PCF2 // Enrolment in tertiary education in the Commonwealth Caribbean has remained comparatively and consistently low over the years. Not surprisingly, the actual numbers of tertiary education graduates have also been well below the optimal level. On the other hand, indications are that there is increasing demand by potential students and private sector employers as well as by governments for tertiary education graduates. Additionally, educational leaders and policy makers continually express a need for and a desire to expand tertiary education opportunities to a wider range and greater number of its citizens in an attempt to promote national and regional development. // In spite of concerted effort by many stakeholders, the goal of increased access to tertiary education has been elusive to date. It seems reasonable to infer therefore that there are resistant barriers to the expansion of tertiary education access and that these may be related to persistent challenges which also place limits on the success of learners in the tertiary education system. // This paper attempts to identify some of those barriers to access and success and to highlight some of the initiatives which have been taken in an attempt to overcome these barriers. Before proceeding to a discussion of the barriers themselves, it may be useful to define the terms tertiary education, access and success and to examine also what constitutes the Commonwealth Caribbean tertiary education context and to locate within this context some inherent barriers to access and success. //