ABSTRACT
A paradigm shift is needed within the framework used in public policy to govern and fi nance higher education, including conceptions of control and accountability. Th e frequently used pipeline concept is based on studies of students who make it through the system; it assumes that the system can be changed to one that expands opportunity by off ering advanced high school courses, requiring a college preparatory diploma, and holding colleges accountable for their graduation rates and rewarding colleges with higher rates. Some might also add providing adequate student aid to those commonly held assumptions. As the experience with the Twenty-fi rst Century Scholars Program illustrates (Lumina Foundation, 2008; see also chapters 3 and 6), these changes can expand enrollment, but high school and college drop out remain a serious problem. Even with improvements in preparation and a sustained commitment to student aid in Indiana during the 1990s and early 2000s, there was insuffi cient academic support for underrepresented undergraduates.
