Fox Business host Liz Claman suggested that students should attend less expensive colleges as a solution to the mounting student debt problem, a recommendation that does not comport with facts about higher education costs.

Commenting on President Obama's speech concerning the importance of finding loan solutions for students and families, Claman argued that parents ought to prioritize “finding a less expensive college” during their university search. From the May 31 edition of Fox News' America's Newsroom:

Claman's argument that aspiring college students should base their choices on tuition costs has little value since education costs are increasing across the board. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the average cost of attendance (tuition, room and board) for the 2010-11 academic year at a public university was about $13,600. This rate represented a 42 percent inflation-adjusted increase from the 2000-01 year.

The growing costs have already altered students' choices about where to attend school. More than four in 10 college students are already choosing less selective college options to avoid mountains of debt. Many students opt for public over private universities based on cost calculations, but they still graduate with too much debt and too few employment options.

Claman's argument is even less valuable to the more than 37 million American students and parents who already carry student loans. According to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the share of 25 year olds with outstanding student debt increased from just 25 percent in 2003 to 43 percent in 2012. The average debt balance-per-student increased from $10,649 to $20,326 during that period -- a 91 percent increase.

Meanwhile, median annual earnings among full-time workers aged 25 to 34 with a bachelor's degree have dropped -- from 2000-2010, earnings fell 12.2 percent among men and 9.5 percent among women.

With interest rates set to double on July 1, from 3.4 to 6.8 percent on subsidized federal loans, tens of millions of Americans need real time solutions, not empty suggestions that ignore reality.