Despite recession, economic displacement, and corporate downsizing, the demand for higher education in the United States continues to grow. In 1995, there were 14.5 million people seeking higher education, compared to 11.5 million in 1980 and 3.5 million in 1960. Moreover, the relationship between educational attainment and gaining employment has never been stronger. In 1979, for example, a male college graduate earned 49% more than a similar man with only a high school education, while in 1992 he earned 83% more. In the current political climate, however, cuts in federal student aid are likely. With respect to educational funding in the state of Ohio, cuts in staff of the House of Representatives have eliminated subcommittees and staff familiar with existing educational programs, making it easier to defund programs. According to national surveys, there is near universal agreement on the importance of a college education for finding a good job, but a growing sense that opportunities to attend college are declining and will get worse. In this climate of uncertainty, the quantitative, numerically-based assessment movement has taken hold, with the determination of program need often reduced to the terms of "too much duplication." The battle to preserve program funding, however, is a battle for access, and educators must remember that access of opportunity is the purpose of public institutions of higher education. (HAA)