Postsecondary education in the Canadian Northwest Territories is currently the responsibility of a single, multicampus institution, Arctic College. The college serves a population of 58,000 people, representing 7 cultures and languages and living in 3 time zones, in a geographical area that comprises one-third the land mass of Canada. While universities in the "southern" provinces have long focused research on the Canadian Arctic and serve some residents of the Territories through distance or in-person education, Arctic College is the primary source of adult literacy education; trades training; and human services and business education, including employment enhancement skills training. Arctic College currently has headquarters in Yellowknife and six campuses. In response to recent political decisions, which will separate the Territories into two distinct political entities, Arctic College itself is separating into two distinct postsecondary institutions, with two headquarters, one in Iqaluit and one in Fort Smith, effective April 1994. The challenges to those responsible for higher education in the Territories requires serious creativity to enable the colleges to work within a complex framework of emerging self-determination, community-based services, changing governance, and finite economic resources. This report provides background information on the economy, demographics, and availability of higher education in the Northwest Territories, a brief discussion of organizations involved in research on the Northwest Territories, a history of Arctic College, and a discussion of future concerns. (Contains 70 references.) (Author/ECC)