There is a major crisis of quality in higher education in developing countries due to economic recession, unchecked private demand, and political naivete about the functions of higher education. This crisis is widespread but not universal: higher education in The People's Republic of China, the petroleum exporting economies of the Middle East and, perhaps, India, are exceptions. But there are large areas of Africa, the Middle East. East Asia and Latin America where a crisis of quality does exist, and where future policy decisions — what kind of higher education is most necessary; how it should be managed and financed; and the timing of new forms of higher education — raise questions we believe to be universal.