Higher Education Access

Access to higher education is becoming increasingly open for all individuals in society, regardless of socio-economic background, race, or, in many cases, academic performance. There are reasons for this opening of access. One is the enormous influence of technology. Another is the increasing corporatization of Higher Education, where institutions of higher learning have formed relationships with corporate America in the drive to increase profits and take advantage of greater economies of scale. Further, college admissions are on a downswing which makes competition among universities intense for new students. This often has the impact of undermining admissions standards and further increases access to higher education. Thus, increasing access to higher education relegates today's debate over affirmative action, admissions standards, and remedial education placement to mere flutters and dust-ups in an ever-optimistic opening of post-secondary education.

Equal access to higher education is a fundamental principle of equality in American society. However, as with other fundamental principles, the definition of equal access has evolved over time largely shaped by federal legislation and Supreme Court decisions. Originally, affirmative action arose because of President Lyndon B. Johnson's desire to integrate society on educational, employment, and economic levels. It was John F. Kennedy who issued Executive Order 10925 to cr

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, black students represented 16.9 percent of the student body at MSU, up from 14.5 percent five years earlier. Delta State University increased the proportion of its black students to 28.5 percent from 24.6 percent. (Hebel 4) We can see from the above statistics that even in institutions of higher learning that have historically denied access to blacks now have black student populations that represent nearly a third of the student body in some cases. In today's competitive, open-access, post-secondary education environment, profitability and budgets are the primary factors of concern. Schools do not willfully discriminate against potential enrollees based on race, however, many schools that do not have the resources to attract teaching talent, provide the latest technology, or refurbish their dilapidated infrastructures are not winning in the enrollee race among colleges. Thus, students are not denied access, but they choose not to attend schools which are resource deprived. Many of these institutions of learning are primarily black colleges and universities. As one Mississippi official states "Mississippi is a poor state with a lot of people who need access to higher education, and cost is a big factor. If we spend

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