Worldwide, enrolment in higher education has jumped by 50 per cent since 1999. Some 144 million students were enrolled in tertiary education in 2006, 51 million more than in 1999. It is now commonplace to say that participation rates of 40 to 50 percent in higher education are considered vital to economic growth.

Clearly not all countries and within countries, not all social groups, are benefiting from the massification of higher education. UNESCO's regional Higher Education conferences have asked how higher education can become more accessible to cultural and linguistic minorities, indigenous groups, the disabled or people living in remote areas. Migration trends, combined with increasing student mobility – expected to triple by 2025 – will further accentuate the diversity of student populations, calling for policies that promote access to learning and academic programmes and staff that respect cultural and linguistic diversity. Several countries have established quota systems, scholarships and special secondary schools to help students from disadvantaged groups prepare for admission to universities. Addressing demand with a concern for equity and inclusion is a considerable challenge.