Although there is widespread public faith in the value of higher education, the progress of massifcation has been slow and uneven.

And why is it slow and uneven?

Well, one, higher education did not admit significant numbers of racial and ethnic minorities until after the civil rights of the 1960s forced change.

Second, despite significant expenditures on financial aid, minority and low income individuals are still less likely to attend college than whites or students from middle-and upper-income families.

Although access gaps have nowadays narrowed somewhat, large gaps remain between completion rates.

Low-income students come to college less prepared, and must balance academic demands with work and family responsibilities.

Finding ways to increase the enrollment rates of low-income students and encourage their success once enrolled are two of the most important problems facing American higher education.

One of the challenges to meet these goals is that they can conflict with the other central tenets of American higher education.

That is market competition and resistance to government control, as I said before.

For example, institutional competition for the most academically talented students is likely to encourage increased use of tuition discounting for students who have no financial need, and this could divert resources away from low-income students who need financial aid.