This paper explores the impact of recent economic volatility on higher education and discusses the lessons learned and the strategies for the future. The author believes that America's higher education is in danger, but has an extraordinary opportunity. Several reports point to the country's lagging behind other advanced countries in educational performance, high school graduation rates, and assessment scores of students in math. But before educators let young people inherit a world of rising costs, inequalities in teacher quality, lack of access to educational opportunity for low-income and minority students and poor use of student information to improve educational achievement, educators need to realize the opportunity they have. President Obama, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and the author, under secretary in the U.S. Department of Education, are committed to giving all students the opportunity to enter an open door to advance his or her education after high school. The Obama administration also has unveiled a simplified FAFSA application and will be making further changes so it is easier to apply for student aid. Additionally, they will support community colleges to increase access, quality and student achievement, using best practices and evidence-based innovations.