The article addresses the funding of higher education in a period when there is increased pressure on governments to reduce their funding support to higher education, and on universities to become more creative in expanding their own sources of funding. The article demonstrates that universities have and will continue to benefit from the combined private and public approaches to the funding of higher education, with cost sharing being the philosophical base of this model. It discusses the main funding options currently being employed by universities, and their impact on issues such as access, especially for those students who are most vulnerable in the society. A model which establishes equilibrium in the funding relationship between government, students and universities is proposed. Central to this model is the role of the student loan facility in maintaining governments’ responsibility while at the same time extending access to the majority of students who are unable to fund higher education.