Educational levels for Aboriginal people in Canada, though they have been improving significantly, remain low in comparison with the general population. The concentration of Aboriginal people is highest in Canada's prairie provinces, where it reaches about 12 percent and is growing considerably more rapidly than the general population. Undereducation of Aboriginal people is linked not only to economic and social hardship for their community, but to significant problems for the larger society. This is similar to how the inadequate educational achievement of African-American and Latino populations causes harm to U.S. society as a whole. Over the past 25 years, a series of programs developed in the province of Manitoba collectively have had very significant success in providing high quality postsecondary education to populations, primarily Aboriginal, that had previously been excluded from such education. These called programs, are based on the belief that if academic, social, personal and financial barriers are addressed, minorities and disadvantaged groups will enroll and succeed in postsecondary studies at the same levels as non-excluded members of society. The programs follow the tenet of equality of condition that demands that mere access is not sufficient, but must be accompanied with the kinds of supports that are given to students who are motivated, but poorly prepared and underresourced, and a realistic opportunity to succeed (Unruh & Levin, 1990). Since its inception, the Access programs have demonstrated that hundreds of people who had not completed secondary school and would never have been admitted, under ordinary circumstances, to a college or university can enter, succeed and contribute to the community as well as change their own lives. In taking on this task, the programs have had to challenge some important myths about higher education. The most central of these is the supposed inherent incompatibility of accessibility and quality. This position can become self-fulfilling, in that its proponents believe that if a large number of underqualified students fail, it demonstrates their unsuitability, but if a large number succeed, it means that standards have been lowered. As a number of studies, as well as the experiences related in this paper have shown, however, completion rates can be improved without any decline in standards if institutions set out to do so through appropriate teaching and support services (Lavin & Hyllegard, 1996). The Access started in the early 1970s, were, from the beginning, intended largely for Aboriginal people, but also included inner-city poor and visible minorities. The federal government contributed more than half the cost of a number of the programs until a decade ago, with the rest coming from the Provincial government. Since their inception there have been approximately 20 different Access programs. Most have been operated in collaboration with universities, but community colleges also have been involved. (In Manitoba, the community colleges are primarily technical, applied arts and business training institutions.) The programs have provided access to the full range of university studies and to quite a few key technical areas. Open Access such as the University of Manitoba Access Program (UMAP), allow students to study in arts and science or to compete with the regular student body to enter restricted programs such as law or management. Other programs exist in specific fields such as engineering, nursing, education, social work and pre-medical, (which also includes dentistry and medical rehabilitation). There also is a program to provide support in the professional health programs for those who complete preliminary studies and are accepted into a professional health faculty. The programs themselves do not provide certification. They provide access to the same academic skills and certification that any person would attain in a given academic program. …