Might be good if they set standards, as noted above by ColinsMum. In fact, some public universities already offer free full tuition for good students. Take these two for example:

http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out_of_state.html

http://admissions.temple.edu/sites/...88_1213_scholarship_info_sheet_FINAL.pdf

I wish that all public institutions (or at least more) would offer free tuition for SATs of 1400+ or ACTs of 32+. Maybe my kid would have gone to a public college and would have saved us a bundle.