America's great public universities were founded with the highest expectations of academic excellence and service to their states. Overall, these institutions, often called the "flagship universities," do a poor job of ensuring that undergraduate students engage in an intellectually vibrant campus culture and leave with a solid foundation of common skills and knowledge. This report examines 52 top-rated institutions to separate reputation from results. Findings show that too many leading, publicly-funded institutions do not provide students with high academic quality at a reasonable price. Bloated administrative costs, shaky curricula, outsized athletic spending, and misplaced priorities have created a campus environment where too many students graduate ill-prepared, with record debt, and years later than they should--if they graduate at all. Not all schools have succumbed to the disturbing academic trends this report documents, making it clear that America's great public universities can do better. Recommendations include: (1) Understand Your Role in Strengthening Public Higher Education; and (2) Action Steps. The following are appended: (1) Criteria for Evaluating Core Courses; and (2) School Evaluation Notes for Core Courses. [This report was written with the assistance of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE).]