We've been puzzled for decades by those who complain about the state of American education. Sure, you can point to students who underperform and yet are graduated. And that's only one theme of criticism. But we've always felt that it was unfair to be comparing the underperforming or average student of, say, 2010, with the average college student or high achieving student of, say, 1950. Instead, how do today's top students compare to those of yesteryear; and how many of today's students would never even have been able to matriculate in 1950?

Philip G. Atlbach writes (PDF), in the current issue of International Higher Education, about the inevitability of inequality that derives from increasing access. It's worth a read for perspective's sake:

The reality of postsecondary education, in an era of access combined with fiscal constraint and ever-increasing costs, is that inequality within higher education systems is here to stay. Most countries have or are creating differentiated systems of higher education that will include different kinds of institutions serving specific needs. This process is inevitable and largely positive. However, the research universities at the top of any system tend to serve an elite clientele and have high status, while institutions lower in the hierarchy cater to students who cannot compete for the limited seats at the top. Major and growing differences exist in funding, quality, and facilities within systems. Given financial and staffing constraints, institutional inequalities will continue. Students will come from more diverse backgrounds and in many ways will be more difficult to serve effectively.

All of these issues constitute a deep contradiction for 21st-century higher education. As access expands, inequalities within the higher education system also grow. Conditions of study for many students deteriorate. More of them fail to obtain degrees. The economic benefits assumed to accrue to persons with a postsecondary qualification probably decline for many. Access remains an important goal—and an inevitable goal—of higher education everywhere, but it creates many challenges.