Equity within U.S. higher education is examined in three parts: Practices, Principles, and Policies. Public/private problems, attendance variables, and public subsidies to higher education are included in the Practices section. Part 2, Principles, discusses the place of philosophy, meanings of equity, remedying discrimination, and equality of opportunity. It is argued that equality of opportunity requires access to occupational positions and rewards for all students in spite of disparities in social class, geography, or handicap. The last section, Policies, focuses on problems, practices and principles, the policy content within higher education, issues for policy development (test scores, motivation and aspirations, availability and costs, and geographical disparities), and moral obligation and public policy. Among other things it is suggested that elementary and secondary school counseling services could influence aspirations and motivation. The California system, with its low cost and wide availability to minority and low-income students, is discussed as the best example of state responsibility for public higher education. Appendices include student enrollment from 1948 to 1978, college enrollment rates of 18 to 24-year-olds from 1948 to 1978, high school noncompletion rates, college enrollment rates by family income, graduate and professional school enrollment, minority representation in graduate business school enrollments, enrollment rates by geography and cohort 18 to 24 for 1976, enrollment in two-year colleges as a percent of total college enrollment for 1976, and per student spending by state. (CC)