In partnership with the American Council on Education's Center for Policy Analysis, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the State Higher Education Executive Officers, the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) has been working to advance the overarching goal of the Changing Direction project, which was to examine how to structure financial aid and financing policies and practices to maximize participation, access, and success for all students. As this project concludes, WICHE is issuing a challenge not only to those who have participated in the project but also to others who are just beginning to think about these important issues. "Thinking Outside the Box: Policy Strategies for Readiness, Access, and Success" provides a systematic discussion of policy alignment around each of these three primary objectives, and examines them in the light of four policy tools: finance, regulation, accountability, and governance. (Contains 6 figures and 65 endnotes.)