The selections in this volume explore the debates surrounding issues of affordability, access, and accountability in higher education. The contributors identify these issues as the three key policy issues facing public higher education in the opening years of the new century. Following an introduction, "The Changing Dynamics of Affordability, Access, and Accountability in Public Higher Education" by Donald E. Heller, the chapters are: (1) "Trends in the Affordability of Public Colleges and Universities: The Contradiction of Increasing Prices and Increasing Enrollment" (Donald E. Heller); (2) "The Paradox of College Prices: Five Stories with No Clear Lesson" (Michael Mumper); (3) "Reforming the Ways in Which States Finance Higher Education" (Arthur M. Hauptman); (4) "Reframing Access and Opportunity: Problematic State and Federal Higher Education Policy in the 1990s" (Patrick. M. Callan); (5) "Time for Retreat or Renewal? Perspectives on the Effects of 'Hopwood' on Campus" (Sylvia Hurtado and Heather Wathington Cade); (6) "The Contemporary Politics of Access Policy: California after Proposition 209" (Brian Pusser); (7) "Public Policy and Accountability in Higher Education: Lessons from the Past and Present for the New Millennium" (William Zumeta); (8) "A Study in Tension: State Assessment and Public Colleges and Universities" (Michael Nettles and John Cole); and (9) "The Call for Public Accountability: Rethinking the Linkages to Student Outcomes" (Edward P. St. John, Kimberly A. Kline, and Eric H. Asker). A conclusion, "Technology and the Future of Public Higher Education Policy" by Donald E. Heller considers the impact of technology in the context of these issues. Each chapter contains references. (Contains 22 tables and 21 figures.) (SLD)