We can no longer afford the inequities that have long characterized our system of education. According to Charles E.M. Kolb, the pipeline isn?t just leaking; it is gushing. As our need for educated workers grows, the American workforce is going to come increasingly from the ethnic groups that have been least well served at all levels of American education. By 2020, some 30 percent of our working-age population will be African-American or Hispanic, nearly double the percentage in 1980. And for these students, writes Charles E.M. Kolb, the pipeline isn?t just leaking; it is gushing. With their eyes on the global competition, America?s business leaders may be uniquely positioned to appreciate the urgency of the current situation. It is, thus, incumbent upon them to make the case to politicians and the public for systemic higher education reform -- for the investments necessary to ensure that (1) more students receive better preparation for higher education, (2) institutions of higher education are affordable, particularly for disadvantaged students, (3) col leges and universities have the commitment and capacity to educate all students who are motivated and eligible to attend, and (4) financial and academic support is provided to help students graduate Note: Download pdf at http://www.ced.org/docs/report/report_highered.pdf