Current trends in higher education, specifically those related to the changing characteristics of students and the impact of those changes on colleges and universities, are addressed. Three distinct trends contributing to the changing characteristics of college students are: the decline of 18-year-olds in the population, the rising proportion of new students in the college population, and the increase in adult part-time learners. New students have resulted from equal opportunity and the expansion of open admissions community colleges. These trends will affect colleges differentially, depending on whether they serve national or local clientele, whether they are located in areas of declining or growing population, and what kinds of students they attract or are prepared to attract. Factors that can be considered in projecting college enrollments are demographic trends and the type of college. Demographic trends behind the adult education movement and characteristics of adult learners are described. The analysis also considers: how the labor market will affect education, differences between actual learners and those who say they are interested in education but who are not currently participating, advantages that would result from funding education information centers, characteristics of the new students, and the lack of federal effort to acknowledge the social desirability of lifelong learning and adult education. (SW)