The current status of minority enrollment in higher education and specific concerns that affect students and the institution are examined. Minority enrollment at different institutional levels, in different fields of study, and over different periods of time is examined. Findings reveal a more complex pattern of gains and slowdowns than gross statistics for the last decade indicate. Hispanics and women continue to increase their share of the total enrollment, but blacks experience a slackening momentum. The policy framework created by legislation and litigation on issues affecting student access is considered, and the following three related issues are examined: the pool of minority applicants; designing more equitable admission procedures; and retaining minority students through graduation. Minority groups, especially blacks and Hispanics, suffer from inadequate secondary school preparation and counseling and from economic and psychometric barriers. They are disproportionately overrepresented in two-year institutions and underrepresented in four-year colleges and graduate and professional schools. Measures of particular applicability to specific minority group concern must reflect a sensitivity to an institution's own makeup and institutional role. Such measures require an internal system of data gathering to indicate enrollment trends and retention problems; recruitment of faculty and professional staff trained in teaching or counseling poorly prepared students and sensitive to diverse minority group needs; and development of campus services responsive to the linguistic and cultural traditions of minority students. A bibliography is appended. (SW)