SOTU Fact Check: College Is Less Affordable And Students Are Billions In Debt

In his State of the Union Tuesday night, President Obama claimed his "middle-class economics" would help make college more affordable. But after six years in office, his policies have only made college more expensive.

When Obama first came into office, the average tuition for a four year in state college was $6,591. Today, it is $9139, a 38 percent increase. The growth in tuition for private schools was even higher.

Meanwhile, house hold median income has fallen from  $54,059 when Obama took office to $51,939 today. 

So college tuition has gone up while income has fallen. That is the opposite of making college more affordable.

So how are more Americans sending their kids to college? By mortgaging their future.

Student has exploded under Obama, rising from $669 billion when Obama took office to more than $1.2 trillion today.

And there is evidence that Obama's student debt explosion is a big reason why the Obama recovery has been so sluggish. According to the New York Federal Reserve, borrowers deep in student loan debt are less likely to buy cars or purchase homes than their less-indebted peers. 

Instead of encouraging the private sector to come up with new models for higher and vocational learning, Obama has shutdown educational entrepreneurs at every turn, and instead is attempting to micromanage the existing centuries old higher education system.