have the manpower to invest in students. Dealers cannot find young adults that are willing to stay to invest in.

At my age I do not want to do it.
If I did I would have a shop that the 2nd shift 2 to 11pm was a school. Work with truck mfg and dealers to train people how to work on customers trucks. Get older techs that want to stay in the repair business, but cannot physically do it anymore. They would supervise the student. They would get paid a smaller salary to learn, but I would bill out my full shop rate.