“Equality and excellence”is the basic value orientation of higher education policy formulated by the US government, which regulates and leads the development direction of higher education. In the process of popularization,the value orientation of the federal government of the United States has undergone an evolutionary process from advocating fairness to emphasis on efficiency,and finally to balance between fairness and efficiency. In this process,the federal government has continuously promoted the strong devel- opment of higher education by increasing education funds,improving its quality and optimizing the education structure.