The dilemma of maintaining academic standards as well as open access policies is discussed in this paper with respect to the causes of and possible solutions to the problem. Trends leading to the standards/open access dilemma are first considered, including the dominant belief in the 1950's that education served to select and groom the most academically talented students; the efforts undertaken in the 1960's and 1970's to change this elitism by stressing open access to education; and the concurrent deterioration of academic standards. The paper then looks at current disillusionment with open access policies and examines the failure of colleges to change common educational practices that cannot adequately deal with the wide variety of skill levels possessed by today's student body. As an example, the paper details the inability of fixed semester and letter grading systems to accommodate the varying learning rates of students and to motivate them toward success. The remainder of the paper discusses the efforts of Miami-Dade Community College to provide an instructional program incorporating both standards and open access policies. These efforts include the placement of students at a level that offers them realistic chances for success; the use of computers to monitor student progress and to provide feedback; the enforcement of academic warnings and suspensions; and the development of a state funding formula based on clock rather than credit hours. (JP)