Perspectives on the context and results of the investigation conducted by the National Commission on Excellence in Education are presented. It is noted that the Commission's analysis sought to determine the extent to which colleges fail to set and maintain high standards, and the extent to which they fail to make their measures and benchmarks of performance clear. It is suggested that six key standards for higher education pertain to: the use and allocation of time for academic learning, the content in the disciplines, the level of academic performance expected of students, preparation of teachers, interinstitutional cooperation, and institutional behavior that is subject to ethical and value judgment. It is claimed that higher education institutions are not maintaining the standards of time, content, expectations, cooperation, and ethical behavior commensurate with their responsibilities. Some of the study areas and findings of the Commission are described, and 12 factors that might account for the evidence are cited. These include the following: the budgets of most colleges are driven by enrollments, resulting in the dilution of both admission and graduation requirements; there has been an excess of vocational and preprofessional curricula of very narrow scope; and most undergraduate curricula are not coherent courses of study. (SW)