Considering the heritage Americans been given, they have both the resources and the responsibility to meet the challenges faced as the United States struggles to regain--or sustain--its world leadership in postsecondary education. The growing importance of education has led to a lot of public attention and churning, almost chaotic policy initiatives. The author briefly discusses the history of postsecondary education and how the world has changed over the past 40 years when it comes to affording and meeting educational goals. The author also discusses the standards and assessments movements that have occurred in postsecondary education. He presents ideas on changes to meet the twenty first-century imperatives for postsecondary education.