Higher education is trapped in a time warp -- a pre-Gutenberg era where instructional information is mostly transmitted by word of mouth. New information technologies present a critical challenge which cannot be ignored if higher education is to succeed or even survive. Increasingly diverse college students are beginning to think and act like consumers interested in job skills that have relevance beyond the classroom. At the same time, confidence in higher education has turned to cynicism as the public decries soaring costs and declining quality. New competition will be created by communication companies with extensive electronic networks and the funds for the best educators, equipment, and data bases. The convergence of the problems of new students, public distrust, and new competitors poses a challenge to higher education which can only be met if colleges use the new information technologies to transform classrooms and teaching technologies. To succeed, faculty overcome their own fears and resistance to technology and alter the way they teach and the way students learn. Technology can help higher education link access and excellence by tailoring learning to the diverse student needs and styles, while also allowing colleges to respond to critics by containing costs and improving quality. Most of all, it can confound potential competitors by freeing up faculty to spend more time on activities most valued by students -- advising, counseling, mentoring, and collaborating. (KP)