During the three presidential debates this fall, both John McCain and Barack Obama opened by thanking their university hosts. If not for their locations, it's likely one would not have heard the words "college," "university," or "higher education" even uttered in the debates. Indeed, it wasn't until the final debate that Senator McCain mentioned…

Never before has a college degree been more essential to an individual's prosperity in the United States. Nor have colleges ever been asked to play a more crucial part in preparing citizens for a global economy. Yet finding a way to erase persisting inequities in who earns a college degree has proved difficult. With a new generation that is more…