As governmental support and funding continues to decline the state university system is being forced into seeking out new sources of revenue. Staples such as ‘amateur’ athletics and public/private sector research are rapidly being supplanted by an arms race for wealthier students with a downplayed emphasis on academic proficiency.

In theory public universities provide a low-cost education to students in their home states. Financial aid goes to students with the greatest need and offers them a gateway to the middle class.

This quasi-public utility mindset is evolving into one of privilege. The cause? Reduced funding from state governments combined with institutions seeking status and rankings. The result? Universities choosing to spend financial aid dollars to lure affluent out-of-state students who pay higher tuition.

Consider what’s happened at the University of South Carolina where funding from the state house in Columbia has been cut in half over the past decade. A student from the Palmetto State can expect to pay about $11,000 vs. an out-of-state student who faces a retail price tag of about $29,000. Instead of USC offering a financially disadvantaged in-state student a free education that $11,000 can be offered to the out-of-state student independent of his/her financial need. The result is a slot in the incoming freshman class filled by a student not necessarily because of academic aptitude but because of the net $18,000 to the university.

New America – an organization that describes itself as “dedicated to the renewal of American politics, prosperity and purpose in the digital age through big ideas, technological innovation, next generation politics and creative engagement” has issued this report further detailing America’s evolving public university system.