The article presents a set of scenarios for universities and higher education in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) area. The first section gives a brief overview of the main forces currently at play in higher education in OECD countries, setting the context in which speculation about the future takes place. The second section discusses the purposes of a scenario-building exercise, the methodology used and (some of) its caveats. This suggests the need to rework the equality of educational opportunity project and situate the project globally as well as nationally. (Contains 4 tables, 2 figures, and 6 notes.)