Finance, management, and productivity are selected as foci for discussion and organization in setting research priorities for postsecondary education. A list of issues for research was generated at a conference of educational leaders. Proposed studies on these issues are described in terms of the research questions, problem situation and expected value of research, relevant previous and current research, and research guidance. Five themes of the projects are: the interrelationship of federal, state, and institutional control of higher education, institutional adjustment to declining budgets and enrollments, and to changing student interests; the relationship between higher education institutions and the needs and interests of clientele, especially those of minorities and women; the relationship between higher education and the needs and demands of society; and alternative systems, strategies, and procedures for the delivery of postsecondary education, and adaptation of such systems to student and societal needs. (SW)