Jamaica, in approaching the 21st century, will be called upon to define policies to address the emerging issues forecasted to be characteristics of the 21st century. In defining a policy framework for those issues, there will be a significant challenge to maintain elements of stability in the existing systems while coping with and in some cases initiating changes that will enable it to remain a successful player in that world. 
It is generally assumed that in the 21st century, the quality of tertiary education will be a significant variable in the transformation of national, regional, and international actors. It can be assumed that Jamaica will have to address those changes associated with the global economy, technological developments, and the internal sociopolitical and macroeconomic changes. The extent to which it is able to define a framework for tertiary education and successfully implement the pre­scriptions of that framework will be perceived as an indicator or predic­tor of successful public policy.