State University No More: Out-of-State Enrollment and the Growing Exclusion of High-Achieving, Low-Income Students at Public Flagship Universities

Public flagship state universities have long been the dominant “engines of social mobility” for high-achieving, low-income students. These institutions were founded to provide what University of Michigan President James Angell referred to in the late 1800s as “an uncommon education for the common man” who could not afford tuition at elite private institutions. Unfortunately, policy reports by The Education Trust and the New America Foundation argue that many public flagship state universities are abandoning their historical commitment to access for talented moderate- and low-income students. This report argues that many public flagship universities today are prioritizing affluent out-of-state students, who are charged higher tuition, over the moderate- and low-income state residents who they were created to serve.