Higher education and its impact during times of societal changes is addressed within the context of studying student behavior and the institution's adaptation to new social issues. To help do this, an institution of higher education needs an assessment of the socio-psychological makeup of university students, their personalities, their longitudinal change and development during their university years, their value systems, and their subcultures, within the context of societal changes. The Omnibus Personality Inventory (OPI) results in a profile on 14 scales, all within the realm of normality, and is useful for psychologically describing individuals and subgroups in terms of attitudes, values, and interests particularly relevant to the socio-psychological and intellectual ego-functioning of university students. Six studies have used the OPI to analyze different youth subgroups involved in social changes of the past. Higher education is often the intermediary, the go-between, during times of social change when value systems are coming into question. How higher education addresses these issues can effect the future direction of social systems, society itself, and even internationalism. If higher education cannot encourage and accommodate innovation, this inability inevitably will lead to stagnant conditions on and off the campus. Contains 15 references. (GLR)