Identifies and explains the sources of stratification that differentiate colleges and universities in the United States. The authors use quantitative analysis to map the contours of this system. They then explain the mechanisms that sustain it and illustrate the ways in which rising institutional inequality has limited individual opportunity.

BARRETT J. TAYLOR is an associate professor of higher education at the University of North Texas in Denton. He is the coeditor of Higher Education, Stratification, and Workforce Development: Competitive Advantage in Europe, the US, and Canada.
 
BRENDAN CANTWELL is an associate professor of higher, adult, and lifelong education at Michigan State University in East Lansing. He is the coeditor of High Participation Systems of Higher Education.

Contents
Introduction: Unequal Higher Education
1          The Roots of Unequal Higher Education                  
2          A Field Account of Unequal Higher Education                    
3          Mapping Unequal Higher Education 
4          Unequal Public Higher Education: Stratification and Drift              
5          Unequal Private Higher Education: Persistent Inequalities   
6          Unequal Higher Education and Student Opportunity                                   
7          Consequences of Unequal Higher Education: Student Success and Mortgaged Futures                 
8          Contesting Unequal Higher Education                      
Appendix
Acknowledgments
References
Index