This selection of conference papers on a national purpose for higher education in England begins with an analysis of the distribution of power in "Who Decides the Purposes?" Maurice Kogan argues for a "consumer council" formally representing students. The concept of "social purpose" is examined by Bill Weinstein in "Social Purposes in Search of Higher Education, or Higher Education in Search of Social Purposes?" Among current social purposes are the provision of trained manpower, the moral development of students, and the diagnosis and cure for social ills general to society. In commentary, Brian Pippard suggests that two particular sources of pressure that bring change in universities are shortage of money and the growing power of students. A second commentary on Weinstein's paper is made by David Gray who supports the position that there is a need for academics to act politically and enlarges on their function as critics of society. In "What Shall We Teach?" Marjorie Reeves describes the following five elements that should be found in all higher education: the art of communication; techniques of mastery; the enrichment of understanding and enjoyment of other human beings; a feeling for the miraculous; and the ordering assessment of personal experience. In the last paper, "An International View of Higher Education," Ladislav Cerych describes ways international comparisons can help clarify ideas on national purposes and makes favorable comparisons between Britain and the rest of Europe. (SW)