The federal role in higher education has grown over the past two decades, and now a new administration has the opportunity to chart the direction of the country's colleges and universities. To help inform these decisions, the Urban Institute convened a bipartisan group of scholars and policy advisers to write a series of memos highlighting the most critical issues in higher education and recommending policy solutions. This brief outlines the principles that underlie the policy recommendations offered in the memos and provides a framework for considering the federal role in higher education.