This paper offers an examination of the transformation of higher education over the last century with a focus on some current tensions and some ideas for responding to the rapidly changing environment. Early sections of the paper describe the "massification" of higher education in which 40 to 50 percent of the population participate in postsecondary studies. The paper outlines two stages of massification. In the first stage there are universities and "the others." (e.g., California's three distinct institutional types within its postsecondary system). In the second stage there is differentiation within the institutions. However, differentiation also results in pressures for accountability, increased regulation, and a distinction between teaching and research. The paper argues that increasing costs will be the most substantial challenge to mass higher education. It is predicted that revenues will increase at a rate lower than required to maintain the quality, scope, and method of production at current levels. The paper suggests that these concerns have been ignored or denied to date. The paper outlines 11 propositions to more effectively make the transition to the future. The first four are technical and cost-related. The last seven are based on accountability, cost effectiveness, productivity and responsiveness. (JB)