Access is one of the most important issues facing higher education in the West.
The huge increase in the demand for higher education services now cresting the horizon will severely tax the capacity of our system to serve those needs. The number of high school graduates is on the rise in most states, as is the overall rate of participation as more adults continue their education to boost their skills or facilitate a career change. Growth in demand also comes from disadvantaged populations that haven't previously participated in higher education, a cohort that needs our support. We simply cannot afford, either economically or socially, to relegate to future generations of young people the same continuity of disadvantage that their parents experienced.