An open admissions policy for the City University of New York was approved by the University's Board of Higher Education in 1969, ushering in a new era of greater access to college for the city's poor and working class Blacks, Latinos, and white youth. This policy change was made in response to demands from students, civil rights organizations, minority elected officials, and civic organizations for access to higher education for historically underserved populations in the city. It also satisfied the political exigencies of the time, allowing the city and Mayor John Lindsay, who was seeking to tamp down civil unrest, to support open admissions as a response to the demands of the civil rights movement. As part of the implementation of open admissions, CUNY developed an infrastructure to support remedial work for students starting college without adequate academic skills. Almost thirty years after the open admissions proposal was approved, in a markedly different political climate, the CUNY Trustees voted to end remediation at the system's baccalaureate degree-granting colleges, bringing the era of open admissions to an end. This time, the decision was made in response to the demands of the Mayor and Governor and strong advocacy on the part of some of the City's media. The debate took place within the context of a shift away from programs for the disadvantaged and back toward the focus on quality and prestige that had been CUNY's hallmark before 1969. Both the vote to institute open admissions and the vote to remediation came at the end of a highly visible, highly contested policy debate in which internal and external constituents weighed in, the mainstream media highlighted the debate, and city and state elected officials played a significant role. As well, both policy debates were highly ideological in nature, with Board members and other participants acting on deeply held beliefs regarding the mission and purposes of public higher education. This comparative case study discusses both decisions within their larger social context, considering how they were shaped by politics and the ideologies of the respective CUNY Boards and key constituencies. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]