The President hitting education hard on the campaign trail today at the University of Michigan: an issue he touched on during his State of the Union address on Tuesday.

“Higher education can't be a luxury,” said the President. “It is an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford."

The President vowed in his first year of office the country would have the highest number of graduates in the world by 2020.

According to Harvard University, nearly 70% of high school students go to college within two years of graduating high school.

And a small but growing number of high schools require students to take college entrance exams.

Everybody seems to be on the college bandwagon.

But should everybody go to college?

And is college the right of every American?

The numbers say there is every reason to think we are over-selling college in our society.

Consider this: federal data shows fewer than 60% of new students graduate from four-year colleges in six years, and just one in three community college students earn a degree.

More than 350,000 students who borrowed for college in 1995 had no degree six years later.

That's according to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.

It's time for us to start considering that many students are wasting time and money.

Of those who do graduate, many emerge burdened with debt that will take them years to pay off: some $24,000 on average, a burden that too often means the delay of marriage, children and home buying.

Yes, college degreed workers are more likely to be employed in this economy.

But it's no guarantee of a job, and college grads don't always make more money than people without four-year degrees.

In fact a college degree is no guarantee of wealth. About 25% of those with bachelor degrees make less money than those

My view is this: we are just way too sentimental about "Old Ivy" and the value of the education students are getting these days.

The college dropout rate exceeds the graduation rate.

What's more, the jobs of the new economy, advanced manufacturing jobs, won't require college education, but will require training.

Look, I don't begrudge people getting degrees, but I also don't think everybody has to do it.

Costs have spiraled so dramatically, up 57% in twelve years, the average tuition and fees expenditure for a private non-profit school is $28,000.

Meanwhile, more and more students are defaulting on their debt.

According to the Education Department, student loan default rates have risen to 9%.

More debt, fewer degrees. And job insecurity.

Students should be encouraged to do what they do best, not forced to pursue a degree they may not want or need.