The steady expansion of college enrollment rates over the last generation has been heralded as a major step toward reducing chronic economic disparities. But many of the policies that broadened access to higher education--including affirmative action, open admissions, and need-based financial aid--have come under attack in recent years by critics…

Two overlapping nationwide studies, one funded by the Ford Foundation and the other by the U.S. Department of Education, provide information covering policies, procedures, and practices that enhance or impede the academic success of minority students in universities and community colleges. Topics include understanding the problem of minority…