My hope with this paper is to generate discussion at the conference of how “broad access higher education” fits within the context of the dramatically altered landscape of early adult life. It’s the “bigger box” for mapping broad-access higher education because many of the challenges and opportunities we face in higher education today are tied to this changing landscape. I’m going to tell a story of how this period of life is being reorganized in fundamental ways (though I should note that this is also tied to a bigger story, which I won’t tell here, of how the entire life course is being reorganized). I’m also going to reflect on some of the skills and capacities that young people may now need if they’re to successfully navigate this period of life and the institutions that frame it—the most important being higher education. This should naturally trigger some critical reflection on what we see as the primary goals of higher education, especially broad-access higher education, for any mapping of it will ultimately hinge on its intentions.
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