A brief review of the recent history of higher education in Britain is presented noting the problems of supply and demand for places. Issues for the future are outlined. The purposes of higher education, changed patterns of demand, higher education and the labor market, are also discussed. (Author/MLW)

Issues of the university's role in social and economic progress, educational demand, employment needs and patterns, changes in instructional methods, research, and managing change without growth are discussed. The need to extract long-term policy needs from the multiplicity of short-term administrative demands is examined. (MSE)