(Source: University of Virginia)Public universities have morphed from state funded to state assisted to state located. Take the University of Virginia, for example. Think Richmond pours resources into its shining jewel, one of the most respected schools in America? Guess again---the state funds a measly 8 percent of the university's operating budget. So in essence, UVA functions primarily as a private institution.



Now some publics are considering cutting ties with their state governments altogether. They seek the autonomy to set their own tuition levels, regulate their own spending policies and admit exactly whom they want. To again use UVA as an example, the state froze tuition increases four of the past eight years, all while reducing its own revenue stream. That sound fair? So the onus shifts to the universities, requiring them to raise more private money and secure grants.

And raise tuition, thereby passing the costs on to students and families. That's the real fear among opponents of privatization, that top public universities will become even more elitist than they already are, in the process squeezing out the middle and lower classes. Some flagship publics now resemble privates in terms of student affluence, and tuition hikes could further widen the gap.

Nobody's found an easy solution to this mess.