ABSTRACT
In almost all countries, developing as well as developed, public demand has put pressures on universities and governments for wider and more equal access to the benefits of higher education. As more people see higher education as the door to success, wealth, power, happiness, or even survival, the question has become more pressing and more politically urgent. The educational process has changed so much that educators talk of “delivery systems” in higher education as though it were a bottling business or a postal service. Nations approaching mass access have sought to improve lower-level schooling and to widen the pool of potential candidates for higher education by making it possible for all young people to attend secondary schools. As more people enter postsecondary education, concern grows over how to achieve and maintain high standards. Higher education is, and must remain, involved in the pursuit of excellence.
